A study conducted
over a period of three years by SHL (a psychometric testing company) has concluded
that employee engagement is more important than job satisfaction. This indicates that
employees want more out of a career than to just like their job. Ilke Inceoglu, one
of the researchers involved in the study noted, “Job satisfaction has been superseded
by engagement because that shows links to performance.”

How are you managing the engagement of employees in your organization? I know of some
leaders who think that due to the economy, no one is leaving even if they are unhappy.
This simply is not true. Whereas times are tough and many companies have put a freeze
on or limited hiring, good employees

—

A-players

—

will be able to find a job elsewhere no matter what the economy (it may just take
a little longer).

Is your organization at risk of losing it’s A-players? Are your employees engaged?

You may be asking yourself: What does that mean? How can I tell the level of engagement?

Below are some features of an organization with high employee engagement. Read through
and ask yourself how well your company is performing.

• Employees understand the organization’s goals and objectives.
• Employees understand how their work impacts the organization’s ability to achieve
  results.
• Employees are committed to delivering consistently good experiences that drive a positive
  work culture and strong customer relationships.
• Employees take action to live the organization’s brand every day by demonstrating
  on-brand behaviors and experiences.
• Employees communicate effectively and are receptive to others.
• Employees recognize each other for a job well done.
• Employees hold themselves and each other accountable for delivering the behaviors
  and experiences necessary for driving a great work culture and profitable results.

How engaged are your employees? Where does your organization struggle? Knowing the
current reality regarding employee engagement in your organization is the first step
to rectifying areas of weakness and building an engaged workforce.

I just got back home to Rochester after a few speaking events in Maryland and Georgia. Facilitating these events with business leaders who are so pumped up to get started defining their brand and the customer experience they deliver reinforces my passion for helping others Achieve Brand Integrity.

So this week, I wanted to highlight one of the key points to Achieving Brand Integrity:
If you’re not managing behaviors you’re not managing your brand!

I recently read a great interview on NewYorkTimes.com
about Tony Hsieh. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I’ve posted
about Zappos and Tony Hsieh before. This latest interview highlights why Mr. Hseih
started Zappos and how he has built and sustained such an amazing work culture that
delivers on desired customer experiences. Zappos is definitely a company that understands
the key point above. I highly recommend you head over and read the interview today.

We’re all tired of the recession; however, according to the latest Towers
Perrin Workplace Watch, employees especially are falling into recession
fatigue. The study concludes that employees have the most negativity around potential
career development opportunities.

Only fifty-seven percent of employees agree that their company offers opportunities
for long-term professional development, a 16 percent drop since the beginning of 2009.
Towers Perrin concludes that this drop is due to employees feeling less connected
to the company they work for and also having less faith in leadership as a result
of recessionary actions like layoffs and budget cuts.

Are the levels of engagement in your company falling as a result of this negative
economic environment? Below are some ways leaders can combat fatigue:

• Let employees know when they are doing things that impact business results. Doing
  so helps them understand how their actions make a difference and, of course, makes
  them feel good. Consistently recognizing employees and sharing successes company-wide
  builds morale as well as spreads best practices.
• Openly communicate what your company thinks about professional development. Set expectations
  with employees in regards to how much growth they can look forward to and when. Even
  if it’s not a reality right now, generating awareness will help ease employee’s perspective
  about lack of growth opportunities.
• If your company has had to reduce or cut investments in continuing professional education
  or industry seminars and conferences at this time, communicating the why behind these
  actions will help employees see the reasoning and be more forgiving.

Focusing on managing employee expectations through communication and consistent acknowledgment
will ease negativity and help rebuild trust as we work our way out of these trying
times.

Well maybe not Pizza Hut exactly, but it’s true that the lifetime value of a customer for a regular pizza place is around $8,000.

Lifetime value is a common phrase for describing how much a customer is worth to a
company if the person remains loyal over the course of their life. Disney is one company
that understands the importance of lifetime value. They estimate that customers, from
the first walk through the entry gate, are worth up to $50,000 in lifetime value.
Knowing this, Disney pays close attention to creating customers for life. They know
that the greater the connection a customer feels to a company, the greater the loyalty
and the greater probability for maximizing lifetime value. Disney creates connections
with customers by orchestrating experiences at different points of interaction, which
I’ve written about before (remember the white
jumpsuit man?) because their experiences are simply amazing.

But you don’t have to be Disney to care about lifetime value and deliver experiences
that earn you customers for life. Think of a company you love doing business with.
Now think about why you love it so much. Are they responsive to your inquiries? Do
they treat you with respect and urgency every time you interact with them? These things
may seem basic, but that’s just the point. Being responsive and treating you with
respect makes you feel valued. These are simple behaviors that if done consistently
by a company’s employees, can create experiences the keep customers coming back and
referring the company to others.

On the other hand, you could just learn to say goodbye to customers’ potential lifetime
value, as Seth Godin jokes about in his blog
post.

What experiences does your company stage to ensure repeat business and a strong unpaid
marketing department? Have you defined the behaviors employees can deliver to build
relationships with customers? How are you building lifetime value?