Download pdf - Food Trucks and Employee Engagement

Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | UK | US | BIWORLDWIDE.com Worth their while Many employee engagement programs have limited communications, unclear goals, rewards that fall short and rules structures that favor the same old winners. It takes time to create an engagement strategy that will keep employees excited and ready to participate.

Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | UK | US | BIWORLDWIDE.com Download our article now to learn more about how you can make your employee engagement strategy as interesting as a food truck offering a bacon-cronut- quinoa kabob. Stand to the right. Decide on your order before you get to the window thenopen wide. The current trend for truckside dining is continuing to grow andthe National Food Truck Association estimates that restaurants-on-wheelsgenerate $1 billion of sales annually in the U.S. Whats interestingto note is that only part and probably not the largest part of thisphenomenon is about food. The rest of the buzz centers on thehighly personal experience of the individual diners. Standing in line for lunch at our favorite food truck location,we got to thinking about how similar this experience was to awell-designed employee engagement strategy (and yes, that is thekind of thing we thought about in the food truck line, because wedalready decided on the pork belly taco with the cilantro-limereduction, so we had some extra time). Heres what we musedbefore we got ready to chow down: Its all about social: Many food truck owners say theycouldnt do what they do, or sell as much food as they do, withouta heavy reliance on social media. Twitter and Facebook are thechief connection points between one mobile food unit and its legionof uber-urban hipsters who follow its location the way rabid sportsfans follow the play-by-play. The lesson for your engagementprogram: if you arent out in front with social media allowing yourmanagers and employees to follow, recognize and reinforce eachother in ways they prefer, then you might be giving yourengagement program a hard-to-overcome flat tire. Customizable experience: Diners love being part of anexperience they can personalize. Thats why they follow their favoritefood trucks to certain corners, events or taprooms, perhapscreating a traveling dinner by stopping for their favorite menu itemat a number of trucks. The secret here is that its all about theindividuals personal choices and, no surprise, thats the secretof a well-designed engagement program too. Allow your employeesto choose how they want to be recognized. Let them opt-in oropt-out of social participation. When an engagement program iscompletely personal, its closer to becoming completely effective. Mix it up: One of the coolest new trends in the food truck craze is whats being called a Food Truck Jam, where an areas top mobile venues gather in one location to allow for prime grazing with minimal schlepping. Peoplelove the little of this, taste of that experience that sampling from lots ofdifferent places can bring. No two experiences are the same and theresalways something new to try. Thats a good strategy to keep in mind when youre planning an engagement strategy too. The element of surprise and the thrill of getting something that might be in limited supply can keepyour employees totally on board and interested in whats coming up next. ENGAGEMENT ON WHEELSWhat food trucks can teach you about effective employee engagement John OBrien, Vice President, Employee Performance Group BI WORLDWIDE BIWORLDWIDE.com BI WORLDWIDE 2013 | Proprietary & Confidential Engagementon Wheels What food trucks can teach you about effective employee engagement Stand to the right. Decide on your order before you get to the window thenopen wide. BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | LATAM | UK | US