At the Heart of Engagement Ver2

7/30/2019 At the Heart of Engagement Ver2

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white paper | 2008

At the Heartof Engagement

Building common purpose, understandingand commitment through events.


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2008 Carlson Marketing. All rights protected and reserved. 1

At the Heart of EngagementBuilding common purpose, understanding and commitmentthrough events

What is engagement? Its all the new buzz in the Events space and were not talkingabout bridal showers or grooms dinners. Instead, its the understanding that the very best

business-sponsored meetings and events are about more than the menu items or the

decor. Theyre about creating experiences that connect with people on an emotional level,

deepen organizational and brand relationships and potentially prompt positive actions.

Incorporating the concept of engagement helps shift the focus to where it needs to be

away from just tactics and more toward building a relationship strategy thats directly

linked to business outcomes.

But engagement can feel elusive and hard to pin down, especially as the emotional

aspects are considered. For instance, what emotions might be most desirable as an event

outcome? How do you encourage and manage these emotions? And how do you

measure their impact both during and after a meeting?

Several key concepts have emerged from social science in recent years:

Emotions drive actions.

We like to think of ourselves as rational human beings, making thoughtful, pragmatic

decisions to guide our lives and our businesses. But think again. According to recent

findings, our emotions are critical influencers of our behaviors. In research done by the

Gallup Organization in 2004, they found that decision-making is 70% emotional and 30%

rational. So while we may prefer to think of the workplace in pragmatic terms, the reality

is that emotions prevail.

Emotions in the workplace hold a great deal of power.Like the squeaky wheel, it is often the negative that gets the most attention.

For example, many companies offer conflict resolution workshops. That isnt

surprising. Negative emotions tend to foster attitudes and actions that require

immediate attention. Damage control becomes a necessary, if unfortunate,

priority. But that kind of short-term focus on the problems that negative

emotions can breed tends to overshadow the long-term potential that positive

emotions can offer. And that potential is unlikely to be realized without having

the plans and practices in place to ensure positive emotions get at least as

much attention as the consequences of negative emotions. For instance, it

takes courage to make difficult decisions how is courage nurtured?

Creativity is the essence of innovation is there a strategy for developing it?

Focusing on positive emotions can yield competitive business benefits.

Engagement, when it is positive, produces results. Numerous research projects have

demonstrated its impact on the bottom line. One study in particular, done by ISR, found

that companies with high levels of employee engagement improved their operating

income by 19.2 percent over 12 months, while in companies with low levels of

engagement it declined by 32.7 percent.

Clearly, engagement pays off.


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Meetings and incentive eventsare a particularly good methodfor building engagement. Whenthey are carefully planned, theaudience becomes activeparticipants rather than justspectators, broadening boththe value and the relevance ofthe overall event.

Events are a Key Resource

To provide a frame for insight, Carlson Marketing has researched and developed the Positive

Engagement ModelTM. The model defines what is required to create a healthy culture which

promotes active engagement.

Meetings and incentive events are a particularly good method for

building engagement. They offer the opportunity (often too rare)

to meet with critical audiences face-to-face. When they are

carefully planned, the audience becomes active participants

rather than just spectators, broadening both the value and the

relevance of the overall event. Meetings andevents may be the

single most effective way of building common purpose,

understanding, and commitment. As we look across the Positive

Engagement Model, we can see many additional applications:

Connection Every meeting has elements

of Connection and an interest in building

relationships between attendees, while

simultaneously strengthening affiliation with

the host organization. How can the program

be designed to maximize networking while still

allowing for delivery of content?

Achievement and Appreciat ion

Many corporate events are for the purpose of

recognizing the accomplishments of the

participants. What aspects of the experience

will contribute most to feelings of significance

and confidence? What features can help

ensure continued contributions?

Innovation Teams have proven to be apowerful means for generating creative

solutions to challenging business problems.

Why leave these moments to chance when

you can organize a thoughtful brainstorming

event that brings focus and energy to your

organizations goals?

Mastery Many events include

components of training, education, best

practices, and information sharing. How do

you make sure that the event elements are

tied carefully and thoughtfully to your long-

term skills and performance initiatives? While

incorporating positive engagement into

meeting and event planning is clearly an

important step, the path doesnt necessarily

end there. Some of the most exciting

strategies businesses are using to generate

positive engagement are through new views

and actions that embrace corporate social

responsibility.


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From an engagementperspective, employees(as well as customers)can embrace feelings ofpride and inclusion whenthe organization they areassociated with is willingto recognize and act on its

responsibilities to thecommunity at large.

Its More Than Philanthropy

Business has served as the heart blood of

democracy, pumping jobs into communities

and maintaining the flow of free trade. But it is

also increasingly being tied to social change.

While business has traditionally

offered aid through support of

non-profit foundations, there is

increasing interest in evolving to

a blended approach in which

business aims at doing well by

doing good. This strategy is

often called Corporate Social

Responsibility.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers

to the methods a business employs to

consciously find ways to retain profitability

while contributing to our social infrastructure

and embracing environmentalism. And it isnt

just edgy entrepreneurs who are pushing the

envelope.

Starbucks is known for only purchasing free

trade coffee, which fosters economic growth in

small farming communities. General Electric is

actively designing energy efficient goods and

developing new products such as

environmentally- friendly wind turbines. Wal-

Mart made waves when it insisted it would

only source concentrated laundry soap, thus

saving 400 million gallons of water. These are

just a few examples of a growing movement.

CSR initiatives are more than just the right

social thing to do. In many cases they also

have legitimate corporate benefits. As

examples, new initiatives to forge solutions to

todays growing energy and fuel crisis may

well give rise to the most dynamic and

profitable businesses of tomorrow. Companies

that aggressively fulfill their social

responsibilities are more likely to be viewed

with public favor than those that remain

socially agnostic. And from an

engagement perspective,

employees (as well as

customers) can embrace

feelings of pride and inclusion

when the organization they are

associated with is willing to

recognize and act on its

responsibilities to the community

at large.

At the industry level, travel companies are

stepping back and examining their own

practices and seeking opportunities to

demonstrate their commitment to CSR. For

instance, many organizations have pledged to

avoid working with suppliers who are part of

tourism that exploits children. On the up side,many are also selecting destinations that

reflect a respect for our natural environment

and seeking ways to enjoy the beauty without

doing harm. Corporations and travel

companies alike are researching new

methods of making their meetings and events

more green and less prone to leaving

environmentally intrusive footprints.

But avoiding harm is one thing, adding valueis another. And thats where CSR gets

exciting. Businesses are now using their

ingenuity, and their events, to make the world

a better place, while still meeting all the

demands of shareholders seeking short- and

long-term profit.


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The Keys to Locking in Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement can be elusive to define

and build in an organization. To add clarity and

insight to this challenge, Carlson Marketing has

designed a model which describes a culture of

positive engagement.

Innovationencourages creativity and opens all

areas of a company to new ideas and diverse

thinking.

Masteryfocuses on skill development and

performing at the highest levels. Its about having

expertise, putting it into action and ensuring that

skill obsolescence never occurs.

Achievementis having the courage to reach outand accomplish truly great things.

Appreciation is generating enthusiasm about both

purpose and task. Its also about experience and

feeling gratitude, which nurtures a service

orientation.

Connectionencourages employees to feel like

theyre part of the organization, and have the ability

to form substantial relationships inside the

company and with its customers. Its also about

being openly proud of who you work for and what

the organization represents.

Wellness fosters physical and mental health and

work-life balance, as building blocks for optimum

performance. An organization that actively

promotes these is one that displays realcompassion for its employees and their families.

The Opportunity Is There For All of Us

The benefits of positive engagement are

enormous, and the ripple effect of success

can cascade beyond the immediate

organization and impact consumers and

communities around the world. But it must

begin at home, with your employees, partners,

clients and suppliers. Thats where meetings

and events come into play. Positive

engagement thrives in a social setting, and

blossoms in a socially responsible one.

Documents

At the Heart of Engagement Ver2