In Favour of Long Engagements

Neil Barber argues that an engaged workforce delivers business objectives more effectively and consistently. He offers some practical tips for increasing that engagement.
The challenge that product differentiation presents to even the best financial services organizations was expressed succinctly by Christian Dörffer and Jeff Smith a couple of issues ago:
In times of high customer and employee churn, how can banking be turned into a differentiated, personalized and trustworthy experience when dealing with something as impersonal as money?
They certainly have a point. The customer experience is a potential opportunity for creating differentiation. A business can do this by positioning itself as unique through some quirk of service delivery or, potentially, through the promise of flawless execution. Whichever route is chosen, differentiation through the customer experience requires that employees understand the company’s positioning and be fully engaged in the business to deliver against the promises. What increasingly sets organizations apart is the commitment and performance of their employees.
This may be seen as particularly true with a new brand, a merged company or a business that has recently undergone an identity review, but the simple fact of the matter is that engaging the workforce is critical to the successful delivery of any business, whatever life stage the organization is at. The best strategy, the best products, the best executive board, the most trusted brands and the best people will still not deliver optimum business performance unless the human face of the organization is engaged and passionate about doing the job really well.
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