The State of Engagement:
Scott Gould, Ampersand Group
This time The State of Engagement talks to the author of The Shape of Engagement!
Scott Gould is a former church minister who literally wrote the book on how people engage with ideas, things, and each other. His work is built on a single insight: engagement follows a simple, universal process, one that applies whether you are trying to reach employees, customers, or communities.
As a speaker and consultant, he works with a diverse range of organisations including the United Nations, Adobe and Boeing, and is a lecturer on the Executive Education programme at Stockholm School of Economics.
What engages employees?
Very basically (Scott’s words), “friendliness!
More specifically, we all know that our friends are people who we feel safe around, who we can be ourselves with, where we know the expectations, and want to do the best for each other.
As a consultant, I don’t have employees – but I am interacting with clients and their team all the time. So that’s what I try to create for anyone I interact with.”
What do you believe gives businesses the edge in attracting talent?
“Reputation is the edge in attracting talent”, says Scott, “It goes before you!
This of course isn’t your brand, although that’s part of it. It’s all the ways that you communicate to the world how you work.”
In your experience, what are employees looking for most?
According to Scott, employees want a job where they are safe, but where they can grow, in accordance with their financial needs.
“Things like rewards and work environment are nice-to-haves, but I’ve seen many organisations invest in these things, instead of more effective interventions such as ensuring people have clear expectations, that there is relevant training, that there’s the right tools. I remember working with a Police force, where the biggest issue causing Officers to leave wasn’t pay – it was that they didn’t’ have their own laptops, and had to borrow them off of each other!”
Which part of EVP matters most to you personally?
EVP, or Employee Value Proposition, is the balance of what people give and what they get back. I like to break it down into seven pillars:
Brand & Purpose, Culture, Environment, Monetary, Prospects, Relationships, and Wellbeing.
“Gosh, what a challenge to pick one! These all seem important!”
Scott suggests that the pillar which has the longest lasting effect on people staying and thriving in a job is relationships. However, as part of the EVP, he understands that brand does the heavy lifting – again, reputation is the edge!
What do you see are the biggest people challenges right now?
Worldwide there is a challenge for people finding work. So we’ve got a lot of people with talents, not getting anywhere near the roles. And I think the issue here is that our hiring process is broken.
I’d like to see talent engagement take a community building approach, building pools of potential talent and getting to know those people, before they invite them to apply.
As someone who has studied engagement in depth, how do you define engagement?
Scott has studied engagement across all its various forms – so not just employee engagement, but customer engagement, community engagement, stakeholders, users, digital, students – the list goes on!
The word “engagement” means different things within each context, which is understandable. But what he’s found in common is that by “engagement” we are always talking about togetherness as opposed to separateness.
Scott has come to define the practice of engagement simply as organisational relationship building. In other words… making friends!
Purchase Scott’s Book – ‘The Shape Of Engagement‘ (Amazon)
Connect with Scott on Linkedin
Scott’s website: scottgould.com
Contact CHEER!
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