Why All the Individual Suggestions for Engagement Are WRONG
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Email: connect@i2i-align.com
In The Physical World
2100 Woodruff Rd.
Suite 2100 #141
Greenville, SC 29607
The economy continues to sputter and spit and businesses are reevaluating their staffing, their distribution channels, their customers – all to increase sales, decrease costs, maintain or increase profits. Anytime a crisis, or at least a pretty big bump in the road hits us we start to look for solutions. As the demand side of the equation for solutions goes up – so does the supply side. Everyday there are more posts, articles, tweets about the "one thing you must do" or the "10 ways to weather this economic storm." Heck I'm guilty myself (more for fun than for seriousness.)
One area more than any other seems to be affected by the "supply" side of this solutions market – "Employee Engagement."
I use the term "engagement" to be an umbrella term to cover many different topics – motivation, recognition, rewards, retention, compensation, bonuses, variable pay, satisfaction, etc. In other words, getting more/better performance out of your staff. Since there is no universal definition, any author (and reader) can define it in their own way – and connect their solution to the problem.
I'm going to take a different approach and say ALL of them are wrong.
As you puruse the articles and posts that highlight the solution for your engagement problems look to see if they are focused on a specific area of intervention. Is the solution "more recognition"? Or is it more "pay-for-performance?" Could it be they are recommending "more communications?" I'm guessing, based on my experience it's one of those or a variation on one of the themes.
But here is the ONE THING you must consider – the solution isn't a thing. The solution is a system of things.
My Car Analogy
I look at getting the most out of the your business like I do getting the most out of my car. I want my car to do a few different things – move me, move my stuff, be cost-efficient, be reliable, perform in extremes of heat and cold.
Let me ask you this – Would you go to a mechanic that tells you the ONLY thing you need to worry about to get your car to perform to your needs is to make sure you tune the engine? Forget tire maintanance, forget oil changes – just tune the engine so it uses fuel efficiently. Or what of the tire store that tells you to ignore the engine – just worry about the tires – that's what will make your vehicle peform the way you want. Or the transmission guy telling you not to worry about the electrical system – transmissions are the key to performance.
It's The System Stupid
It never is one thing. Never has been. Never will be. The only way (yes I said ONLY) way to drive performance within your employee base (or channel, or consumer) is to look at your connection to the audience as a system of elements that make up a whole.
Jump over to this article on Inc. Magazine site (via @bedtimestories on twitter – Dave Ingram.) In the article they list a pretty nice group of ideas that would impact employee motivation (engagement) and I agree with all of them.
But not once in the article did they mention that the real success will come when these individual pieces are put together to form a strategy and a plan.
What is your "system" for engaging and influencing your target audience. Don't tell me the tool you're using – tell me how the pieces work together to get you where you want to go.
When you can do that – you have a solution.
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George Guajardo