\u2018Employee engagement\u2019 has many meanings and interpretations, but relatively little of it has to do, by conceptual definition, specifically with impact on customer behavior. \u00a0Thorough analysis conducted by The Conference Board <\/i>in 2006 showed that, among twelve leading engagement research companies, twenty-six key drivers of engagement could be identified, of which eight were common to all:<\/p>\n Trust and integrity \u2013 <\/b>How well do managers communicate and ‘walk the talk\u2018?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Nature of the job \u2013 <\/b>Is it mentally stimulating day-to-day?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Line of sight between employee performance and company performance \u2013 <\/b>Do\u00a0employees understand how their work contributes to the company’s performance?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Career growth opportunities \u2013<\/b> Are there opportunities for growth within the\u00a0company?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pride about the company \u2013 <\/b>How much self-esteem do the employees feel by being\u00a0associated with their company?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Coworkers\/team members \u2013 <\/b>How much influence do they exert on the employee\u2019s\u00a0level of engagement?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Employee development \u2013 <\/b>Is the company making an effort to develop the employee’s\u00a0skills?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Relationship with one’s manager \u2013 <\/b>Does the employee value relationship(s) with\u00a0manager(s), and is there trust and credibility between the levels?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Typically, there is little or no mention\/inclusion of \u2018customer\u2019 or \u2018customer focus\u2019 elements either in measurement or analysis of employee engagement. \u00a0Though customer experience<\/a>, and resultant behavior, is impacted by engagement, it is more tangential and inferential than purposeful in nature.<\/p>\n As noted, employee engagement can impact corporate profitability at the macro level (as much as three to four times higher for top-scoring engagement companies compared to those on the bottom half of companies using this measure); and that\u2019s one of the really valuable results it provides. \u00a0A major 2012 collaborative secondary research effort, Engage for Success<\/i><\/b>, by the University of Bath School of Management and Marks and Spencer in the U.K. concluded, as we\u2019ve seen with other research into the benefits of employee engagement: \u201cAs well as performance and productivity, employee engagement impacts positively on levels of absenteeism, on retention, and on levels of innovation\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Where customer behavior changes are reported as a result of employee engagement, they were (like satisfaction\u2019s impact on customer behavior) also at macro and rather weak tea, incidental levels: \u00a0\u201cAn earlier (2006) Gallup report that examined over 23,000 business units showed that companies with engagement levels in the top quartile averaged 12% higher customer advocacy than those in the bottom quartile.\u201d \u00a0Like the \u201cSo what?\u201d question, the consistent financial impact of engagement on individual companies and their customers, i.e. on a micro level, needs to be addressed, understood and reported.<\/p>\n Now, we come to employee ambassadorship and how it builds on the useful alignment and productivity represented by engagement. \u00a0Employee ambassadorship, or employee brand ambassadorship, has direct connections to \u2013 yet is distinctive from \u2013 both employee satisfaction and employee engagement. \u00a0Its impact on customer behavior can be, and has been, proven at the individual company level. \u00a0As a research framework, and method for understanding employee behavior, its overarching objective is to identify the most active and positive (and inactive and negative) level of employee commitment to the company\u2019s product and service value promise, to the company itself, and to optimizing the customer experience. The ambassadorship thesis, with its component elements, can be displayed as follows:<\/p>\n Commitment to company<\/b> \u2013 Commitment to, and being positive about, the company (through personal satisfaction, fulfillment, and an expression of pride), and to being a contributing, loyal, and fully aligned, member of the culture<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Commitment to value proposition<\/b> \u2013 Commitment to, and alignment with, the mission and goals of the company, as expressed through perceived excellence (benefits and solutions) provided by products and\/or services<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Commitment to customers<\/b> \u2013 Full commitment (by all employees and the enterprise)to understanding customer needs, and to performing in a manner which provides customers with optimal experiences and relationships, as well as delivering the highest level of product and\/or service value<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Ambassadorship is linked to the key productivity and empowerment elements of employee satisfaction, engagement, and alignment research, and related training and operating approaches. \u00a0However, it more directly contributes to business results, experience optimization, and value delivery because its key concept is building customer bonds through direct and indirect employee interaction. \u00a0As companies strive to become more customer-centric in all things they do, we believe that the emphasis on building strong employee ambassadorship will continue to increase as a core objective.<\/p>\n \u2018Happy people give you happy customers\u2019, is the foundation insight that now drives many employee engagement initiatives including our founder, Colin Shaw, who lived by this when he was SVP of Customer Experience & leading 3,500 people. Now he will be presenting a FREE webinar “Employee Engagement & Ambassadorship,\u00a0Optimizing Their Impact on the Customer Experience”, Michel Lowenstein. Register here. Republished with permission from CustomerThink.com\n
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