Traditionally, companies have surveyed engagement levels at meetings and events as the ultimate measure of success. But is engagement the right metric to use? How does engagement relate to business success?
New research from events industry firm Bishop-McCann and partner Ofactor defines the concept of “trust” as the new success metric that will help companies increase relationships with their attendees and ultimately improve company performance.
The firms measure organizational trust levels before and after key meetings and events and identify specific behaviors by leaders and managers that produce higher job satisfaction and less stress among employees and customers.
Bishop-McCann measures trust in the meetings and events industry in order to prove ROI. Based on more than 13 years of research by Dr. Paul J. Zak, PhD, Ofactor enables companies to create high-trust, high-performance organizations. Zak’s work, most recently highlighted in the January/February 2017 Harvard Business Review article “The Neuroscience of Trust,” explains that employees who trust their executives and their companies are more productive, have higher retention rates and show more energy and passion for their jobs.
“Whether we are organizing an incentive program or developing a national sales meeting, our job is to design unique experiences that inspire and motivate, to help every attendee and our clients realize their fullest potential,” said Rob Adams, Bishop-McCann president and CEO, in a news release. “Meetings and events are the perfect forum in which to create trust and now we have a measurable, scientific way to prove trust is directly correlated to company performance.”
“Simply put, employees will ignore leaders who are not perceived to be trustworthy and my methodology has been proven to show positive results with companies such as Zappos.com and Morning Star Company,” said Zak, in the release. “But, it’s never been applied to the meetings and events industry, which is where Bishop-McCann comes in. Together, we have a unique opportunity to positively influence trust and increase company performance through meetings and events.”
