The term “employee engagement” was first used about 25 years ago, and it has become one of the buzzwords of business. High employee engagement leads to higher productivity, and that’s music to the ears of business leaders.
“Audience engagement” is also music to the ears — to PlayhouseSquare and the theater in general. I think “audience engagement” and “employee engagement” are cousins in the same family. In fact, each could learn something from the other. PlayhouseSquare has 30,000 season ticket holders — one of the largest customer bases in the country, and any company would be envious to have that type of following.
PlayhouseSquare, the country’s largest performing arts center outside of New York, didn’t just happen. It took dedicated supporters over the years to keep the enthusiasm going for live theater. Now, PlayhouseSquare attracts some1 million guests a year to more than 1,000 annual events.
This month’s “Uniquely Cleveland” feature on the performing arts center wouldn’t have happened if there weren’t audience engagement. The audience enjoys performances and supports the performing arts center with its quality performances.
Think of the key task that the actors have to do – memorize their lines – and it can lead to a similar tool to lead an initiative for employee engagement at your business.
One of the CEOs I interviewed described the acronym he uses so leaders can memorize the principles of employee engagement.
Called the FAIR model, “F stands for Focusing everyone in the organization on the overall vision and strategy of the company,” he says.
A stands for holding employees Accountable for their performance.
“You have to hold people answerable and watch for complacency. Set financial targets,” he says. “Also set employee development targets for them to develop talent within the organization.”
I is for Involving every employee in the mission of the company.
“A CEO must always remember that employees are his internal customers,” he says. “You have to be a good listener. More than 95 percent of all problems brought to my attention deal with the need for better communication. People often require a sounding board to talk it out. Some problems are complex and require a collective approach to a solution.”
R stands for Recognizing people for their results.
“Understand what each person brings to the table in the way of value, knowing that you may have people at the table who are new, and they are there just to learn,” he says.
Want a sign that your engagement initiative is working? Engaged employees are more likely to generate ideas in the suggestion box.
“They’ll pretty much tell you if you empower them that, ‘Look, I know I’m responsible for A, if you let me go pursue B, I think I could improve value to both our organization and the customer,’” the CEO says.
A good team drives performance and drives productivity and is key to any successful organization.
“You’ve got to have people who are aggressive, enjoy what they do, they have fun coming to work but they like the challenge,” the CEO says.
Just like an acting troupe.
