Augeo's Encore Platform First to Earn ISO 10018 Technology Certification

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The International Center for Enterprise Engagement at TheICEE.org has awarded the first certification for Enterprise Engagement portal technology for ISO 10018 Quality People Management. The platform is called Encore and was created by Augeo, a Minneapolis-based “performance improvement company,” according to its website. After a demonstration and further analysis by an auditor for the International Center for Enterprise Engagement, Encore received the designation for ISO 10018 Enterprise Engagement portals, meaning that Encore is certified to support an Enterprise Engagement, Annex SL and ISO 10018 Quality People Management system that addresses all key stakeholders and levers of engagement on a single platform. 

 

There is one certification for Enterprise Engagement portal technologies that specifically address and connect all the key stakeholders and levers of engagement in Annex SL and ISO 10018 standards, and another for technologies that connect one or more of such levers in a manner that can easily be integrated with other technologies.

 

“This new certification is part of ICEE’s dedication to creating a new marketplace for Enterprise Engagement services and technologies,” says Dr. Ron McKinley, co-founder of the International Center for Enterprise Engagement. “Our aim is to do what ISO 9001 has done for quality management: clarify the confusion in the marketplace in terms of nomenclature and the implementation framework so that organizations have a clear path to success through people. This certification is designed to help organizations determine what technology, or combination of technologies, is best able to connect the dots between all stakeholders and the strategies and tactics used to engage them -- marketing, communications, learning, innovation, community, rewards and recognition, analytics and feedback.” 

 

Explains McKinley: “This certification does not grade Encore or any technology against other technologies, but rather against a transparent checklist of features required to support an enterprise approach to engagement and ISO Annex SL and ISO 10018 Quality People Management standards. Before conducting an audit, we provide the technology applicant with a clear checklist of the features required on a single integrated platform to gain an ISO 10018 Enterprise Engagement portal certification, so no organization should go into the audit process unless the principals know it can pass. The technology can include APIs (electronic connections) to other platforms to address all key levers of engagement, but the auditor must see demonstrated a seamless user and administrative experience and the ability for the technology to connect with other engagement technologies.”  

 

In addition to a detailed demonstration of the technology, which is conducted under a Non- Disclosure Agreement, the auditor is given access to the administrative system with a company representative to verify that all features demonstrated can be administered in the technology’s back end to ensure that there is no “vapor ware” or features that cannot truly be administered without additional development.  

 

The primary goal of an engagement portal is to do for Enterprise Engagement what customer relationship management (CRM) software does for marketing: manage the entire process on a single platform. Many CRM platforms contain APIs or connections to multiple technologies or applications, since it’s not possible even for platforms like Salesforce.com to offer every tool for managing customers and the sales process. In fact, Salesforce.com has integrated with many third-party applications that, when combined, enable companies to provide numerous aspects of an engagement portal on a single platform, including points management for rewards and recognition. 

 

Instead of focusing on engagement from the perspective of customers, distribution partners, employees, or recognition, assessment, learning, gamification, communication, etc., the engagement portal integrates these key ingredients of engagement on a single platform so that organizations can more easily address all their key audiences and manage key levers of engagement on a single integrated platform. Engagement portals make it possible to run customer, sales, dealer, employee and community engagement efforts on a single platform, incorporating coaching, assessment/surveys, communications, social media, learning, innovation, rewards & recognition and analytics. With the concept of the Enterprise Engagement portal still in its early stages, many engagement portals are outgrowths of technology built to support incentive, loyalty, recognition and other programs. 

 

Engagement portals are distinct from social recognition platforms in that they focus specifically on building a community and recognizing people. While these social and recognition tactics are critical to engagement, there are many other key levers of engagement and audiences that should be addressed to achieve optimal success across the organization.

 

The goal is to ensure that the intended stakeholders can easily access the services, and administrators can easily track activities and the return-on-investment of their efforts, says McKinley. 

 

Today, many engagement portals consist of company intranets that have evolved over the years to incorporate multiple applications to support the various needs of the organization. For many such organizations, the intranet has grown so cumbersome that individual business units can benefit from creating their own mini-engagement portals to address their specific needs, rather than address the frequent challenges of gaining access to IT time to customize company intranets. 

 

An engagement portal technology platform should include the following capabilities:

 

• A central platform offering analytics on all participants and activities.

• The ability to manage engagement with customers, distribution partners, employees, communities, etc.  

• The ability to issue points for any type of performance, incentive, or recognition program redeemable for awards distinct from compensation.

• A means of integrating: 

o overall branding messages

o surveys and other assessment tools

o coaching and leadership training

o communications and community (including company information, profiles on people and products, how-to information, benefits, internal social media, etc.)

o learning, including tests and games

o innovation and collaboration efforts

o rewards for each audience, when applicable

o manager-to-employee and/or peer-to-peer recognition

o return-on-investment and analytics, including a methodology for measuring ROI by correlating engagement portal activities by group and individual with desired outcomes, as well as providing extensive participant data for further analysis. 

 

MotivAction’s Encore engagement portal technology was verified to offer the following features on an integrated platform and was therefore granted an ISO 10018 Enterprise Engagement technology certification. 

Audience	Description	Yes/No
Customers	The ability to manage customer loyalty and communication programs to build meaningful relationships.
Employees	A platform that addresses all the engagement levers below so that employees have the tools and inspiration they need to succeed.
Distribution Partners	A means of building better relationships with distribution partners by addressing all the key levers of engagement required to gain their trust and commitment.
Vendors	The ability for suppliers to quickly gain access to information that better helps them understand your organization’s needs and recognizes those who consistently perform.
Communities	A portal for any community involved with your organization to gain the latest information, tools, and inspiration to engage.

Engagement Lever	Description	Yes/No
Enterprise Branding	A centralized, 360-degree brand proposition that aligns the interests of your entire organization. An engagement portal makes it easier to convey a common message across an organization’s constituency.
Assessment and Feedback	A means of conducting surveys and promoting feedback to maintain an ongoing ‘pulse’ of the organization, its business units, managers, employees, customers, distribution partners, etc.
Leadership Coaching	A system to make sure that the information coming from the assessment process is fed back to the entire organization, starting with managers.
Communications	A full suite of methods for uniting an organization in the way of a hometown newspaper to regularly inform everyone inside and outside of the organization about the latest news, how-to, or other helpful information.
Learning	How-to, useful information, quizzes and tests.
Social Media/Collaboration	An ongoing means for communities to share information, make suggestions and suggest solutions, in a format from which the entire community can benefit.
Innovation	A means for generating suggestions for performance improvement, safety, new products, wellness, etc., and to manage the selection and implementation process.
Incentive Programs	Campaigns designed to focus specific or multiple audiences on attaining specific goals during defined periods in a sustainable manner.
Recognition	Easy ways for managers to recognize employees, distribution partners, or vendors, and for peers to recognize peers for performance and actions that support the brand proposition or other business goals, i.e., safety, wellness, innovation, etc.
Rewards	Concrete, meaningful and memorable ways of rewarding people for accomplishments that are clearly distinguishable from compensation.
Analytics and ROI	A method for collecting and aggregating as much data as possible from interaction with the portal to correlate engagement and performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, refine strategies and measure the financial ROI of engagement expenditures.

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For more information, contact Nick Gazivoda at 915-591-7600, ext. 238, or Nick@TheEEA.org.