On the heels of its highly successful 2013 event in New Orleans, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance has announced the launch of the Engagement University, the first formal curriculum and certification program on Engagement throughout the organization. It will be held in conjunction with the 2014 Rewards & Recognition Expo and Engagement Pavilion, featuring leading exhibitors of reward, recognition and engagement products and services. Engagement University is designed to provide corporate practitioners and solution providers with formal education on the economics, definitions, framework and best implementation practices related to:
Led by a faculty of corporate practitioners, solution providers, research experts and professors in business and organizational/consumer psychology, the program brings to life a formal Enterprise Engagement curriculum and certification program with sessions on Engagement program design and implementation; Enterprise Branding; Communications; Learning and Gamification; Rewards & Recognition; Measurement; and more. Registration will open Dec. 2, 2013.
Every Enterprise Engagement webinar includes practical, research-based reference and how-to information on various areas of Engagement, as well as preparation for at least one aspect of the Enterprise Engagement Certification program. The sessions include spot polls that help you anonymously benchmark yourself or your organization against other participants. You can participate in the live webinars and/or later access the recorded versions and corresponding textbook chapters at any time. All webinars start at 2pm Eastern. Upcoming dates and topics:
Get descriptions and register for any of these webinars at www.enterpriseengagement.org/education/#1
At its recent Annual Invitational in Cancun, the Incentive Research Foundation released two new research reports. The IRF Spring 2013 Pulse Survey reveals that economic recovery is providing a boost to those in the motivation industry, with suppliers and buyers reporting a 13-point increase among respondents who characterize the economy as having a "positive impact" on their ability to plan and implement incentive travel and merchandise programs – 56% vs. 43% six months ago. And a full 82% expect incentive travel budgets will stay the same or increase in 2013, painting a much rosier picture of an industry that has suffered its share of slings and arrows over the past five years. The second study, Striking the Balance: The Integration of Offsite Business Meetings and Incentive Group Travel, for the first time explains the key steps essential to successfully integrating these important business tools. The report outlines the different archetypes of incentive travel programs and provides specific design implications for each of these types. The report reveals an almost even split between North American firms that combine offsite business meetings with incentive group travel and those that do not. A myriad of cultural factors, rather than tax implications, drive the inclusion of business meetings and incentive travel programs. Fore more information, go to www.TheIRF.org
Do loyalty programs really drive business, or are they simply rewarding customers for behavior they would have undertaken anyway? What qualities make loyalty programs most influential? What mistakes are loyalty marketers making to undermine the potential of their programs? A new study, the Maritz Loyalty Report: U.S. Edition, looks at these and other important questions, offering an in-depth look at American's loyalty attitudes and behaviors, including in-depth analysis of the performance of a select group of top national programs. To download the Loyalty Report Summary of Key Findings, go to www.maritzloyaltymarketing.com/Loyalty-Report.aspx
Rymax Marketing Services recently enhanced its existing product offerings with the addition of the Bushnell, Bolle, Bric's, Crabtree & Evelyn, Safilo, Steamfast and Vornado brands. These partnerships continue Rymax's commitment to providing in-demand products for loyalty, corporate gifting and rewards programs for its clients and opens up a new market for these brands to distribute products and increase sales. Bushnell has been the industry leader in high-performance sports optics with product lines that enhance the enjoyment of spectator sports, nature study, hunting, fishing, birding and stargazing. Bolle´ delivers the highest quality sunglasses and goggles for performance and protection with some of the most technologically advanced eyewear in the industry. Bric's offers a full collection of luggage and handbags that are practical and functional, combining trendy colors and state-of-the-art materials. Crabtree & Evelyn has evolved from a small, family-run business specializing in fine soaps to an international company well known and respected for its original fragrances, luxurious toiletries, gourmet foods and gifts. Safilo designs, manufactures and distributes high-quality prescription frames, sunglasses and sports eyewear. Steamfast produces the widest assortment of high-quality steam products that are easy to use and chemical free. And Vornado is a leader in air flow technology, offering an extensive collection of circulators, heaters, purifiers, humidifiers, filters and accessories. For more info, go to www.rymaxinc.com
Bulova Corporate Sales has launched two new programs specifically designed for the corporate market – Gift In Time, an interactive event program, and Bulova Rocks, an "add a diamond" progressive reward program. Gift in Time turns gift-giving into an interactive activity, allowing participants to select their own gifts from a customized watch station staffed by a Bulova representative. Ideal for sales meetings and casino events, this creative program gives corporate planners the chance to add a uniquely personal element to the event schedule. Bulova Rocks is an expanded "add a diamond" program, with more styles available than ever before. Each style can accommodate up to twelve diamonds, creating a particularly motivational keepsake. Customization options, including logos and engraving are also available. Brochures detailing both programs are available in digital form on the new Bulova Corporate Sales website, www.bulovacorporatesales.com
With the economy coming back, incentive, recognition, loyalty and other marketing companies need more powerful, automated, easily configurable reward and program management solutions that address all areas of engagement. More and more solution providers recognize the emerging trend of engagement and need training, implementation and other marketing support in order to profit from it. But there's no competitive advantage for most incentive, recognition and loyalty companies to set up and manage their own reward and program management technologies. Now in its fourth year – and with the number of customers and redemption volume doubling each year – Engagement Technology has gone to the next level on multiple fronts to help incentive, loyalty, recognition and other marketing companies provide state-of-the-art program management and reward catalog solutions. If your company seeks a low-cost way to take advantage of all of the opportunities to improve your reward management system and/or get more business, contact Jim Kilmetis at jim@engagementtechnologyllc.com or 914-591-7600, ext. 229.
The latest issue of ESM is in the mail! Here's a look at what you'll find inside:
PepsiCo Director of Communications Rod Thorn makes his case that creating a storytelling culture can help companies overcome obstacles, take advantage of opportunities, launch new products, and meet numerous other challenges.
In many industries and businesses, channel partners are the key links between employees and customers – a weak link if they're ignored; an important source of strength if they're engaged.
Just because companies move in the positive direction of engagement doesn't necessarily mean they're doing it right
For today's workforce, the truth is that money, while important, just isn't what it used to be
To make sure you get your copy of Engagement Strategies Magazine, go to www.enterpriseengagement.org/account/login/ and update your subscription today!
In the world of talent management, social networks have been used successfully in knowledge sharing, the identification of skills and construction of teams, in recruiting, onboarding and certainly learning. "Social Recognition," which uses software to enable people to recognize one another, is a relatively new entrant in the pantheon of talent management technology. Yet it draws on practices from some of the world's most popular internet applications. In connecting peers to peers, and in this case, employees to employees and employees to customers, partners, suppliers and others (the extended enterprise) it opens another dimension in recognition that has the potential to generate powerful cultural evolution within remarkably short timeframes. In others words, social recognition software can be transformative. It can fill a recognition gap quickly and it can extend recognition beyond the organization to help engage customers and other constituents. Click here to read the White Paper.
In this paper, one in a series for our Enterprise Engagement curriculum, we examine a critically important element of enterprise engagement – moving from strategy to execution. This paper is targeted at organizations that wish to move from talking about and planning enterprise engagement to implementing the initiatives at a tactical and measurable level – throughout the enterprise and for all key constituents. The main objective of this paper is to assist the reader through practical, clear and readily available techniques, practices and tools to implement enterprise engagement across the organization. For the full report, click here
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