Employee Engagement

A Powerful Alternative to Cutting Costs

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Cost curtailment and downsizing aren’t the only approaches to remaining viable in this relentlessly sluggish economy, according to Gallup research. Companies can focus on optimizing the human element of their business by engaging their staff and customers, says the coauthor of Human Sigma.

HumanSigma Rule #2

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Emotion frames the employee-customer encounter. This is the second rule of HumanSigma management, and Alegent Health applied it to create a culture that emotionally engages its employees and customers. The result has been greater performance in the metrics that matter most.

How The Ritz-Carlton Manages the Mystique

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:00:00 GMT

All companies do things like pay close attention to standard business measures and train their employees. But this luxury brand watches things that most companies ignore, then uses what it learns to create ongoing, top-to-bottom learning.

HumanSigma Rule #1

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Organizations can’t measure and manage employee and customer experiences as separate entities. This is the first rule of HumanSigma. Here’s how two very different companies -- ASB Bank and Waste Management, Inc. -- applied the rule to make their businesses more productive and profitable.

When Engaged Employees Meet Engaged Customers

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The authors of Human Sigma: Managing the Employee-Customer Encounter tell why people are the fulcrum of profitability and why it’s tempting to replace workers with machines -- and why you really, really shouldn’t.

Who Are Your Promise Keepers?

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Your company must do more than make promises to consumers. You need brand ambassadors who deliver on them, says William J. McEwen, author of Married to the Brand.

Five New Rules for Management

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The world’s best companies unleash the power of their human systems, and the worst fail to do so. So write the authors of Human Sigma: Managing the Employee-Customer Encounter, due out next month from Gallup Press. Here, they reveal key lessons from leading-edge organizations.

The Four Drivers of Innovation

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Senior executives and management experts argue that innovation is today's most important driver of business success, not to mention global economics. That's why a group of company leaders gathered recently to discuss innovation, leadership, and the new economy of creativity, knowledge, and invention. They also explored how to translate these amorphous concepts into real business dollars. Their insights, distilled to the four drivers of innovation, are relevant to executives from businesses large and small, global and local.

Why You're Failing to Engage Customers

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Most companies face barriers that prevent them from fully engaging customers and employees. This article explores the root causes of these barriers. It shows how to permanently remove them to clear a path to greater engagement.

Are You Failing to Engage?

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Most companies face barriers that prevent them from fully engaging customers and employees. Some of those obstacles are rooted in well-intentioned company rules and policies. This article, the first in a two-part series, highlights the key characteristics of those barriers, as revealed by Gallup research.

B&Q Does Career Improvement Too

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The young manager of a home improvement store in Wales excels by giving his employees opportunities at work to learn and grow. In fact, he does this so well that he has become one of the most successful managers at it in Gallup's worldwide database.

How The Ritz-Carlton Is Reinventing Itself

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Brand recognition alone doesn't keep hotel guests coming back, says Simon Cooper, chief operating officer and president of one of the world's most admired companies. In fact, that recognition is just the first step in a customer's journey toward engagement. In this candid interview, Cooper discusses how The Ritz-Carlton's fame can undermine its brand promise, how to train staff to be spontaneous, and why engagement is the company's key commodity.

Making the Right Calls

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Through extensive research, Gallup has identified four barriers that can substantially undermine efforts to improve employee and customer engagement in call centers. Here are those barriers -- and advice for how executives can overcome them.

Moving Mountains at Cabela's

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

The speedy and exhausting launch of a huge new Cabela's store could have destroyed the morale of its employees. But an exceptionally inspiring manager connected those employees to the store's mission, and the team overcame staggering challenges. They even gracefully handled a surprise visit from President Bush.

“One Store, One Team” at Best Buy

Thu, 12 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Soon after assuming responsibility for a Best Buy store, one of Eric Taverna’s big challenges was to harness the energy of his employees. His approach -- and its positive, long-term effects -- offer lessons to managers across all industries on how to build a committed workforce.

Managing in an Economy of Emotion, Not Reason (Part 2)

Thu, 11 Mar 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Great organizations know they are competing in an economy grounded in human interactions and connections. But how do they build sustainable growth in an emotional economy? What do they know that other organizations don’t?

Managing in an Economy of Emotion, Not Reason (Part 1)

Thu, 12 Feb 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Companies around the world are rediscovering a basic tenet: no customers, no business. But before executives develop a strategy to retain customers, they must first ask these fundamental questions: Why do businesses lose customers in the first place? And what can they do to reverse this trend? These six steps can help your company compete in the “emotional economy.”

How Saks Welcomes New Customers

Thu, 08 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Three years ago, Saks Fifth Avenue faced a serious challenge in attracting and welcoming new customers. The difficulty would be to manage the “soft side” of the business -- what customers and employees felt. Here’s how Saks gets and keeps new customers -- that is, how it remains exclusive without excluding anyone.

Why Big Lots Customers Keep Coming Back

Thu, 08 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT

The giant retailer keeps prices low -- but its stock value high -- by engaging employees, who in turn engage customers

Management Wisdom From a Neuroscientist

Thu, 11 Dec 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Dr. Joseph LeDoux, a world-renowned expert in the study of human emotion, offers practical advice on how to calm down angry customers, how to read the physical characteristics of customer engagement, and why salespeople should strive to be as predictable as possible.

HumanSigma: Managing the Human Difference

Thu, 10 Jul 2003 00:00:00 GMT

For many businesses, Six Sigma programs have yielded big gains in productivity and quality. But once an organization has reaped the benefits of process improvement, what's next? Curt Coffman, co-author of Follow This Path, shares his thoughts on the next frontier for business: managing human performance and moving it toward excellence.

B&Q Boosts Employee Engagement -- and Profits

Thu, 08 May 2003 00:00:00 GMT

When corporate leaders say, "Our people are our most valuable asset," they're usually expressing an emotion, not citing evidence. But at B&Q, Europe's largest home improvement retailer, the importance of people is a matter of quantifiable fact. B&Q has amassed statistically valid proof that engaged employees are key to greater productivity and customer engagement, and, by extension, higher profits.

The Three Links

Thu, 13 Feb 2003 00:00:00 GMT

No employee can be scripted to generate the right emotions in others -- nor can the emotional mind be fooled, according to the authors of Follow This Path (Warner Books, 2002). Great managers know the keys to making sure that every interaction an employee has with a customer is positive and productive.

A New Model

Thu, 10 Oct 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Great organizations know that employees and customers aren't rational computers, but human beings with complex feelings, according to the authors of Follow This Path (Warner Books, October 2002). And they understand that engaging those employees and customers emotionally is the approach that will steer their businesses toward unparalleled success.

Winning Business in the Emotional Economy

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Employees and customers are more emotional than rational, and the world's greatest organizations harness the unwieldy power of human emotions to build measurable, enduring success. Simply put, the best companies are mastering the "emotional economy," writes James K. Clifton, chairman and CEO of The Gallup Organization, in an excerpt from Follow This Path, Gallup's latest management book.