In the United States, the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving Day marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Every kind of retailer, regardless of size, vies to get customers into its stores using sales, discounts, and special offers. Before any promotion or sale begins, customers are bombarded with advertisements, mailings, and other promotional offers in order to create excitement and ultimately entice them to visit the store. Stores often open very early and stay open very late in order to maximize the day’s sales. It is called “Black Friday” because it marks the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or be “in the black.” It is a bellwether for the holiday shopping season and to a large extent, the US economy.
Black Friday and Employee Engagement have some elements in common.
Keep up with the competition
Retailers continually attempt to out-do each other in order to maintain or gain market share. Companies are no different. They attempt to keep existing customers and look for ways to grow the customer base at the expense of the competition. Companies have the same opportunity with internal customers, the employees. Being aware of competitors’ employee engagement programs allows companies to develop, implement and target initiatives to exceed the expectations of current and potential employees.
Offer value
Companies, like stores, must have clear value propositions. Employees need to understand why they are important to the company and why working for the company benefits them. The better a company can articulate its employee value proposition, the stronger the sense of purpose and connection employees feel toward the company.
Engage their customers
Retailers use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to understand and engage their customers as individuals. Companies need to leverage CRM as an internal tool to understand employee needs, desires, and perceptions in order to better identify and take advantage of engagement opportunities.
Make the experience enjoyable
Retailers have learned that in order to be successful, they must engage customers in all phases of the customer life cycle: acquisition, cross and up-selling, retention, and brand loyalty. Like retailers, companies must focus on the recruitment, onboarding, development, and retention of employees. They must develop programs tailored to each stage if they hope to fully engage employees.
Make everyday Black Friday
Help employees understand what to expect and what actions are required in order for them to take part. Create excitement so that employees want to come in early and stay late because they are immersed the experience. Reward and recognize employees for their contributions and continually look for ways to further engage your employees.
What are your thoughts on the comparison of Black Friday to employee engagement? How would you go about making everyday Black Friday?
P.S. – First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
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Let’s Get Engaged!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Greg Simpson.
My mission? To help companies succeed by focusing on how they engage, manage, and develop their employees.
My credentials? Award winning engagement work with Fortune 150 companies.
My next assignment? To come in from the field, the consulting field, and return to headquarters. There I’ll lead the ongoing battle against the greatest nemesis in every company – employee disengagement.
I’m excited about this opportunity to connect with fellow “Agents.” Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive the latest updates and/or register if you would like to comment on posts.
You can follow me @agtinengagement, email me at g…@a…t.com or learn more about me at www.gregoryfsimpson.com.
