- 1. Strengthening Bonds Driving Stakeholder Commitment 2007
Harris Interactive Employee Engagement and Ambassadorship:How to
Achieve Wow Customer Value Delivery Building Employee Commitment to
the Companys Product/Service Value Promise, the Organization,and
the Customers Michael Lowenstein, PhD CMC Senior Vice President and
Senior Consultant Harris Interactive Stakeholder Relationship
Consulting David Smallen Senior Vice President and Senior
Methodologist Harris Interactive Advanced Methodology
2. Our Perspective and RoleatHarris Interactive Stakeholder
Relationship Consulting
- Understanding, and helping clients leverage, what
drivesstakeholder commitment .Commitment is essential behavior
because it is closely linked to key customer/financial metrics
- Stakeholders are principally customers (prospective, current,
at risk, and former), employees, and channel partners
- Based on vast research experience in multiple b2b and b2c
business sectors, we have identified behavioral similarities, as
well as differences, between these stakeholder groups
- Harris Interactive Stakeholder Relationship Consulting has
developed a suite of approaches to support clients goals in
building and sustaining stakeholder commitment, addressing each
stakeholder groups attitudes and behavior, on either an independent
or integrated basis.
3. HarrisInteractiveStakeholderRelationship Consulting
Concept& Model ofCustomer and Employee Commitment
StrengtheningBonds&BuildingRelationships HARRIS INTERACTIVE
Loyalty 4.
- Sense of personal relationship with brand or company
- Reinforced by service experiences
- Supported by customer touch points
- Relationship based on meeting functional expectations
- Reinforced by ongoing performance quality
RATIONAL CONNECTIONEMOTIONAL CONNECTION Defining Rational and
Emotional Bonds For Customers 5.
- EMOTIONAL Based on Trust and Commitment
- Sense of personal relationship with company
- Participation and contribution, belief in direction
- Alignment with culture and values
- Opportunities for advancement and growth
- Opportunities for advancement and growth
RATIONAL CONNECTIONEMOTIONAL CONNECTION Defining Rational and
Emotional Bonds For Employees 6. Linkage of Stakeholder Groups
- Customerswho actively (vocal, level of favorability, reduced
consideration set, etc.) express their personal commitment to a
supplier can be either strongly positive (advocates) or negative
(saboteurs).
- Employees , similarly, can significantly impact customer
loyalty behavior toward their employer through a range of attitudes
and behaviors on behalf of the brand, company and customer.These
attitudes and behaviors, like customers,range from highly positive
to highly negative.
7. Connection of Employee Attitudes and Beliefs to Customer
Behavior HARRIS INTERACTIVE Loyalty 8. The Role of People in
Leveraging Behavior Why They Can Be So Critically Important 70% 41%
68% ofcustomers LEAVEbecause of poor employee attitude ofcustomers
are LOYALbecause of a good employee attitude of customerbrand
perception is determined byexperiences with PEOPLE UK retailer: 1%
increase in employee commitment = 9% increase in monthly sales
Enterprise IG Source: Parkington and Buxton, Study of the US
Banking Sector, Journal of Applied Psychologyy Source: MCA Brand
Ambassador Benchmark Source: Ken Irons, Market Leader 9. Further
Proof Points of Employee Attitude/Action Linkage to Customer
Behavior
- Northwestern University :Study in hotel chain showed that, for
The extent to which employees try to satisfy customers, a 10%
increase in this factor resulted in a 22% increase in customer
spending per hotel visit.
- Sears :Study in 800 stores showed that a 5 percent documented
improvement in employee attitudes toward their jobs and commitment
to the company directly resulted in a 1.3% increase in customer
perceptions toward the retailer and, in turn, a .5% increase
year-over-year revenue.
- Royal Bank of Canada :Studies have shown that level of employee
commitment accounts for 60% to 80% of bank customer satisfaction;
and 40% of the difference in how customers view RBCs services can
be linked directly to their relationship with bank staff.
10. Mirroring Research: Correlating Employees Perceptions of
Value Delivery to Those of Customers HARRIS INTERACTIVE Loyalty 11.
Employee Mirror Research: Customer-Supplier Perceptual Gap
Profiling
- Valuable staff debriefing device
- Counterpoint for customer research findings; adds significant,
unique insight
- Alignment determination is foundation for training and process
improvement
- Can be utilized for employee incentive and motivation
programs
- Effective for staff communication continuity
12. Measuring Customer and Staff Alignment Significant
misalignment * Based on % 6/7 performance ratings on a 7-point
scale 13. Customer Need Importance Perceptual Gaps Relative
Importance Of Issue Actual vs. Perceived Customer Needs 14. Nine
Employee AmbassadorshipBest Practices
- Build a climate of trust and authenticity
- Train, train, train (and cross-train in customer sensitivity
and value proposition)
- Make certain everyone has a career path
- Provide frequent evaluations/contribution reviews
- Seek to inform, seek to debrief, and be transparent
- Recognize and reward customer-focused initiative
- Dont just ask employees what they want, provide it
- Hire the right employees in the first place
- Source:Customer WinBack , Jill Griffin and Michael
Lowenstein
15. Essence of Employee Ambassadorship
- You have to treat your employees like customers.When you treat
them right, they will treat your outside customers right.That has
been a powerful competitive weapon for us. Herb Kelleher,
Co-Founder and former Chairman and CEO, Southwest Airlines
- Were talking about a change that puts the people in
organizations above everything else.When a company puts its people
first, the results are spectacular.Their people are inspired to
provide a level of service that truly comes from the heart.Were not
saying choose your people over your customers.Were saying focus on
your peoplebecauseof your customers.That way, everybody wins. Hal
Rosenbluth, former CEO, Rosenbluth International (now part of AmEx
Travel-Related Services); co-author ofThe Customer Comes
Second
- We believe that customer service shouldnt be just a department,
it should be the entire company.If you get the culture right, most
of the other stuff like great customer service, or building a great
long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers will happen
naturally on its own .Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos
16. Defining the Employee Ambassador Research Framework HARRIS
INTERACTIVE Loyalty 17. Employee Research Approaches Employee
Satisfaction, Values, and Loyalty Employee Engagement and Alignment
Employee Commitment and Ambassadorship (Advocacy) Employee
Attitudes and Behaviors Research 18. Definitions of Employee
Research Concepts and Methods
- Employee Satisfaction and Loyalty Identifies employee attitudes
and behaviors leading to job satisfaction and employer loyalty
- Employee Engagement and Alignment Identifies employee attitudes
and behaviors leading to agreement with, and belief in, overall
company mission and objectives, as well as fit, or alignment, and
productivity within organizational culture
- Employee Ambassadorship Identifies the most active level of
employee commitment to the companys product and service value
promise, to the company itself, and to optimizing the customer
experience.It is linked to, but distinctive from, the productivity
and empowerment elements of employee satisfaction, engagement, and
alignment research because its emphasis is building customer bonds
through employee interaction.
19. Customer Commitment and Advocacy Optimizing Customer
Experience and Relationships Linking Customer and Employee
Commitment to Business Results Strong Correlation Weak and
Intuitive Correlation Customer Loyalty TQ andSatisfaction Employee
Commitment and Ambassadorship Employee Engagement and Alignment
Employee Satisfaction & Loyalty C U S T O M E R R E S E A R C H
E M P L O Y E E R E S E A R C H Now Now 1990s 1990s 1980s and
earlier 1980s and earlier 20. Many Ways to Define Employee
Engagement
- Analysis conducted byThe Conference Boardin 2006 showed that,
among twelve leading engagement research companies, there were 26
key drivers, of which eight were common to all:
- -Trust and integrity How well do managers communicate and 'walk
the talk?
- -Nature of the job Is it mentally stimulating day-to-day?
- -Line of sight between employee performance and company
performance Do
- employees understand how their work contributes to the
company's performance?
- -Career growth opportunities Are there opportunities for growth
within the company?
- -Pride about the company How much self-esteem do the employees
feel by being
- associated with their company?
- -Coworkers/team members How much influence do they exert on the
employees
- -Employee development Is the company making an effort to
develop the employee's
- -Relationship with one's manager Does the employee value
relationship(s) with
- manager(s), and is there trust and credibility between the
levels?
- Typically, little or no mention/inclusion of customer or
customer focus in measures or analysis employee engagement.
21. Our Framework: The Two Components of Engagement Commitment
to Company-Commitment to, and being positive about, the company
(through personal satisfaction and an expression of pride), andto
being a contributing, and fully aligned, member of the culture .
Commitment to Value Proposition- 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 22. Employees That Score High on Commitment to the
Company and The Value Proposition Are Considered Engaged Company
Value Proposition Engaged 23. Though Engagement is Useful,Employee
Ambassadorship is More Actionable 24. The Three Components of
Ambassadorship Commitment to Company-Commitment to, and being
positive about, the company (through personal satisfaction and an
expression of pride), andto being a contributing, and fully
aligned, member of the culture . Commitment to Value Proposition-
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 Commitment to
Customers- Commitment 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. 25. Employees That Score
High on Commitment to the Company, The Value Proposition, and the
Customer Are Considered Ambassadors Company Customer Value
Proposition Ambassador 26. First Generation Employee Ambassadorship
Research Findings September, 2006 HARRIS INTERACTIVE Loyalty 27.
Employee Commitment Categories Employee Ambassadors (Advocates) the
most active level, representing employees who are strongly
committed to the companys brand promise, the organization itself,
and its customers.Also, and importantly, they behave and
communicate in a consistently positive manner toward the company,
both inside and outside. Positive Loyalists employees who exhibit
positive feelings about their job and emotional kinship with the
company.They are favorable about the company, overall, have every
intention of remaining with the company, and actively and
positively perform on its behalf.Though their communication about
the company to others is infrequent to nil, when they do
communicate, the messages are largely positive. Indifferents
employees who are generally satisfied with their jobs but rather
ambivalent to mildly positive about the company overall, their
relationship with it, and its products. They may communicate some
generally positive messages about the company to others, but rarely
and inconsistently. Disinterested Seatfillers employees who,
because of their lack of interest, favorability toward or kinship
with the company and its products, either do not communicate
positive messages about the company internally or externally, or do
not communicate at all.For these minimally involved members of
staff, employment with the company is just a job, and very little
more. Employee Saboteurs employees who, though still drawing a
paycheck from the company, are active, and frequently vocal,
detractors about the organization itself, its culture and policies,
and its products and services.These individuals are negative
advocates, communicating their low opinions and unfavorable
perspectives both to peers inside the company and to customers, and
others, outside the company 28. Overall Ambassadorship Method
Findings * weighted N Employee Ambassadors Positive Loyalists
Indifferents Dis-interested Seatfillers Employee Saboteurs Harris
Poll Baseline
- Overall Full-Time Employees, working for a company
612* 15% 27% 27% 20% 11%
- Overall Full-Time Service Employees, working for a company
441* 15% 31% 27% 16% 9% Las Vegas Hotel/Casino
2,622 23% 28% 25% 15% 9% 29. Harris Poll Service Employee
Baseline ResultsThoughts/Feelings About Company Percent I trust the
company I like the company (16%)* (18%)** (20%)* (8%)** * = Top Box
% on 5-point description scale ** = Bottom Box % on 5-point
description scale Employee Ambassadors Employee Saboteurs 30.
Harris Poll Service Employee Baseline ResultsCompany
Attributes/Diagnostics Percent The organization is well-managed The
organization is focused on attaining the highest quality possible *
= Top Box % on 5-point description scale ** = Bottom Box % on
5-point description scale (12%)* (16%)** (25%)* (6%)** The
organization is very loyal to its employees (13%)* (16%)** Employee
Ambassadors Employee Saboteurs 31. Harris Poll Service Employee
Baseline ResultsComparative Assessments (Fram & McCarthy
Diagnostics) Percent # of product/ service features we provide
Overall product/ service quality * = Percent rating their company
Much Better compared to competition (5-point scale) (29%)* (33%)
(31%) (29%) (34%) (25%) (30%) Overall value of product/ service
Trust among customers Long-term relationships with customers
Perceived prestige of the organization Benefits of products/
services to customers Employee Ambassadors Employee Saboteurs 32.
Comparisons of Key Results Fram & McCarthy Employee Brand
Champions andEmployee Ambassadorship * = Element of employee
ambassador technique Low to High Brand Loyalty (Difference in %
Points) Saboteur to Ambassador (Difference in % Points) Attitudes
Toward Employer
- Organization is well-managed
+27 +62
+32 +65
- Proud to work for company *
+20 +64 (Comparative) Attitudes Toward Employers
Products/Services
- Number of product/service features
+20 +30
- Overall product/service quality
+32 +33
- Overall value of products/services
+27 +37
- Perceived prestige of organization
+24 +36 33. Mirroring Diagnostic Elements (Top 2 Box Scores 7
Point Scale)
- Employee Ambassadors were dramatically more likely to rate Las
Vegas Hotel/Casino highly when compared to Saboteurs
Guests are committed to continuing their relationshipwith the
hotel Guests are loyal hotel customers Percent Top 2 Box Guests
would continue to stay at the hotel because of the high level of
personal service they receive Guests would continue to stay at the
hotel because of the fun and fulfilling experience it provides
Guests would continue to stay at the hotel because of the value of
what they receive for the price Guests would continue to stay at
the hotel because of the exceptional quality of the experience
Guests All Employees Employee Ambassadors Employee Saboteurs 34.
Swing Voter Analysis HARRIS INTERACTIVE Loyalty 35. Swing Voter
Analysis of Employee Ambassadorship
- Swing voter analysis for employees, as it does in politics,
deals with how to move the undecided and leaning voters into the
desirable camp and how to avoid moving them into the undesirable
camp.
- In this case the desirable camp is the Employee Ambassador
group and the undesirable camp is the Employee Saboteur group.
-
- In particular, this analysis shows how to move the
Indifferents, the middle group, into the Ambassador camp.
-
- It also shows which attributes put at risk the same middle
group, the Indifferents,that are closest to becoming Saboteurs
36. Ambassador/Saboteur Swing Voter Analysis Saboteurs
Indifferents EmployeeAmbassadors What turns indifferent employees
into ambassadors? What turns indifferent employees into saboteurs?
Swing Voters 37. Swing Voter Analysis Importance Scores for
Selected Attributes (Swing Up To Ambassadors, Swing Down To
Saboteurs) Delighters Dissatisfiers Dual effects SwingUp Swing Down
I trust the hotel 28% 4% My work gives me a sense of personal
accomplishment 8% 4% The hotel is focused on attaining the highest
quality possible 7% - Overall value of service provided 6% 23% I
very much enjoy doing my job 6% 10% I feel a lot of stress at work
6% 6% The hotel is very loyal to its employees 6% 2% My immediate
supervisor 4% - The hotel will do whatever it takes to makes guests
happy 4% - I have a clear understanding of the hotels mission,
goals, and objectives 2% 13% The extent of diversity of co-workers
- 8% I am very committed to my work 2% 5% 38. Second Generation
Employee Ambassadorship Results, Spring, 2008 HARRIS INTERACTIVE
Loyalty 39. Ambassadorship Groups By Selected industries (Sorted by
% Ambassadors) Total Base = 4,312Industry N >/= 70) Industry
Unconnected Indifferent Ambassadors Total N Total % Religious
/Non-Profit Organizations 12.8 55.6 31.6 117 100 Construction
(heavy/special trades) 24.3 47.3 28.4 74 100 Legal Services 26.4
50.6 23.0 87 100 Insurance 23.2 58.5 18.3 82 100 Banking and
Finance 28.2 55.0 16.8 131 100 Healthcare and Social Assistance
27.3 56.2 16.5 557 100 Engineering Services 31.5 52.2 16.3 92 100
Other Services 32.5 51.2 16.3 166 100 Education 25.2 58.5 16.2 702
100 Technology Services 25.5 59.1 15.4 149 100 Retail Trade 36.9
51.2 11.8 287 100 Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 22.9 65.7
11.4 70 100 Public Administration /Government 30.5 58.7 10.8 223
100 Accommodation and Food Services 36.0 53.5 10.5 114 100
Manufacturing 37.5 52.9 9.6 293 100 Telecommunications 31.1 59.5
9.5 74 100 Transportation and Warehousing 40.0 51.0 9.0 100 100
Administrative Support Services 36.5 58.4 5.1 137 100 40.
Validation 41. Employee Loyalty* By Ambassadorship Group *PLS
factor of the following three metrics: Saboteur Indifferent
Ambassador Total Low 61.0 3.2 0.0 19.8 Medium 38.5 84.3 27.3 61.9
High 0.5 12.5 72.7 18.3 Total 100 100 100 100 42. How Often Say
Good Place/Bad Place To Work by Ambassadorship Groups Good Place To
Work BadPlace To Work Saboteur Indifferent Ambassador Total
Rarely/Never 55.5 7.0 0.9 20.4 Sometimes-Very Often 42.4 63.6 13.4
49.6 Almost Always/Always 2.1 29.4 85.7 30.1 Total 100 100 100 100
Saboteur Indifferent Ambassador Total Rarely/Never 50.5 86.5 98.1
77.7 Sometimes-Very Often 42.3 13.0 0.7 19.8 Almost Always/Always
7.1 0.5 1.2 2.6 Total 100 100 100 100 43. How Often Say Good/Bad
Products/Services by Ambassadorship Groups Good Products/ Services
Bad Products/ Services Saboteur Indifferent Ambassador Total
Rarely/Never 46.0 7.9 1.6 18.1 Sometimes-Very Often 50.3 65.7 20.1
54.1 Almost Always/Always 3.8 26.5 78.2 27.8 Total 100 100 100 100
ambass1 Total Saboteur Indifferent Ambassador Total Rarely/Never
64.9 88.9 97.3 83.1 Sometimes-Very Often 31.6 10.5 1.0 15.3 Almost
Always/Always 3.5 0.5 1.6 1.6 Total 100 100 100 100 44. Examples of
Corporate Employee Ambassadorship Programs
- -One of the companys 10 core values is Deliver WOW Through
Service,and the culture is focused on building the best customer
experiences.
- -Companys FAST (Focus, Accountability, Simplicity and Trust)
program has been designed to drive growth by requiring all
employees to treat everyone internal and external as a
customer
- Hewlett-Packard (Harris Interactive client)
- -Several times a year, HP Demo Days program has current/retired
employees volunteer and train to spend days at local electronic
retailers as company brand ambassadors
- NCR (Harris Interactive client)
- -Ambassadorship program created to drive customer loyalty and
advocacy, and enhanced company culture, for customer-facing and non
customer-facing employees.Employees are recruited and trained in
customer interaction soft skills, and NCR overall company and brand
information.Program participants are also required to report back
on their experiences as ambassadors.
45. Best In Class Customer Service Directly Linked to Business
Results Leadership engagement Customer and Employee Linkage Model
Creating Employee Ambassadors Employee Ambassadors Engaged
Employees Employees An Ambassador is an employee who promotes NCR
bothinternally and externally Creating Customer Advocates Customer
Advocates Satisfied Customers Customers An Advocate is an customer
who promotes NCR within or beyond their own company 46. Services
Survey: Category Impact on CommitmentTotal Respondents 4 47.
Ambassador Program Summary
- Currently open to all Services employees
-
- Special invitations to those identified via survey
- 2-3 hour initial training requirement to become an
ambassador
-
- Training Covers: Ambassadorship, in general and at NCR; Company
information, including branding; Customer Interaction soft skills
Customer Service, Professionalism, Communication skills
-
- Welcome letter, gift, and access to SharePoint site provided
upon completion of training
- Expectations of Ambassadors
-
- Participation in ambassador opportunities PR, Marketing,
Community Relations, Internal Communications (based on
availability)
-
- Incorporate ambassadorship into everyday activities
-
- Broad and sometimes advanced access to information
-
- Special ambassador events and professional development
opportunities
-
- Reward program to acknowledge extraordinary contributions
- 350+ Employees Signed Up to Date
48. Nine Employee AmbassadorshipBest Practices
- Build a climate of trust and authenticity
- Train, train, train (and cross-train in customer sensitivity
and value proposition)
- Make certain everyone has a career path
- Provide frequent evaluations/contribution reviews
- Seek to inform, seek to debrief, and be transparent
- Recognize and reward customer-focused initiative
- Dont just ask employees what they want, provide it
- Hire the right employees in the first place
- Source:Customer WinBack , Jill Griffin and Michael
Lowenstein
49. Concluding Thought
- Every Honeywell employee is a brand ambassador.With each
- customer contact, and whenever we represent Honeywell, we
- have the opportunity to either strengthen the brand or cause
it
- to lose some of its luster and prestige.Generations of
Honeywell
- employees have built our powerful brands with their hard
work,
- spirit of innovation, passion for quality, and commitment
to
- customers.I am counting on every Honeywell employee to
- David Cole, Chairman and CEO
- Honeywell International, Inc.
- to companys 120,000+ employees
50. Based on Ambassadorship Research, What Actions Should
Companies Be Taking?
- Employees, at all levels and in all functions, need to have a
thorough understanding of what is important to customers so that
their actions match customer expectations and performance
requirements.
- Employees behavior needs to be aligned around positive customer
experiences and customer loyalty.
- Management must build processes, technology, training, and
organizational/cultural practices that support employees being able
to optimize customer experience.
- Companies should evaluate the effectiveness of metrics
associated with delivering customer value financial and
non-financial performance, addressing customer life cycle, amount
of cross-functional collaboration to support customers.