Author: John G Fisher
Publisher: Kogan Page
Reviewer: Fran Brosan, owner, Omobono
Our recent research has shown that employees are a key target audience for B2B marketers, so this book feels timely.
John G Fisher has 30 years’ experience of trying to connect companies’ brands with the people that work for them, so he knows what he’s talking about. Starting with a simple explanation of what ‘employee engagement’ actually means and why it matters, Fisher writes cogently on the subject of how you do it, measure it and tackle the non believers. He also covers engaging sales forces, distributors and partners with a nod at the broader stakeholder audience.
Fisher’s starting point is that in most organisations HR and Marketing are split. So marketing and brand initiatives aren’t shared with or understood by staff, and HR values are conceived in isolation from the external brand. This is an area I could have done with more on, because the organisational ‘reengineering’ he feels is needed, is also an area that is increasingly being discussed by the global consultancies that operate within this space. I’d have liked the author to have shared his experiences of what works and what doesn’t.
That aside, this is an admirable, well-structured book that contains lots of useful arguments, definitions, stats and case studies. If you want a comprehensive ‘How to’ manual for employee engagement, this is it. However, in an effort to cover a huge range of connected subjects; brands, leadership styles, internal comms, social media marketing and the role of HR in engagement, to name but a few, some of the explanations might feel a bit 101 to those of us who have been around the block a bit. But, as Fisher says in the introduction, it’s also a book you can dip into for the specific bits you need. The chapter on the nay-sayers was particularly helpful.
Read the book for a useful, broad overview of employee engagement, and to arm yourself with knowledge and arguments to debunk the myths.
Star Rating:
