A glimpse into managing people in the Experiential Marketing industry. Whilst at Purity Productions I was asked to assess the impacts employee engagement within the company and industry. This white paper captures aspects that can be used to build an employee engagement strategy.

1. employee
engagement
why it matters to
the experiential
marketing industry
70%of businessleaders now believethat employeeengagement iscritical for their
business

2. employee
engagement
An EventTrack study in 2013 found that brands
are expecting their Event and Experiential
Marketing budgets to grow by nearly eight
percent (7.8%) through the year, more than
double 2012 (3.6%).
This increased spend has been a driver for
brands to deliver a positive emotional
experience between its product or services,
and its consumers. To the experiential
marketing industry Employee Engagement
matters because we work in a people led
industry where interactions between staff
and customers are the keystone to success
(or not).
The growth of the Experiential Marketing
industry has led to a far greater demand for
staff with the right level of experience and
skills. Agencies working within the industry
face the challenge of attracting high
calibre staff, and the responsibility
of retaining and developing staff.
The importance of having an
Employee Engagement Strategy
cannot be understated.
focusing on
the individual
In an industry which is so incredibly
competitive being aware of the extent
of engagement we have with staff and how
that informs the relationship between business
outcomes and performance is critical.
Understanding the motivations of your
people on an individual level should be part
of your Employee Engagement Strategy, and
will help them to become engaged with your
organisation’s values and culture. Better
engaged employees will influence how well
they perform on a campaign.
There is clearly a need to focus on ensuring
that an Employee Engagement Strategy is
part of the overall company strategy in
managing its workforce, which means
working with people on an individual basis.
The question then is how do we as agencies
working within the Experiential Marketing
industry engender the commitment and
engagement from the individuals that
work for us?
key facts/points of engagement
on the individual
• Give people purpose
• Make your culture work for you
• Understand the psychological contract
you have with your people
• It’s personal- treat everyone as an individual
• Management need to treat their people
right, as this will be reflected in the way your
people work
13% of employees across 142 countries
worldwide are engaged in their jobs
A study by Powers
Watson (cited in
Clear Action, 2010)
confirms that “as
levels of employee
engagement rises,
so does levels of
customer satisfac-
tion”, and in 2014
this is even more
important.
Sources: GDP data: Conference Board,
Engagement data: Aon Hewitt database
32
2013 2014
engagement/satisfactionlevel
employee
engagement
customer
satisfaction
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
-9%
-6%
-3%
0%
3%
6%
9%
Global Engagement Trends Compared to
Economic Indicators
changefrompreviousyear
global engagement
(% change YoY)
global GDP
(% change YoY)

3. 17 Billion
2010
12 Billion
2009
10 Billion
2008
14 Billion
2013
54
impacts of engaged staff
Purity began work earlier this year on a
continuing research piece with the University
of Manchester, looking at the levels of
engagement between staff and agencies,
and how this relationship has impacted
upon the Experiential Marketing industry
and the business.
In today’s job market, organisations need to
be conscious of how a positive Employee
Engagement Strategy can work for them
and that it should include a policy covering
Employer Branding where the company’s
values and culture can be clearly
communicated to applicants.
Within the Experiential Marketing industry
staff will ordinarily be employed on zero hour
contracts, and levels of work can fluctuate
dramatically. We need to consider the
impact this has on our employees’ state
of engagement. Without the security of
a part or full time contract, agencies should
be doing more work on the emotional
side of the relationship with staff.
Companies with highly engaged
employees improved operating income
by 19.2% over a 12 month period
ref- Towers Perrin-ISR (2006) The ISR Employee Engagement Report.
As cited in MacLeod, D. and Clarke, N. Engaging for Success:
Enhancing Performance through Employee Engagement
14 Billion
The estimated cost by the CBI of
absence in 2013
business benefits
• Impacts on the
bottom line with
better productivity
• Better customer
satisfaction
• Less absenteeism
• Improved staff
retention rates
• Loyal staff
5%
10%
jan
feb
mar
apr
may
jun
jul
aug
sep
oct
nov
dec
15%
20%
increaserate

4. increasing
engagement
across
business
A feeling of engagement with the company
will lead to staff feeling happier, and more
fulfilled by their experience of working
within the industry. Engaged employees have
a greater level of emotional awareness that
is required to provide excellent customer
service, demonstrating just how
important being people focussed is when
formulating an Employee Engagement
Strategy really is.
enhancing engagement
• Recruit the right people. Identify the values
of the business and use these to target
potential employees that fit into the
culture of the business.
• Good managers count. Having skilled
and well trained event managers who
understand the needs of the campaign
and what it takes to engage staff with
the company and its work
• Be personal. Make sure that whenever you
interact with a member of your team you
find out about them and make it personal.
• Reward good. Getting the right level
performances from your staff is especially
valuable, so make sure that you are
rewarding the best people as they’ll walk
away if they don’t feel that their efforts
are being recognised.
An Employee Engagement Strategy should be a priority for any business, and if you haven’t got
there yet, make sure that it is on your agenda. Make sure that leaders and managers under-
stand what part they play, and how important they are in engaging employees.
Improved business performance through a mutually beneficial Employee Engagement Strategy
should focus on the wellbeing and job satisfaction of your employees.
Above all, make sure that whatever you do is done with integrity.
For any organisation in the experiential
marketing industry looking to increase
engagement, there needs to be an established
framework in which staff can perform through
the delivery of good people management. It is
vital that these practices are understood.
• Have the facility for employees to be heard,
whether full-time or part-time. Having a
voice and gaining the recognition from
within the organisation can be a very
powerful thing.
• Leadership. Strong direction from leaders
within the business will need to give a
‘strategic narrative about the organisation,
where it’s come from and where it’s going’.
• Organisational integrity. This is where the
organisations values are reflected in the
way it goes about its business through
its culture.
• Training Development. Ensure that you
are developing the pool of people that
you have. If you invest in a person by
helping them to grow then they build
a stronger emotional connection with
you and the company.

transactional engagement
is shaped by employees’ concern
to earn a living, to meet minimal
expectations of the employer and
their co-workers, and so on.

emotional engagement
is driven by a desire on the part
of employees to do more for
(and to receive more – a greater
psychological contract – from)
the organisation than is
normally expected.
summary benefits
what have we learned about
employee engagement?
There is a whole range of factors that you
can employ in order for your workforce to
be more engaged in their work and with
the business, but we’ve arrived at five key
principles that should inform your Employee
Engagement Strategy. We conducted a
survey of 750 members of our current
1700+ registered staff and held a number
of face to face interviews, and this is what
we have found:
1) Make sure that your people feel involved
and included in as many processes
as possible.
2) Let everyone know about the vision and
mission of the company. By ensuring that
everyone knows the goals and aspirations’
of the company and what part their
contribution will play will give them
a greater connection.
3) Find the best Event Managers (EM) and let
them know how important they are! Having
committed and loyal EMs will mean
Brand Ambassadors rise to follow.
4) Develop people! If you need something
done, get the right people with the right
skills, and if you can’t find them then create
them. You can grow someone’s potential
into the talent that you need.
5) Tell them they are doing it right! By
praising success your staff will know what is
expected and that good work
is rewarded. Regular appraisal of
performance is vital and most people
grow from being told that they’re
doing it right.
76
How are employees attached to their jobs?
Employees levels of emotional versus transactional engagement.
Emotional
Engagement

55%
23% 21%
Transactional
Engagement

51%
41%
8%
Low
Medium
High

5. 64%72%
Engaged More to
Offer
customer experience
As part of an over-arching Employee
Engagement Strategy, Purity has developed
the Customer Experience Programme (CEP).
This was initiated to deliver an emotionally
charged customer experience, consistently
“on brand”, in a fast paced industry.
Success has been achieved at Purity, by
creating a team that places customers
at the top of the priority list and has an
understanding of how best to engage with
the consumer.
This is the foundation for creating truly
enhancing customer experience on behalf
of the brands we work with - everywhere
and every time! If you really want to make
your brand interactions more meaningful then
the Purity Customer Experience Programme
will help staff deliver a consumer experience
in line with your key messages.
The aim of our Customer Experience
Programme is to create a framework
around which to continually develop
service excellence, accelerate discovery
and possibilities, whilst delivering
a compelling customer experience.
will achieve a high level of buy in and
produce better engagement across
the campaign team.
In order to create brand advocates, fans
and followers through consistently passionate,
knowledgeable and engaging brand
ambassadors, the CEP created by
Purity provides:
• A framework for creating brand advocates
• A platform from which to engage our
team with customers
• A template for designing and delivering
truly brand aligned customer service
• A vehicle to drive continual and
measurable improvement
• A way of sharing best practice
across campaigns
• Our way of delivering the WOW factor
and amazing customers
Using the CEP, and tailoring the programme
for you and your business, we can create
an impactful change programme that
98
the six values
around which
our programme
is built are:
1 engaging
2 energising
3 professional
4 enlightening
5 connecting
6 amazing
the challenges we
face include:
• A transient workforce with varying
degrees of passion commitment
• Product-oriented training with minimal
focus and attention applied to
behavioural and customer
experience skills.
72% of Brand Ambassadors at Purity can be
considered very engaged.
64% of people said they have more to offer
in skills and talent than they are currently
demonstrating or being asked to
demonstrate at work, Populus survey (2012)

6. about purity productions
enhancing engagement
We are Purity, specialists in brand experience.
We create, manage and deliver face-to-face
campaigns for brands and agencies that are
personal and memorable. Purity is a values
driven agency that are people-focused,
personal and ambitious. We strive for
quality in all that we do.
Purity has been recruiting, training and
supplying the best promotional staff in the
industry for over five years. We provide staff
who are professional, enthusiastic, dedicated
and talented. Staffing solutions are tailored for
every client and project with event managers
in the field acting as an extension of the client
service team.
focused solutions driven
The team is knowledgeable and devoted,
ready to advise, deliver and exceed on
campaign requirements. This knowledge
ensures clear understanding with both clients
and venues. We pride ourselves on our ability
to deliver solutions to any brief. Purity
consistently provides distinguished client
service generating long-term relationships.
We are as grounded as a team as we are
in our communication and seek to deliver
memorable brand experience campaigns
at all times.
working with brands agencies
We have a proven track record of working
successfully with both brands and agencies.
Our consultative process allows us to advise
clients and shape the solution based on their
requirements and our industry experience.
We often work as extension of our client teams
and pride ourselves on our ability to develop
working relationships.
harnessing our key assets
We take great pride in our key assets, the
field staff who represent Purity in the field,
recognising their engagement is vital in the
successful delivery of projects and campaigns.
In recent years we have invested heavily
in developing both an Employer Brand and
Employee Engagement Strategy as we see
the benefits for all stakeholders including
field staff, head office staff and of course,
our clients.
For more information about this Employee Engagement Study or how
Purity can help you to deliver effective brand experience campaigns
contact us today;
Rob Quinn – Managing Director
rob@wearepurity.com
Mark Dunn – Client Services Director
mark@wearepurity.com
George Horn
Training Development Manager
george@wearepurity.com
This research is further supported by internal company data gathered and analysed
by Rebecca Hobbs. This research was completed in fulfilment of a dissertation on
Employee Engagement whilst completing a degree in BA (hons) Management
and Leisure at The University of Manchester
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7. +44 (0)1296 682 555
www.wearepurity.com