Campus Dining Today Spring 2021 - 27

T H E ART AND S CIE NCE OF
	

Engagement

Kim Royster
Partner with The Pulse Group
in charge of
Customer Insights & Analytics
Thomas Tucker
Partner with The Pulse Group
in charge of
Food & Hospitality Strategy

With the pause button firmly pushed on the " up
close and personal, " there is no question it has
been much more difficult to keep meaningful
engagement flowing on campus. The truth is
however, the need for meaningful engagement
may have never been greater. Understanding
the art and science of engagement provides a
tool, a methodology, and a path forward that can
help inform campus dining strategies, strengthen
relationships with campus stakeholders, and
bolster a stronger brand image.

E N G AG E M E N T S TA R T S
WITH TRUST
Creating trust, at its core, is the human connection
that happens when people are assured and
confident that there is a genuine shared
collaborative interest. Trust is, by all accounts, a
foundational point of departure for successful
engagement. Trust is built on demonstrating
real concern for the health, safety, and welfare
of stakeholders and the campus community. It
happens by being an active listener, showing
sincere interest, and creating an environment for
energetic nonjudgmental conversation. In the
current environment, stakeholders are seeking
straight-forward transparent guidance about
how life on campus might evolve in the future.
They fully realize decision-making, to some
degree, is necessarily fluid and there could be
significant long-term changes in the ways we
" dine together. " Campus dining leaders have an
opportunity to build greater levels of trust by

creating mechanisms for stakeholders to
maintain an active voice-like continuing to
communicate with customers on a variety of
food topics, organizing food forums to seek
guidance on changing operating formats,
and creating networking opportunities
around virtual chef-driven events.

E N G AG E M E N T P L A N N I N G
& A P P R OAC H
Beyond pandemic-related concerns,
there are a variety of issues that will
drive the need for engagement into the
future, as it relates to campus dining.
Operational/format changes, opportunities
to increase revenue/satisfaction, brand
building, facilities planning, menu/concept
development, and changes to meal plans are
just a few. No matter what the engagement
objective, there is a proven recipe for solid
engagement planning.
It starts with discovery-gathering readily
available insights (reviews, articles, etc.),
ideation with peers, and generally becoming
personally invested in the issues.
Clarifying potential engagement dangers
and opportunities is key-evaluate your
outreach timing, think through possible
obstacles to success, and understand how
the campus network can best be leveraged
to advance your engagement objectives.

A rt & Scienc e of Engag ement | CAMPUS DINING TODAY

27
Campus Dining Today Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Campus Dining Today Spring 2021
