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Untangling Employee Engagement 032811
- 2. From thE maChinE agE to thE pEoplE agE
During the Industrial Age, we looked no further than the back room of our business to determine
and manage the value of our customer offering. When we opened that door, we would see
gleaming machinery. As raw material went in one end and widgets came out the other, we could
measure volume, efficiency, productivity and much more.
But in today’s service-, knowledge-, digital-economy, the machine mind-set no longer works.
Instead of depending on metal and parts, we now look to the hearts and minds of our employees
as the means for ongoing success. And increasingly this requires a focus on intangibles such as
our mission and vision, the quality of relationships and the culture of our organization.
A resource for assessing and managing a company’s culture is available through the Carlson
Marketing Positive Engagement Model. This model is a framework encompassing the six critical
facets essential for building authentic employee-to-organization bonds: Achievement, Mastery,
Connection, Well-Being, Appreciation and Innovation.
The Carlson Marketing Positive Engagement Model is based on research emerging from the new
social sciences on positive psychology and positive change. These disciplines are uncovering
insight related to the growth of individuals and organizations through strengths, rather than
problems and gaps. In addition, this body of work recognizes that positive emotions are an
underused resource to organizations interested in developing their capacity in areas such as
creativity, courage and compassionate customer service.
Positive Engagement is also a precursor to developing strong relationships, both inside and
outside an organization. Employees who feel a positive emotional connection to their work
are more likely to make discretionary decisions and actions that benefit the organization as a
whole. Many other benefits also emerge. For example, in groundbreaking research, Barbara
Fredrickson, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina, determined that “positive
emotions transform individuals into more resilient, socially integrated, and capable versions of
themselves.” Clearly this becomes a solid foundation for creating a healthy, thriving organization
that performs at its best every day.
2 © Carlson Marketing 2011
- 3. INNOVATION ACHIEVEMENT
Creativity Courage
Open-Mindedness Self-Leadership
Teamwork Persistence
APPRECIATION MASTERY
Enthusiasm POSITIVE Capability
Optimism
Gratitude
ENGAGEMENT Wisdom
Curiosity
CONNECTION WELL-BEING
Belonging Optimum Health
Social Intelligence Work-Life Balance
Pride Compassion
Figure 1. Carlson Marketing Positive Engagement Model
The six frames of the Carlson Marketing Positive Engagement Model are:
achievement … Courage often is overlooked in business, yet it provides the needed push for
taking risks and experimenting with new ideas and opportunities.
mastery … In a rapidly changing environment, employee skill building and personal development
ensure that the business can grow and change over time. Deep expertise also contributes to
Innovation and propels the organization into positive cycles of change.
Well-Being … This serves as a foundation for superior performance. Well-Being represents
optimum health and work-life balance. If the goal is to build a thriving workplace, it stands to
reason that feeling fit physically and mentally will set the stage.
Connection … Relationships are the thread that links employees to each other as well as to the
business. Healthy internal relationships also contribute to healthy customer relationships.
appreciation … Enthusiasm and optimism bring energy to a business, and expressions of
appreciation reinforce the unique value each person offers. It’s also about experiencing gratitude,
which nurtures a strong service orientation.
innovation … Creativity is required to solve today’s problems and to build a vision for the future.
It also fosters openness and diversity.
3 © Carlson Marketing 2011
- 4. a mEans to mEasUrE CUltUrE
and Bottom-linE impaCt
Putting this model into practice, Carlson Marketing has developed an assessment tool called
the Echo Survey. It allows any organization to measure the level of Positive Engagement of its
employees. Through it, a business can quickly identify key areas for improvement against which
clear actions may be taken to improve Positive Engagement.
The assessment tool also allows organizations to track engagement and progress toward goals
over time. A business’s culture can be difficult to understand and manage, yet it’s vitally
important to the health of the organization. That’s because a healthy, well-functioning culture
contributes to productivity and retention, and in turn, profitability. It therefore pays – literally –
to build engagement.
How does the Echo Survey work? It is based on Carlson Marketing’s research that uncovered
the flow of experiences which, step-by-step, progress from the individual employee on to
profitability. There are two elements that are key to this flow: Positive Engagement and
Relationship Strength.
Essentially, Positive Engagement lays the groundwork for the employee experience. It creates
a healthy, vital environment which encourages everyone to be at their best, every day. As
individuals become increasingly engaged, they in turn build strong relationships with leadership,
their colleagues and customers. And finally, as relationships deepen, employees become more
productive, stay with an organization longer, and in turn contribute to higher profitability.
Organization Relationship Organization
INNOVATION ACHIEVEMENT
Creativity Courage
Open-Mindedness Self-Leadership
Teamwork Persistence
APPRECIATION
Enthusiasm POSITIVE
MASTERY
Capability
Desired
ENGAGEMENT
Business
Optimism Wisdom
Gratitude Curiosity
Outcomes
CONNECTION WELL-BEING
Belonging Optimum Health
Social Intelligence Work-Life Balance
Pride Compassion
4 © Carlson Marketing 2011
- 6. thE ECho sUrvEy in aCtion
Carlson Marketing recently completed a project in which the Echo Survey was used to pinpoint
opportunities for change, and in turn build engagement. Highlights of this project follow.
A team of approximately 250 people in a large service organization were interested in
making business improvements. They believed there was untapped potential and
ways to more deeply connect the employees to the business, yet were unsure how
to proceed.
The first step was a meeting with the leadership team to gain a broader understanding of
the business and to get their thoughts on the untapped potential. From there, the Echo
Survey was deployed to gather insight from the entire team and not just leadership.
Feedback from the survey, as well as through supplemental interviews, showed there were
several areas of interest. The team wanted to focus on Mastery and Innovation, because
there was a hunger for learning as well as an interest in making ongoing improvements
in the business. In addition, the survey revealed they were quite strong in Appreciation
and Connection, which could clearly be seen in how well they interacted and in their high
level of collaboration in meeting client needs.
A typical next step might be to form a leadership subcommittee to identify solutions and
actions. However, everyone believed that higher engagement would emerge if the entire
department participated in planning business changes. In addition, the project team
was interested in taking advantage of the positive relationships across the group and
leveraging their ability to work together to solve problems. So, as a result, an invitation
was sent to everyone, inviting them to participate in a series of brainstorming and
planning meetings, which were referred to as Jam Sessions.
The Jam Sessions took place over six weeks, allowing teams to work these sessions into
their daily business. During these sessions, the large group was broken into sub-teams
of six people, who shared ideas about how their organization might look if Mastery and
Innovation were more critically woven into the business. At this stage, emphasis was
placed on imagining their world functioning at its best, regardless of the practicality
of their dreams. Creativity and energy ran high as the small groups explored various
“fantasies” of success.
6 © Carlson Marketing 2011
- 7. After six of these sessions took place, the output was organized into a comprehensive
perspective, and one final half-day meeting was held to select a few projects which would
allow them to realize their collective vision.
Over 40 people participated in this final discussion, and after three hours of planning and
debate, seven new initiatives were identified. The leadership team immediately reviewed
these recommendations and gave green lights to all of them. They also volunteered as
leadership champions for each one. Finally, all 40 people assigned themselves to one of
the seven projects and selected their respective team leaders.
Additional team members were recruited and projects were under way that afternoon.
Over the course of six months, all seven initiatives were implemented. Among the projects
were the following initiatives:
EngagEmEnt inCEntivEs
Through the discussions it was noted there were many Mastery opportunities to learn and
grow, but they weren’t consistently taken advantage of by the team members. To promote
and facilitate participation in a variety of formal and informal learning activities, the team
assembled a lengthy list of opportunities. They then used their budget to create a pool
of rewards – gift cards, logo merchandise and small gifts such as electronics – and used
these to run an incentive program. As employees completed an activity from the list, their
name was included in a monthly drawing. This program was very well-received and many
people enjoyed the chance not just to learn, but to receive a small reward for their effort.
dEpartmEnt shoWCasEs
Another idea was called Department Showcases. The organization was of such a size that
not everyone understood what each individual team was responsible for in producing
the daily business. To educate fellow team members, seven departments conducted
“open houses” to talk with colleagues about their roles, processes and outputs involving
both Connection and Mastery in action! Each team used posters to illustrate their work,
and many made it festive through decorations and small gifts. Over 74 percent of the
employees attended these sessions, and the project team received excellent feedback on
their overall value.
7 © Carlson Marketing 2011
- 8. JoB shadoWing
Finally, the Showcases set the stage for putting some job shadowing into place. While the
Showcase gave a high-level overview, the job shadowing allowed for a more personal, one-
on-one exchange. The job shadowing was designed as a short-term experience, in which
individuals were matched to partners based on interest. The experiences averaged 1 to 2
hours, and 72 people asked to participate. Again, feedback was so enthusiastic that the
group plans to make this an ongoing offer.
Over the course of these experiences, the Echo Survey was used to gather a monthly
sample of employees during the six-month implementation period. As the first Jam
Sessions were getting under way, the overall survey was tracking at a 4.39 on a 7-point
scale. Six months later, the team showed an increase of .66 to a score of 5.05.
Just as powerful, the leadership team was excited to see the genuine interest and energy
that went into each project, all of which took place without diminishing customer service
or other business demands. And in a business climate in which bad news is raining on
everyone on a regular basis, it was exciting to see the enthusiasm as well as the results.
plEasE notE:
Carlson Marketing Worldwide will act to protect the privacy of all respondents participating in any
research we conduct. While the Client might own the data, Carlson Marketing will not provide the
Client with any information that could uniquely identify any individual participant. The exception
to this would be that all parties have agreed upon sharing respondent identifying information up
front and this has been clearly communicated to all respondents participating in the research.
8 © Carlson Marketing 2011
- 9. patty saari
viCE prEsidEnt, CliEnt sErviCEs
BUsinEss loyalty
Patty Saari leads the sales and delivery aspects of engagement programs focused on rewards
and recognition. Her expertise stems from her years building Carlson Marketing’s market-leading
prepaid card portfolio and has expanded to include the broader rewards and recognition market.
She is a primary thought leader and strategist regarding the application and delivery of rewards
in the employee, channel and consumer space.
Since Patty’s start with Carlson Marketing in 1997, she has built an extensive list of
client experience that includes leading companies in the automotive, pharmaceutical,
telecommunications and financial services industries. She is a valued industry resource as a
frequent speaker and contributor to trade publications including Incentive, Paybefore and Sales
and Marketing Strategies & News.
Prior to this role, Patty led the Prepaid Card Services division with responsibility for all facets of
business development, product development, program implementation and portfolio maintenance
and compliance. She also was a leader in Carlson Marketing’s strategic alliance team and began
her Carlson career as a founding member of the award-winning Incentive Debit Card Division.
She is a 2007 graduate of the Carlson School of Management Executive Leadership Program.
Patty received her Bachelor of Arts degree in business management from the College of St.
Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
For morE inFormation, ContaCt:
patty saari
Vice President, Client Services
Business Loyalty
1405 Xenium Lane
Minneapolis, MN 55441
Phone: 763.445.3122
pesaari@carlsonmarketing.com
9 © Carlson Marketing 2011
