Elevating Engagement

Although Britni Eisenmann once planned to have her own marketing firm, a professor’s suggestion turned her to psychology instead. Now, as the owner of a successful consultancy, GenElevate, she helps employers find ways to engage new employees so they want to stay.

“Engaged employees don’t think about leaving,” Eisenmann said. “And when they feel valued, they willingly give their best.”

The Hoosier native focused on new employee engagement while doing research toward a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology. After she graduated from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Eisenmann established GenElevate—which, she is proud to say, celebrated its one-year anniversary in August 2020.

One of her first clients was a large nonprofit organization with a donated goods retail program. “They were experiencing quick turnover, with many employees leaving before their initial three months were up,” she said. After attending several meetings and orientation sessions, she identified the company’s onboarding process as the area that needed attention.

“New employees were not identifying with the business’s mission, and they weren’t feeling hooked in to the company and their coworkers,” said Eisenmann. One of the solutions she suggested was mentoring, which the company eagerly embraced. Its new employees are now voluntarily mentored by employees who have been with the company for some time. “I’m looking forward to checking back with them again to review their progress,” Eisenmann said.

Generational gaps may be another reason that a company’s new employees do not feel engaged. Addressing this issue, she created a generational bridging guide. “It’s a tool to move corporate employees from a basic knowledge of generational differences,” Eisenmann explained, “to an understanding of why those differences exist and how people can demonstrate mutual respect to each other.”

While staying busy running GenElevate, she also found time to attend and graduate from Build Institute Fort Wayne, a business education program for early-stage entrepreneurs. “The program introduced me to resources like StrengthsFinder and coaching that have been invaluable,” said Eisenmann, adding that she enjoyed joining a cohort of others “who had big ideas and mountains of energy to execute them.”

She feels fortunate that she has not seen a drop-off in clients, despite the pandemic. GenElevate offers direct client services and even has an online learning hub for early-career leaders.

Eisenmann definitely thinks she made the right choice when she followed her professor’s suggestion to pursue psychology. “Building solutions for engagement between employees and employers is where I’ll spend the rest of my career,” she said.

To contact Britni Eisenmann and learn more about GenElevate, visit GenElevate.com.