employee engagement

why it matters to the experiential

marketing industry

70% of business leaders now believe that employee engagement is critical for their business

employee engagement

An EventTrack study in 2013 found that brands are expecting their Event and Experiential Marketing budgets to grow by nearly eight percent (7.8%) through the year, more than double 2012 (3.6%).

This increased spend has been a driver for brands to deliver a positive emotional experience between its product or services, and its consumers. To the experiential marketing industry Employee Engagement matters because we work in a people led industry where interactions between staff and customers are the keystone to success (or not).

The growth of the Experiential Marketing industry has led to a far greater demand for staff with the right level of experience and skills. Agencies working within the industry face the challenge of attracting high calibre staff, and the responsibility of retaining and developing staff. The importance of having an Employee Engagement Strategy cannot be understated.

focusing on the individual

In an industry which is so incredibly competitive being aware of the extent of engagement we have with staff and how that informs the relationship between business outcomes and performance is critical.

Understanding the motivations of your people on an individual level should be part of your Employee Engagement Strategy, and will help them to become engaged with your organisation’s values and culture. Better engaged employees will influence how well they perform on a campaign.

There is clearly a need to focus on ensuring that an Employee Engagement Strategy is part of the overall company strategy in managing its workforce, which means working with people on an individual basis.

The question then is how do we as agencies working within the Experiential Marketing industry engender the commitment and engagement from the individuals that work for us?

key facts/points of engagement on the individual • Give people purpose

• Make your culture work for you

• Understand the psychological contract

you have with your people

• It’s personal- treat everyone as an individual

• Management need to treat their people

right, as this will be reflected in the way your

people work

13% of employees across 142 countries worldwide are engaged in their jobs

A study by Powers Watson (cited in Clear Action, 2010) confirms that “as levels of employee engagement rises, so does levels of customer satisfac-tion”, and in 2014 this is even more important.

Sources: GDP data: Conference Board, Engagement data: Aon Hewitt database

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2013 2014

en

ga

ge

me

nt/

satis

fac

tion

leve

l

employeeengagement

customersatisfaction

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

-9%

-6%

-3%

0%

3%

6%

9%

Global Engagement Trends Compared to Economic Indicators

ch

an

ge

fro

m p

revi

ou

s ye

ar

global engagement(% change YoY)

global GDP(% change YoY)

17 Billion2010

12 Billion2009

10 Billion2008

14 Billion2013

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impacts of engaged staffPurity began work earlier this year on a continuing research piece with the University of Manchester, looking at the levels of engagement between staff and agencies, and how this relationship has impacted upon the Experiential Marketing industry and the business.

In today’s job market, organisations need to be conscious of how a positive Employee Engagement Strategy can work for them and that it should include a policy covering Employer Branding where the company’s

values and culture can be clearly communicated to applicants.

Within the Experiential Marketing industry staff will ordinarily be employed on zero hour contracts, and levels of work can fluctuate dramatically. We need to consider the impact this has on our employees’ state of engagement. Without the security of a part or full time contract, agencies should be doing more work on the emotional side of the relationship with staff.

Companies with highly engaged employees improved operating income by 19.2% over a 12 month period

ref- Towers Perrin-ISR (2006) The ISR Employee Engagement Report. As cited in MacLeod, D. and Clarke, N. Engaging for Success: Enhancing Performance through Employee Engagement

14 BillionThe estimated cost by the CBI of absence in 2013

business benefits

• Impacts on the

bottom line with

better productivity

• Better customer

satisfaction

• Less absenteeism

• Improved staff

retention rates

• Loyal staff

5%

10%

jan

feb

ma

ra

pr

ma

yju

nju

la

ug

sep

oc

tn

ov

de

c

15%

20%

inc

rea

se ra

te

increasing engagement across businessA feeling of engagement with the company will lead to staff feeling happier, and more fulfilled by their experience of working within the industry. Engaged employees have a greater level of emotional awareness that is required to provide excellent customer service, demonstrating just how important being people focussed is when formulating an Employee Engagement Strategy really is.

enhancing engagement • Recruit the right people. Identify the values

of the business and use these to target

potential employees that fit into the

culture of the business.

• Good managers count. Having skilled

and well trained event managers who

understand the needs of the campaign

and what it takes to engage staff with

the company and its work

• Be personal. Make sure that whenever you

interact with a member of your team you

find out about them and make it personal.

• Reward good. Getting the right level

performances from your staff is especially

valuable, so make sure that you are

rewarding the best people as they’ll walk

away if they don’t feel that their efforts

are being recognised.

An Employee Engagement Strategy should be a priority for any business, and if you haven’t got there yet, make sure that it is on your agenda. Make sure that leaders and managers under-stand what part they play, and how important they are in engaging employees.

Improved business performance through a mutually beneficial Employee Engagement Strategy should focus on the wellbeing and job satisfaction of your employees.

Above all, make sure that whatever you do is done with integrity.

For any organisation in the experiential marketing industry looking to increase engagement, there needs to be an established framework in which staff can perform through the delivery of good people management. It is vital that these practices are understood. • Have the facility for employees to be heard,

whether full-time or part-time. Having a

voice and gaining the recognition from

within the organisation can be a very

powerful thing.

• Leadership. Strong direction from leaders

within the business will need to give a

‘strategic narrative about the organisation,

where it’s come from and where it’s going’.

• Organisational integrity. This is where the

organisations values are reflected in the

way it goes about its business through

its culture.

• Training & Development. Ensure that you are developing the pool of people that you have. If you invest in a person by helping them to grow then they build a stronger emotional connection with you and the company.

transactional engagement is shaped by employees’ concern to earn a living, to meet minimal

expectations of the employer and their co-workers, and so on.

emotional engagement is driven by a desire on the part

of employees to do more for (and to receive more – a greater psychological contract – from)

the organisation than is normally expected. summary & benefits

what have we learned about employee engagement?

There is a whole range of factors that you can employ in order for your workforce to be more engaged in their work and with the business, but we’ve arrived at five key principles that should inform your Employee Engagement Strategy. We conducted a survey of 750 members of our current 1700+ registered staff and held a number of face to face interviews, and this is what we have found:

1) Make sure that your people feel involved and included in as many processes

as possible.

2) Let everyone know about the vision and mission of the company. By ensuring that everyone knows the goals and aspirations’

of the company and what part their contribution will play will give them a greater connection.

3) Find the best Event Managers (EM) and let them know how important they are! Having committed and loyal EMs will mean Brand Ambassadors rise to follow.

4) Develop people! If you need something done, get the right people with the right skills, and if you can’t find them then create them. You can grow someone’s potential

into the talent that you need.

5) Tell them they are doing it right! By praising success your staff will know what is expected and that good work is rewarded. Regular appraisal of performance is vital and most people grow from being told that they’re doing it right.

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How are employees attached to their jobs? Employees levels of emotional versus transactional engagement.

EmotionalEngagement

55%

23% 21%

TransactionalEngagement

51%

41%

8%

Low

Medium

High

64%72%

Engaged More toOffer

customer experienceAs part of an over-arching Employee Engagement Strategy, Purity has developed the Customer Experience Programme (CEP). This was initiated to deliver an emotionally charged customer experience, consistently “on brand”, in a fast paced industry.

Success has been achieved at Purity, by creating a team that places customers at the top of the priority list and has an understanding of how best to engage with the consumer.

This is the foundation for creating truly enhancing customer experience on behalf

of the brands we work with - everywhere and every time! If you really want to make your brand interactions more meaningful then the Purity Customer Experience Programme will help staff deliver a consumer experience in line with your key messages.

The aim of our Customer Experience Programme is to create a framework around which to continually develop service excellence, accelerate discovery and possibilities, whilst delivering a compelling customer experience.

will achieve a high level of buy in and produce better engagement across the campaign team.

In order to create brand advocates, fans and followers through consistently passionate, knowledgeable and engaging brand ambassadors, the CEP created by

Purity provides:

• A framework for creating brand advocates

• A platform from which to engage our

team with customers

• A template for designing and delivering

truly brand aligned customer service

• A vehicle to drive continual and

measurable improvement

• A way of sharing best practice

across campaigns

• Our way of delivering the WOW factor

and amazing customers

Using the CEP, and tailoring the programme for you and your business, we can create an impactful change programme that

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the six values around which our programme is built are: 1 engaging

2 energising

3 professional

4 enlightening

5 connecting

6 amazing

the challenges we face include: • A transient workforce with varying

degrees of passion & commitment

• Product-oriented training with minimal

focus and attention applied to

behavioural and customer

experience skills.

72% of Brand Ambassadors at Purity can be considered very engaged.

64% of people said they have more to offer in skills and talent than they are currently demonstrating or being asked to demonstrate at work, Populus survey (2012)

about purity productionsenhancing engagement We are Purity, specialists in brand experience. We create, manage and deliver face-to-face campaigns for brands and agencies that are personal and memorable. Purity is a values driven agency that are people-focused, personal and ambitious. We strive for quality in all that we do.

Purity has been recruiting, training and supplying the best promotional staff in the industry for over five years. We provide staff who are professional, enthusiastic, dedicated and talented. Staffing solutions are tailored for every client and project with event managers in the field acting as an extension of the client

service team.

focused & solutions driven The team is knowledgeable and devoted, ready to advise, deliver and exceed on campaign requirements. This knowledge ensures clear understanding with both clients and venues. We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver solutions to any brief. Purity consistently provides distinguished client service generating long-term relationships. We are as grounded as a team as we are in our communication and seek to deliver memorable brand experience campaigns at all times.

working with brands & agencies We have a proven track record of working successfully with both brands and agencies. Our consultative process allows us to advise clients and shape the solution based on their requirements and our industry experience. We often work as extension of our client teams and pride ourselves on our ability to develop

working relationships.

harnessing our key assets We take great pride in our key assets, the field staff who represent Purity in the field, recognising their engagement is vital in the successful delivery of projects and campaigns. In recent years we have invested heavily in developing both an Employer Brand and Employee Engagement Strategy as we see the benefits for all stakeholders including field staff, head office staff and of course,

our clients.

For more information about this Employee Engagement Study or how Purity can help you to deliver effective brand experience campaigns contact us today;

Rob Quinn – Managing Director rob@wearepurity.com

Mark Dunn – Client Services Director mark@wearepurity.com

George Horn Training & Development Manager george@wearepurity.com

This research is further supported by internal company data gathered and analysed by Rebecca Hobbs. This research was completed in fulfilment of a dissertation on Employee Engagement whilst completing a degree in BA (hons) Management and Leisure at The University of Manchester

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+44 (0)1296 682 555www.wearepurity.com