Uniquely powerfulWant to know more about Return on Behavior from TeleFaction?
Free AssessmentHow do you measure up to competition? How is your Return on Behavior?
PUBLISHER INFOReturn on Behavior Magazine is published monthly by
TeleFaction A/S
DK 2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark
|
 |
Where Legendary Customer Service Begins
>>by Bill Capodagli
It may seem amazing that the solution to achieving legendary customer
care does not lie in some “slogan driven” training program, but rather in
a simple two-step process..
Ask any CEO if he or she is committed to excellent
customer service and the answer typically is, “Of course we are!” But ask
why their organization’s service isn’t among the ranks of the Walt Disney
Company, the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, or any other extraordinary
service provider and the excuses are tiresome: “We can’t pay enough,” or
“People don’t care,” or “Our turnover is high.”
Now assume for a minute that these excuses are valid (which I am convinced
they are not), and ask a leader, “What are you doing to alleviate this
problem?” and witness their awkward scramble for an answer. If an
organization is truly committed to legendary customer service and their lame
excuses were valid, why wouldn’t they be using all available resources to
solve these problems?
So what is the secret? It may seem amazing that the solution to achieving
legendary customer service does not lie in some “slogan driven” training
program, but rather in a simple two-step process: (1) Hire to the culture of
the organization; (2) Provide a multi-day orientation program that
encourages new hires to embrace a new set of values.
Think about it – Disney, the Four Seasons, Nordstrom, and other celebrated
service providers hire from the same employment pool and pay about the same
wages. What these companies do better than others is hire and orientate.
Hire to the culture. World-class service providers require multiple
interviews with potential employees in addition to the one or two human
resource interviews. The purpose of these multiple interviews is to assure
that the candidate fits the culture of the organization. At the Four
Seasons, in addition to a diverse mix of employees, each hotel or resort
manager must also interview all potential hires before an offer is made.
Kathleen Taylor, President of the Four Seasons’ worldwide operations
explains: “It is not for the GM (General Manager) alone to say, ‘Yes, I like
the person’ or ‘No, I don’t.’ It shows the potential dishwasher that his [or
her] job is really important. He may go home that night and tell his mother
or friends, ‘Wow, I met the GM today,’ and on his first day at work, he
knows the GM, and the GM knows him.” Equally important to ensuring that a
candidate fits the culture is consistently demonstrating that everyone's
role, no matter where in the hierarchy, is important to creating magical
moments of service.
Hiring to the culture of your organization assumes you can define your
organization’s dream (or vision), values and behaviors (Codes of Conduct, as
defined in our best-selling book, The Disney Way). If your culture needs
defining, it would be wise to work on those critical elements before
embarking upon the hiring process.
Over the years I have heard many executives argue, “Why be so concerned with
hiring the right person? Anyone can learn these entry-level jobs, and if a
new hire doesn’t work out, there are three people waiting in line.” The
solution to their short-sighted mentality eludes them. They probably would
agree that the most valuable asset of any organization is the customer. So
wouldn’t they want to trust their most valuable asset to the most competent,
capable and skilled person available, not just the “next in line?” It leaves
me dumbfounded.
JoAnn Wagner, President and CEO of the SOS Staffing Family of Companies,
explains how ‘Hiring for Fit’ is vital to effective customer service and
overall success. “Superior customer service begins with uniting the right
talent with the right opportunity, which starts long before a candidate’s
first day on the job. Interviewing, testing and screening of a candidate’s
experience and background compared with a company’s culture are all factors
that must be carefully weighed. Once a culture match has been made, a
comprehensive orientation program is the final crucial piece.”
So, if caring for your customer is not reason enough for finding the right
employee, isn’t increasing your competitive advantage? Both the Hay Group
and Workforce Management magazine have calculated the cost of replacing an
$8.50/hour employee at $10,000 to $12,000. Disney, the Four Seasons, and
fellow world-class service providers experience 3-5 times lower turnover
than their competition.
I also hear the argument, “Our HR department is too small or does not have
time to find the ‘right’ people.” One solution to this problem is to form a
strategic alliance with a staffing services firm. Susan Aherns, Regional
Manager for Adams & Associates in Washington explains: “Companies who form a
true partnership with a staffing firm will add arrows to their quiver that
they would not have otherwise. The right firm can function as an integral
part of a company’s HR department, saving it valuable time and money. In the
end, businesses often save more by utilizing a staffing firm to find the
best candidates.”
The Commonwealth Alliance Program (CAP) reports that businesses now
attribute 25% of all revenues to strategic alliances. Karen Lustman,
District Manager for Orange County direct hire firm Devon & Devon,
elaborates: “Hiring in today’s competitive climate is much more than finding
a body. Strong strategic alliances result in win-win solutions. When a
hiring firm understands the company’s mission and culture, they send only
best-fit candidates.”
If you have hired an individual who has passed the “culture fit” test with
flying colors, it’s now your responsibility to immerse him or her into your
culture. This must happen before they begin their operational or staff
responsibilities.
Orientation. Orientation programs in most organizations would have to
increase by a factor of ten to reach the level of pathetic. Most involve new
hires in tedious activities ranging from completing forms to reviewing
policies. Then, the “welcomed” newcomer gets thrown into the hustle of
getting the job done. Even in companies with well-defined cultures, the
success rate of these new hires is less than stellar.
If new hires end up being fired or resigning within the first six months on
the job, they are almost always branded as failures. I’ll bet you’ve heard
the feedback: “he never really bought into our level of service,” or “she
never really understood our values.” An all too often believed myth is that
values can be explained or even dictated.
Nothing could be further from the truth. One cannot mandate a new set of
values to anyone; the only way for values to be effective is for individuals
to embrace and internalize the values. Luckily, we can turn to a
tremendously successful role model for this lesson in action. . . Isadore
Sharp, CEO and founder of Four Seasons. “Issy” told me, “They (values) are
only words on paper, the words have significance only if behaved; the
behaviors are significant only if believed.” Legendary customer service does
not come from a policy manual; it comes from the heart.
So, how do you get new hires to embrace a new set of values? Answer: Build a
multi-day orientation process. Anything less than two days is not enough.
People need time to understand how the new values contribute to the success
of the organization and why their current set of values will not work. For
decades I have been involved in leading organizations to structure cultural
orientation programs so that individuals and teams can internalize the
vision, the values and the culture of an organization.
I challenge you to spend your time establishing the right hiring process and
the right orientation process, not in just getting the “right” people.
|
Bill Capodagli |
| About the author: |
|
Capodagli Jackson Consulting is an independent company dedicated to the preservation and implementation of Walt Disney's original success principles featured in our best-selling book, The Disney Way. Cited by Fortune magazine as "so useful, you may whistle while you work." and a BEST BUSINESS BOOK
www.capojac.com; Phone +01 800-238-9958
|
| Read More >> | |
|
|
|
Your customers experiences equal money. TeleFaction’s Return on Behavior concept helps you to increase the value of your customers’ experiences. Whether you focus on improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, increasing additional sales and resale, reducing churn and loss of customers, or improving your critical business relations in customer service at all contact points, TeleFaction offers a solution that will yield the desired results. Return on Behavior Magazine is a free service from TeleFaction.
Return on Behavior Magazine was produced in cooperation with Customaxi
.
|
|
|
Subscriber BenefitsAs a subscriber to Return on Behavior Magazine you will be able to browse through hundreds of articles from past and present issues.
Featured Article
| Is customer service only a cost factor? |  |
Is customer service only a cost-factor?
The global
economy is in a down-turn and especially the finance sector is struggling.
Apart from that, especially within the Insurance, Banking, Utility and Telco
industry, markets are saturated
|
|
Read More >>
|
|
Return on Behavior Magazine
