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What is Engagement? 1 www.theEPGsolution.com
WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT?
Engagement is a word that we often hear used in a number of different ways in a business context—it is
used to describe customer behavior, define employee commitment, explain the importance of various
technologies, clarify the impact of social media, and justify enterprise modifications.
Given the many uses of the word, we might begin our discussion of engagement with some simple
definitions of engagement, employee engagement, and customer engagement, and then discuss the
importance of the people component of engagement.
WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, AND CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT?
Engagement. The term engagement is a word that traditionally
meant a formal promise or commitment, and which later became
associated with a commitment to marriage.
Today, the meaning of the word has expanded to include the
commitment that an employer makes to an employee and/or to
their customer; the commitment that an employee makes to his
or her employer; or the commitment that a customer makes to a
company, a brand, or a product.
Employee Engagement. Employee engagement is the emotional commitment that the employee has to
the organization and its goals. An employee who is engaged is one who is enthusiastic about their work
and who takes positive action to further the reputation and results of the organization.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
~ Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple
Customer Engagement. Customer engagement is the emotional commitment that the customer has to the
organization, its brand, and its products. Engaged customers go beyond satisfaction with the
organization—they demonstrate higher levels of loyalty and advocacy, and actively “promote” the
organization.
“Employees and customers engage with employers and brands
when they’re treated as humans, worthy of respect.”
~ Megan M. Biro, Forbes
Customer Experience and Engagement. In recent years, the strategy of many call centers is to create a
culture that focuses on the “Customer Experience.” They examine their customer experience model (CEM),
and look for ways to enhance the customer experience to improve customer satisfaction.
This CEM model often emphasizes the use of sophisticated technology, and a tightly scripted and
choreographed tactical exchange with a customer. With all of its complex technology and scripting, this
CEM is fine-tuned to deliver good customer service and to make the organization better and faster for the
customer. However, it may run the risk of losing the personal emotional connection with the customer and
the personal engagement of the employee.
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What is Engagement? 2 www.theEPGsolution.com
WHAT IS THE PEOPLE COMPONENT OF ENGAGEMENT?
Employee research indicates that highly engaged employees have an emotional and personal commitment
to their company and their colleagues. Extensive customer research indicates that long-term customer
engagement and loyalty can be enhanced when call center agents are allowed and encouraged to create a
personal, as well as a professional connection with their company and with their customer. Zappos, the
online shoe and clothing store famous for its high levels of employee engagement and customer loyalty,
calls this personal, as well as professional connection a “PEC,” a Personal Emotional Connection.
“When people are financially invested, they want a return.
When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.”
~ Simon Sinek, Leadership Expert
The Bicycle Analogy. A simple bicycle analogy is helpful to illustrate how the right combination of the
professional and the personal contributes to employee and customer engagement. The bicycle analogy
illustrates how the people component, combined with the effective use of back wheel resources in support
of the people component, can create higher levels of engagement.
Back Wheel. The back wheel of a bicycle provides the power, the traction, and balance. Back wheel
resources include the products, product knowledge, company policies and operations, phone systems,
social media, customer data, and interactive database and account information that help to accomplish the
task. The better the back wheel resources, the more efficient and effective the operation.
Front Wheel. The front wheel of a bicycle provides the steering, direction, and balance. Front wheel
resources include the emotional intelligence skills, social intelligence skills, conversation intelligence skills,
and communication strategies used by individuals.
Engagement. A successful bicycle experience, like a successful customer experience, needs an effective
front wheel, an effective back wheel, and successful coordination between the two. We call this
combination of technology solutions and people solutions the “Engagement Solution.”
Implementing sophisticated Technology Solutions without integrating the People Solutions often leads to
compliance but not commitment, and to under utilization of sophisticated and expensive technology. When
technology and people solutions are integrated into your contact center engagement initiatives, the
technology is not only installed, it is embraced by your call center team.
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What is Engagement? 3 www.theEPGsolution.com
HOW DOES THE EPG SOLUTION ADDRESS “THE PEOPLE” COMPONENT?
The EPG Solution is designed to assist the call center to increase the engagement of their employees and
their customers.
Engagement Culture. The Engagement Culture is a term that we use to describe an organizational culture
that is consciously designed to enhance engagement on the part of the people who work within the
organization and the customers who interact with the organization. It is a culture in which managers and
staff effectively use their emotional and social intelligence skills and the resources of their company to
create a positive atmosphere in which individuals can personally thrive while at the same time providing
high levels of service to their customers and to each other.
“To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.”
~ Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup
Effective use of Emotional and Social Intelligence Skills. Individuals working in an engagement culture
use their emotional intelligence to more effectively monitor their own emotional states and their stress
levels and to effectively manage their feelings and reactions.
Individuals working in an engagement culture also use their emotional and social intelligence to more
effectively monitor and manage the emotional states of others. They consciously anticipate, read, and
respond effectively to the emotional need cues of colleagues, supervisors, and customers.
Individuals working in an engagement culture also use their emotional intelligence, their social intelligence,
and their conversation intelligence to meet the emotional needs, the task needs, and the product needs of
their internal and external customers.
EFFECTIVE USE OF SKILLS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF COLLEAGUES & CUSTOMERS
BACK WHEEL SKILLS FRONT WHEEL SKILLS
Product Knowledge
Technology Resources
Enterprise Process & Procedures
Emotional Intelligence Skills
Social Intelligence Skills
Conversation Intelligence Skills
To Meet the Needs of
Colleagues & Customers
Emotional Needs
Task Needs
Product Needs
Doing Things Right. Individuals working in an engagement culture pride themselves on working in an
organization that works hard to do things right—to use product knowledge, technology resources,
processes, and procedures to provide appropriate solutions for both colleagues and customers and
decrease the effort that it takes to get things done within the enterprise.
Doing the Right Thing. Individuals working in an engagement culture also pride themselves on working in
an organization that encourages them to do the right thing—to make PEC’s (personal emotional
connections) as well as professional connections with both colleagues and customers, to solve the
emotional problems as well as the task problems, and to provide win-win emotional and task solutions.
