The Engagement Manifesto
a systemic approach to organisational success
by
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While the title and much of the focus of this book is about employee engagement, trying to understand it and creating the environment to nurture it, that is not the overarching purpose. The real objective is better and sustainable organisational performance. That is the destination; employee engagement is the route map. This book should be read by any senior manager, but it will have particular significance for CEOs, human resource practitioners and those responsible for organisational communication. It will hopefully also be of use to students or those starting out in their careers. The aim is to catalyse a re-examination of what you are doing in the name of engagement. As soon as a concept is given a label, it is in danger of being misinterpreted and executed badly. It is then in danger of being dismissed as the latest fad. I worry about that for engagement. I have seen companies doing surveys that measure satisfaction and calling them engagement surveys. I have seen three published surveys in the past two years that were called engagement surveys but that only measured communication effectiveness. We will see how satisfaction and engagement are different in their antecedents and outcomes, and that communication, while vital and omnipresent, is not omniscient in this process. What follows is a pragmatic view of employee engagement and its contribution to organisational performance. It is based on developing and testing a hypothesis, practicing the principles with organisations, and testing employee and employer opinion on what works for them. It is hopefully a practical process that can be started at any given point and followed through to drive real benefits for an organisation. This is a mixture of theory, practice, research and experience; it is not intended to be an academic treatise. If the academics own the classical version, this is the blues/rock version, which provides the overarching chord structure for you to add the melody. Engagement deserves more status and greater respect than it currently enjoys. It has to occupy the right space in the organisational psyche. We will look at the context in which we have to consider employee engagement: core purpose, values, and culture; try to get some clarity on what it means; and how you can influence it, measure it, and most important, drive performance through your people. Consider it your new manifesto.
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About the Book
"Alan Crozier has written an outstanding book on employee engagement in his 'manifesto.' What makes it so good is his mix of leadership theory and personal practice distilled from years of client experience. "The Engagement Manifesto" is the best book I've seen on this vital subject. Buy it and apply its wisdom. Roger D’Aprix, Managing Director, D’Aprix & Co LLC, Author of “The Credible Company” “This is a very authoritative book. Anyone – particularly CEOs, HR professionals, brand marketing specialists, communications experts – serious about living the assertion that people are the definitive source of business success will find this book an invaluable source. Alan cuts through the hype, buzzwords and common misconceptions surrounding engagement. In doing so, he challenges the reader to make an honest re-assessment of their own understanding. He offers clear, practical advice about the what and the how if engagement is to have meaningful and lasting impact, and not go the way of so many other well intentioned business initiatives.” Jim Kennedy, Global VP Human Resources, Coopervision “This book is 24 carat gold. It is the one-minute-manager of engagement. I read it three times and learned something new each time.” Andrew Cooksey, Chief Executive, Jaggard Mackenzie “Well structured, joined-up thinking for business leaders highlighting the importance of the many facets of employee engagement - an ongoing journey not a destination.” David Cheyne, Chairman, Criticaleye.
About the Author
Alan Crozier is a founding director of The Ghost Partnership and has been managing director of Q4 consulting limited since 2002. He has worked in consulting for over 20 years, and spent 13 of those years in senior positions at Mercer and Watson Wyatt. Alan has served on the Steering Board of the Corporate Identity Group, the Professional Advisory Board of the MSc in Corporate Communication Management at Salford University, and on the accreditation council for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). He is currently working with the UK Government's Task Force on Employee Engagement. Alan is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and an Accredited Business Communicator (the professional accreditation of IABC). Alan has written for professional journals and talked at conferences in Europe and North America. His seminal paper on Employer Branding, “Total Employment Relationship Management” was published by Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1998. He is a contributing author to The IABC Handbook of Organisational Communication, published by Jossey Bass, 2006, and Integrating HR and Marketing Strategies, published by ICFAI University, July 2006.