Continued from Part 3: Unleash the Power of Your Stakeholder Networks
If you’ve ever had a job that really engaged you at a heart and soul level, then you know how big a difference caring about work really has on what you bring to the office each day. Sure, compensation plays a critical role in recruiting and retaining a talented workforce, but research shows that it’s the fuzzier stuff – things like a sense of purpose and our relationships with people – that matter most when it comes to really engaging people in contributing to your business.
Engagement at this deeper level matters. When people really care, they invest more deeply – and that translates into real benefits to your company. Studies show, for instance, that businesses that excel at employee engagement have nearly double the odds of success of companies that don’t in terms of financial, customer, employee and other business-critical metrics.
It’s not just about relying on employee engagement though. Business leaders in the Vital Edge understand that it’s about unleashing the full power of your stakeholder networks. And unlike employees, these outside contributors don’t draw a salary. While monetary considerations like price play a critical role in determining whether customers and partners will engage with your company in the first place, it’s the more qualitative factors that determine the depth and loyalty of that relationship over time. And here, we get back to the more intrinsic factors – the pull of our human nature.
As a customer, when we interact with a business that understands this deeper human factor, we know it immediately – because we feel it. It comes through in the sparkle of an eye or the tone of someone’s voice. These are the signs of humanity that can’t be programmed into a customer support script.
As a next-generation leader of good business, you need to ensure these signs of humanity shine through all the layers of technology you have for engaging your stakeholders. What we are talking about here is a business that encourages people to bring their whole selves to the work of the firm. That kind of connection is a powerful attractor and a powerful competitive advantage in business – and it can’t just be bought.
Business in the Vital Edge pulses with a powerful technological beat that is wonderfully human at its heart.
When your stakeholders come together with one another in service of a mission that really matters, they experience a sense of purpose, a taste of being part of something bigger than themselves.
There’s no question that you need technology to help facilitate and scale this kind of deep stakeholder engagement. But beneath all the wires, the networks, and the tools is something quite intangible. It’s this sense of community and connection to other human beings that will ultimately be the strongest draw to your work, because it feeds the most powerful force on the planet – the human soul.