white paper | 2008

At the Heart of Engagement

Building common purpose, understanding and commitment through events.

At the Heart of Engagement

Building common purpose, understanding and commitment through events
What is engagement? Its all the new buzz in the Events space and were not talking about 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.

2008 Carlson Marketing. All rights protected and reserved. 1

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 and events 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:
Meetings and incentive events are a particularly good method for building engagement. 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.

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?

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 longterm 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.

Achievement and Appreciation

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 a

powerful 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?

2008 Carlson Marketing. All rights protected and reserved.

Its More Than Philanthropy

Business has served as the heart blood of profitable businesses of tomorrow. Companies democracy, pumping jobs into communities that aggressively fulfill their social and maintaining the flow of free trade. But it is responsibilities are more likely to be viewed also increasingly being tied to social change. with public favor than those that remain While business has traditionally socially agnostic. And from an offered aid through support of engagement perspective, From an engagement non-profit foundations, there is employees (as well as perspective, employees (as well as customers) increasing interest in evolving to customers) can embrace can embrace feelings of a blended approach in which feelings of pride and inclusion pride and inclusion when business aims at doing well by when the organization they are the organization they are associated with is willing doing good. This strategy is associated with is willing to to recognize and act on its often called Corporate Social recognize and act on its responsibilities to the Responsibility. community at large. responsibilities to the community at large. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the methods a business employs to At the industry level, travel companies are consciously find ways to retain profitability stepping back and examining their own while contributing to our social infrastructure practices and seeking opportunities to and embracing environmentalism. And it isnt demonstrate their commitment to CSR. For just edgy entrepreneurs who are pushing the instance, many organizations have pledged to envelope. avoid working with suppliers who are part of tourism that exploits children. On the up side, Starbucks is known for only purchasing free many are also selecting destinations that trade coffee, which fosters economic growth in reflect a respect for our natural environment small farming communities. General Electric is and seeking ways to enjoy the beauty without actively designing energy efficient goods and doing harm. Corporations and travel developing new products such as companies alike are researching new environmentally- friendly wind turbines. Walmethods of making their meetings and events Mart made waves when it insisted it would more green and less prone to leaving only source concentrated laundry soap, thus environmentally intrusive footprints. saving 400 million gallons of water. These are just a few examples of a growing movement. But avoiding harm is one thing, adding value is another. And thats where CSR gets CSR initiatives are more than just the right exciting. Businesses are now using their social thing to do. In many cases they also ingenuity, and their events, to make the world have legitimate corporate benefits. As a better place, while still meeting all the examples, new initiatives to forge solutions to demands of shareholders seeking short- and todays growing energy and fuel crisis may long-term profit. well give rise to the most dynamic and
2008 Carlson Marketing. All rights protected and reserved. 3

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.

Appreciation is generating enthusiasm about both purpose and task. Its also about experience and feeling gratitude, which nurtures a service orientation. Connection encourages 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 real compassion for its employees and their families.

Innovation encourages creativity and opens all areas of a company to new ideas and diverse thinking. Mastery focuses on skill development and performing at the highest levels. Its about having expertise, putting it into action and ensuring that skill obsolescence never occurs. Achievement is having the courage to reach out and accomplish truly great things.

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
2008 Carlson Marketing. All rights protected and reserved.

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.
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