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Despite an understanding that talent is a source of competitive advantage, establishing effective performance management programs remains a challenge for most organizations. According to Mercer’s 2013 Global Performance Management Survey, just 3% of organizations worldwide report their overall performance management system provides exceptional value. In addition to some commonalities in performance management programs, such as setting employee goals, conducting formal year-end review discussions, and using performance ratings, Mercer’s statistical analysis identified key drivers of successful performance management. The key drivers include manager skills, executive commitment, calibration, and technology. Topping the list is the skills of managers, specifically how well they set employee goals, provide feedback, evaluate performance, and link performance to critical talent management decisions such as compensation, development, and careers. According to Mercer’s survey, roughly one in three organizations around the world say improving managers’ ability to have candid dialogue with employees has the greatest impact on overall company performance. Mercer’s analysis revealed that the two components of manager skills that matter the most are linking performance to career development and setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, ambitious but achievable, relevant, and time-bound). To find out more about the survey results, visit www.imercer.com/performance.... [ read more ]

Michelle Thomas tel: 312 540 3000 ext 6491 fax: 312 894 6304 michellet@marcusevansch.com Website: http://www.marcusevans-conferences-northamerican.com/CHC551_EEA ... [ read more ]

Dittman Incentive Marketing announced that it has attained the status of Certified Engagement Solutions Provider, a new certification recently created by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA), a coalition of companies and associations dedicated to the concept that engagement is an enterprise-wide endeavor that “begins with people and ends with profitability.” To attain Certified Engagement Solutions Provider status, members of the Dittman team were required to successfully complete rigorous testing and demonstrate their understanding of the engagement framework, economics, implementation process and tactics, and validate their actual experience with design and implementation. Susan Adams, Special Initiatives Director and President of IMA Recognition Council for 2013, Brian Carr, Director of Individual Awards, and Steve Cummins, Director of Digital Marketing, are among the Dittman team members who have achieved the individual Certified Engagement Practitioner designation. For more information, visit www.dittmanincentives.com.... [ read more ]

The Site International Foundation has released a new White Paper, “Incentive Travel: The Smart Business Proposition,” as part of its Incentives Move Business series. The paper focuses on how well-designed incentive travel and motivational events can help companies achieve corporate business objectives and provide a measurable return on investment. “Motivational programs that fail are often the victim of poor program design in areas like rule structure, award selection, promotion and measurement,” notes Jane Schuldt, President of the Site International Foundation. “Understanding the objectives of a program, how they align with overall compensation and recognition, and defining what motivates participants are keys to a program’s success.” To download the “Incentives Move Business” White Papers, please visit siteglobal.com.... [ read more ]

In today’s knowledge economy, competitive advantage is no longer secured purely through the access to capital or information – but by having employees come up with creative and novel ways of solving clients’ problems. To achieve this, organizations are increasingly dependent on the passion, creativity, energy and engagement of the workforce, and in particular on expert employees in fields like finance, engineering, design and technology. Fraser Marlow, Head of Research at BlessingWhite, notes in the firm’s latest installment in a series of ongoing research reports that technical people in organizations have specific workplace needs and face particular pitfalls when taking on leadership roles. The report, Leading Technical People – Research Report 2013, tells you how to take inspiration from the likes of Wikipedia to learn how to engage and lead technical experts to help advance the goals of your organization. For more information, go to http://www.blessingwhite.com/Research.asp?pid=1... [ read more ]

The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) has created an ongoing education series targeted at professionals involved with incentives, recognition, engagement and motivational meetings. The sessions, dubbed the ‘Third Thursday’ Education Series, will take place on the third Thursday of every month, running though May of 2014. The sessions will take the form of webcasts that will be posted on the IRF site at 2pm Eastern time/11am Pacific on the appointed day. Initial sessions began in June and are archived on the IRF website. The remaining schedule is: • Using Reward and Recognition to Meet Cross-Organizational Needs September 19 • How to Integrate Business Meetings and Incentive Travel October 17 • Balancing Program Owner and Participant Needs in Award Funding and Selection November 21 • 2014 Trends in Engagement, Incentives and Recognition December 19 • Designing Communication Strategies that Get Results January 16 • How to Tame Business Challenges using Digital Solutions February 20 • Optimizing Social Media in Incentives and Meetings March 20 • IncenTED presentations on Social, Mobile, Digital Innovations April 17 • Release Brilliance: Show Up, Be Accountable, Drive Results May 15 For complete session descriptions, speakers and other info, go to http://theirf.org/.Third-Thursday-Incentives-Recognition-Engagement-Education.6100481.html ... [ read more ]

The Coffman Organization will now offer a full range of Enterprise Engagement learning, assessment, technology and implementation solutions in conjunction with the launch of the new book, Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch. Written by company partners Curt Coffman and Kathie Sorensen, Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch is a guidebook for management in a post-industrial era in which talent and customers now rule, largely as a result of social media. “It’s an honor to have the EEA Curriculum and Certification program, and the technology and implementation companies based on its principles, selected by The Coffman Organization as the focus of its Enterprise Engagement Strategies group,” says Bruce Bolger, President of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance. “Curt’s books, like First, Break All the Rules, his groundbreaking Harvard Business Review article on Human Sigma and his company’s services clearly demonstrate his leadership in this emerging field.” The Coffman Organization is a leading provider of Enterprise Engagement assessment, coaching and training services designed to connect engagement with performance through effective management communications and development. The Coffman Organization’s Enterprise Engagement Strategies services include: • The Enterprise Engagement Alliance Curriculum and Certification program to provide managers at all levels with the information they need about this growing field. The curriculum was created over the past three years by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, based on input from the Coffman Organization, corporate practitioners, solution providers and academics. • The Coffman Enterprise Engagement 2.0 Quick Starter and Enterprise Culture and Coaching solutions for organizations seeking Enterprise Engagement surveys that include real-time, targeted benchmarking and feedback combined with technology-driven one-on-one or group coaching services to connect culture and engagement with the achievement of critical organizational goals. • The Solata Enterprise Engagement Portal to help focus specific audiences on the achievement of organizational goals involving customers, sales, distribution partners, vendors, or employees while fostering alignment across the organization. • The Coffman Engagement Agency, an implementation team specifically designed to bring the benefits of the Enterprise Engagement framework, implementation process and engagement technology to organizations across the country through local affiliates. For more information, go to http://coffmanorganization.com/ ... [ read more ]

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Chris Brunone, Leadership Practice Head at BlessingWhite, recently posted an article on the firm’s website noting that organizational development budgets are limited these days, so it's important that every initiative count. Training leaders who are trying to do more with less often ask which approach will produce the best results: 1) Training the more senior ranks in the organization to become better leaders or 2) Focusing on the engagement of the broader employee base? Should you cut back on leadership development efforts to refocus our energy on Employee Engagement? To help you answer this question, check out the full article at www.blessingwhite.com/content/articles/enews/June2013.asp?_cldee=ZW5nYWdlbWVudHN0cmF0ZWdpZXNAeWFob28uY29t... [ read more ]

To give you an idea of how social media is changing the corporate landscape and putting more power into the hands of employees, shareholders and customers, nearly 300,000 people have signed a petition started by Natalie Gunshannon, a former McDonald’s employee who quit her job there after being forced to accept her pay on a fee-heavy debit card. The petition on Change.org calls on Don Thompson, McDonald’s CEO, to give employees a choice in how they receive their pay. No word yet on whether McDonald’s will alter the practice, but the publicity this effort has already generated certainly hasn’t helped the company’s image. “I own stock in this company because it had started to make more socially and environmentally responsible decisions,” notes one shareholder. “I am sad to hear that it has taken a step back with this decision. Nobody’s paycheck should come with hidden fees.” While representatives for McDonald’s have indicated that decisions about payment are left to franchisee owners, the petition calls on McDonald’s national decision makers to ensure that McDonald’s is a “leader nationwide in ensuring that employees get to keep their own wages.” Stay tuned... [ read more ]

You know a field has arrived when IBM gets involved, given that this is not a company focused on tiny niches. So we were excited to see that IBM recently entered the field of Engagement with a webinar on Customer Engagement on July 17th, sharing ideas on how to understand, reach and relate to customers through a rich and personalized digital experience across multiple channels and smart devices. IBM executives, leading industry analysts and customers explored how organizations can create an exceptional customer experience as well as to: • Understand the individuals in your market. Listen to and anticipate customer preferences and captivate them with rich, personalized digital experiences. • Deliver exceptional service. Delight users on any channel or device with integrated and tailored applications and content. • Engage individuals and communities. Exchange valuable insights and feedback and build trusted relationships, loyalty and advocacy. ... [ read more ]

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Advancing Training and Staffing Tools to Efficiently Manage the Contact Center While Exceeding Evolving Customer Expectations... [ read more ]

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Tuesday, May 21, 2 pm Eastern (Part 1) Tuesday, June 4 , 2 pm Eastern (Part 2) Register NOW >> This one-hour webinar provides an overview of the emerging field of Enterprise Engagement as well as preparation for the Certified Engagement Practitioners program. It provides a definition of the field, an overview of the economics and framework, as well as a top level overview of the key tactics and their inter-relationships in preparation for the online exam. About the presenters: Allan Schweyer: Director of Curriculum and Certification Development. President of TMGov.org and a Partner and Principal at the Center for Human Capital Innovation, an industry thought-leader in the field of Human Capital Management. Gary Rhoads: Academic Director. Stephen Mack Covey Professor of Marketing & Entrepreneurship, Department of Business Management, Brigham Young University. For more information on the EEA certification, please click here. Register NOW >> Sponsored by EGR International ... [ read more ]

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The Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA) has launched its formal online test and certification program on Enterprise Engagement. The EEA Curriculum and Certification program focuses on the principals, framework and tactics related to engaging customers, channel partners, employees, vendors and communities to help achieve organizational goals. The exam is available free online at www.enterpriseengagement.org. Those who pass the test can obtain a five-year Certified Engagement Practitioner (CEP) designation for $500, as well as qualify for the Advanced Engagement Practitioner and Master Engagement Practitioner designations. The test is designed to help business professionals demonstrate their knowledge of the leadership skills and tactics required to engage people in the 21st century. By participating in the Curriculum and Certification program, managers can advance the interests of their organizations and their careers by better understanding the unique strategies and tactics of this emerging field. The test is divided into five sections that people can take separately as many times as they wish over a one-month period. Each section includes 20 to 30 multiple-choice and true-false questions that will change each time the test is taken. The sections include: Principals, Economics and Framework of Enterprise Engagement; Customer Engagement; Sales and Distribution Partner Engagement; Employee Engagement; and Tactics: Strategic Implementation, Assessment, Recognition, Measurement, etc. The curriculum is designed to provide organizations with a practical, measurable implementation plan that can help improve short- and long-term performance in all areas of business. By establishing a clear framework and agreed-upon nomenclature for engagement, organizations can accelerate the process of translating theory into action. For more information on the EEA Curriculum and Certification program, go to www.enterpriseengagement.org/training/ ... [ read more ]