Frontline Magic Podcast

If you heard Horst Schulze, Co-founder at The Ritz Carlton, talking about the hotel’s Ladies and Gentleman you might assume that he was referring to the guests, but you’d be wrong.

As the companies most important asset in their service commitment to guests, this is how Ritz-Carlton refers to their staff - and each of the Ladies and Gentleman who work at The Ritz-Carlton have been invited to join in the vision to exceed their guests’ expectations, and embody the legendary service that makes The Ritz-Carlton a leading luxury brand.

Horst is adamant that The Ritz Carlton would have failed without a motivated frontline team, and their commitment to the basics of service.

In an exclusive presentation from the AskNicely Frontline Experience Summit, he shares his tips to managing a great frontline team for success…

1. Don’t just fill the gap.

The first stage to frontline employee empowerment is to select the right people for the right role.

“We didn't hire employees. We selected employees. We invited employees to join us in our vision.”

When your company’s vision is to build the finest hotel company in the world, it’s essential that this vision is ingrained from the bottom up – starting with the hiring and orientation that will eventually build daily employee habits.

On the flipside, think about an employee you’ve managed or worked with who didn’t quite cut the mustard. Now think about that same employee with these questions in mind…

Who was their leader? Why were they hired in the first place? Were there faults in the selection process? The employee orientation process? Did the employee feel appreciated?

Horst talks about using these important questions when someone isn’t living uo to their full potential. The follow up advice might feel confronting: “The fact that Joe is not a good employee is not his fault, it’s yours.” That’s tough love, and it hits hard.

“We don’t hire for technical talent, but for natural talent”. It’s easier to train technical talent, but natural talent is what makes the difference.

David Cayuela, GM Ritz-Carlton Cancun & Stephen Blandino

2. Get the basics right.

With the right people selected, it’s time to establish your basics of service.

At The Ritz-Carlton this means all new employees are taught the 20 basics of service - the standards that set The Ritz-Carlton experience apart - within days of joining the team.

"We want to be number one in the world." We said, "What are the 20 things we have to do in order to become number one in the world?"

What are your company goals? And what are the basic service standards you need in order to achieve your mission?

Don’t think of them as orders or directions. They should be aspirational objectives for frontline employees to feel motivated to go above and beyond for during every customer interaction.

Horst believes it’s management's role to both establish these standards, as well as maintain the processes, systems, measurements and controls to ensure expectations are met. Because at the end of the day, having the basics in place makes the job of fostering an environment where employees are inspired to deliver on expectations that much easier.

3. Communicate, don’t isolate.

Belonging is a fundamental human need. So why do 40% of people feel isolated at work?

Belonging has a clear correlation to commitment and motivation in the workplace, which directly translates to employee retention, pride and motivation. A high sense of belonging is linked to:

• A 56% increase in job performance.

• A 50% drop in turnover risk.

• A 75% reduction in sick days.

The Ritz-Carlton places significant emphasis on belonging for their employees… and as a result, reaps significant bottom-line benefits. Take the statistics above and apply them to a company of 10,000 people - that’s an annual saving of more than $52M!

Horst’s advice when it comes to fostering belonging and purpose comes back to making sure everyone lives the shared vision, every day. An EY survey found that 39% of respondents feel the greatest sense of belonging when their colleges simply check in with them, both personally and professionally, revealing the power of regular communication and feedback.

4. Continuous improvement through continuous feedback.

Each day at The Ritz-Carlton, frontline employees focus on one basic from their list, discussing what it means and how the team are meeting the objective, or working towards it.

“We orient the employee. We clearly let them know what our customers think.”

Horst also talks about customer feedback as one of the most valuable currencies to your business, and how to turn feedback into action, because you simply cannot improve customer experience without it. ‍

5. Hold that thought!

By now, you have the right employees; they’re well oriented on your basics of service and working towards a collective vision; they feel a sense of belonging and purpose and they are receiving training and feedback.

Take a breath. You’re almost there.

But here comes the tricky part: sustaining motivation. Long-term employee empowerment requires a continuation of inspiration, training, feedback and knowledge.

The practice at The Ritz-Carlton of reviewing one basic of service each day is about identifying what makes their organization excellent, and repeating it. It’s about refreshing mindsets, providing new strategies and sustaining constant support and feedback.

Horst says that The Ritz-Carlton wouldn’t be where it is today without their highly motivated frontline employees.

“If my employees were 5% better than yours, I would win”

Bottom line: A business with a highly motivated frontline team, is a business that will succeed.

If the company offering the most luxurious stays in some of the most desirable locations in the world has clicked on to treating their employees as Ladies and Gentleman to make their guests feel like VIPs, then there is probably something we can all learn from that…

“Workout hard and be nice” is the simple yet powerful mantra of leading fitness brand Barry’s (fitness studio), encapsulating the culture and reinforcing the values that have made this global business as successful as it is today with more than 82 locations around the world.

Devin Murphy, the company’s Senior Vice President of Operations, started her journey with the brand as a diehard client in New York City when she was training with them as a former competitive swimmer. She’s spent the past seven years working for the business at the intersection of her strengths and passion and it’s this attitude that’s contagious and influential throughout the business.

We spoke to her to find out more about how she ensures ‘Barry’s’ continues to ‘flex’ its customer success muscles.

Using values as a cornerstone of your business Devin is a big believer in the power of using values to formulate and sharpen a company’s mission and decisions. At Barry’s, three integral values are upheld at all times: family, fun and innovation.

“Our values are the way we do business. They show up throughout our culture, filtering down to even our annual review process which formulated around them” says Devin.

She goes on to explain the power of each of these…

Value One: Family

“To us, Barry’s is a family and we focus on how we treat and trust one another on an ongoing basis - from the atmosphere in studios, to celebrating the small things”

To do this, Barry’s gives every studio a monthly budget devoted to staff and client experience with the sole purpose of ‘making someone’s day’. “We send flowers, toast a lot of champagne and eat a lot of cupcakes and donuts for a fitness company. It’s about celebrating individuals and communities.”

Value Two: Fun

‍“If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong,” believes Devin.

Barry’s wants customers to look forward to coming to a workout; to inspire them to get off the couch and get into the studio. The best way of doing that is to make fun happen in as many different ways as possible.

“We find things to celebrate! It starts with someone being brave enough to come for their first time - a lot of people are terrified to go to a gym. The next moment that we honor is 10 classes; we know that someone is building a habit with us, and that's really exciting for us as a company.”

Tailored celebrating is important too, says Devin. Some people might want to shout their achievements out from the rooftops, while others may prefer something a little more private.

“We recently had a client celebrate 3000 classes with us. We took one of our studio benches that people do the floor exercise portion of their workout on, and we spray painted it and had the client’s initials painted on it. When she went to take her spot that day, she had a custom piece of studio equipment waiting for her, which of course we hand delivered to her home afterwards.”

‍Value Three: Innovation

“A good idea really can come from anywhere” believed Devin who is a big advocate of encouraging team members to share ideas and then empowering them to give the idea a try - sometimes with surprising results.

She adds that innovation is sorely needed in the current global climate.

“One of our team members in California came up with the idea to use lightboxes in the studio as a way of celebrating client achievements. This was a fun, retro way to get a message across quickly and it felt like ‘us’. From there, we started to scale it across the country and now the lightbox is something systematically built into our milestone programme and part of our studio life - something we do every year for our customers.”

Problems met with innovation result in improvement

Even if everyone does their job perfectly from now until the end of time, stuff will still go wrong, cautions Devin who adds that it’s always possible to make someone feel good while delivering bad news.

Barry’s is well-known for taking advantage of potentially ‘bad’ scenarios and tipping them on their head. One very early morning in New York, a team member opened the gym at 4.30am, right before a 5am class, to discover the power was out. “The only thing on our mind was: how are we going to make this right for clients? No one gets up and checks their email before coming to a 5am class… and we can’t turn clients away when they’s braved the cold at that time of the day. So we did our first weight workout by candlelight!”

For those booked into later classes, the team booked slots at a nearby studio in Park Avenue. “We had a line of Uber SUVs parked outside the front door and when clients came for their class, we apologised, then offered them a ride and alternative workout, on us. Every single person who showed up was still given the opportunity to work out. It became this nice little community builder - groups of people having Uber rides together. That was us putting our collective innovative minds to work.”

Remember what it's like to be the consumer

Devin says that Barry’s always encourages its frontline team members to remember what it feels like to be a consumer - and to tap into that knowledge and understanding around what makes an experience a great, or not-so-great one.

She shares her own experiences of excellent customer - a recent flight from LA to Miami with American Airlines flight attendant Jeffrey - as an example of standout service.

“How he took care of people really stuck with me. He came around before the flight started and introduced himself, asking ‘Can I call you Devin?’ At the end of the flight, he came past and thanked me for my loyalty. We realized through the course of our conversation that we would be on the same return flight together. Sure enough, two days later, he remembered me and asked ‘How was your week Devin?’ I know how many people they see day in and day out. The fact that he had remembered our interaction and was able to continue to build the relationship two days later was remarkable. Now, I really look forward to seeing him on more flights.” That is the benchmark.

“Live out your values as a company. Innovate. Focus on your customer. They aren’t difficult things; but they’re important things and if you can get them right, your customer service muscles will keep on growing,” concludes Devin.

Cheryl’s advice for listening is to: “Be curious, be open and ask questions from an appreciative inquiry space. That means ‘Help me understand more about that and why is that important to you?’ Because when you have a conversation from an invitation point of view, it draws in the person to feel safe to share their experience.”

Be a curious cat

Cheryl says this curiosity applies to the company’s hiring process as well where they’re on the lookout for a certain type of cool cat… a curious one!

“I’m looking for people who have that customer-centricity, who are competent, empathetic and engaging. And that all starts with curiosity.”

And here’s how that one important attribute leads to smiles:

Looking for understanding – Curious frontline workers ask more questions in order to really understand their customer’s needs and their emotional connection to the experience.

Looking for new ways – Curious frontline workers won’t be scared to try new things and look for new ways to make the experience better for the customer. As a life-long learner, there will always be an opportunity to improve and a new path to explore.

Looking for feedback – Curious frontline workers will be looking for feedback. After they’ve tried out those new ideas and asked all those questions, you know that they’ll want to find out if they’ve done a good job, or not… but either way a curious person will see that as yet another opportunity.

Bringing your whole self… no matter who you are

Cheryl also highlights how important it is to focus on the person in front of you and what she calls their ‘humanity. “They have a whole human experience behind them.”

SmileDirectClub has seen engagement results soar and their teams tell them that they feel more seen, heard and valued because of a big piece of work underway to educate all teams on cultures and backgrounds that make up their employee base and customer base. After listening to their people, SmileDirectClub leaders found that many people didn’t feel comfortable having conversations around cultural differences. The focus of the current programme is on learning more about each other and how to have discussions as a team and then apply these learnings.

“That's where things often go very wrong. We tend to give information out, but we don't teach people how to apply it. If you’re wanting to become more of an inclusive leader or want to reflect the diversity of your team, don't be afraid to have conversations.”

Which we think is the perfect way to put that empathy, listening and curiosity to work!

And the payoff is powerful…

“If your company wants to create a better experience for customers, then double down your focus on team member or employee engagement to drive the right behaviors and conditions for your team members to thrive. Numerous surveys have proven that a highly engaged workforce drives productivity and a commitment to going the extra mile for your customers.”

Head of People Experience, Kirsten Riechelmann, has worked for New Zealand’s largest home improvement retailer, Mitre 10, for more than 16 years. The co-operative comprises 84 locally owned and operated stores, with owners who are passionate about providing great service to New Zealand's home improvement and gardening enthusiasts. Kirsten’s challenge? Rallying all these stakeholders around positive changes that keep the group ‘one step ahead’ when it comes to customer experience.

“The strength of a co-operative is that our owners are passionate about their businesses and will always want to see their store flourish. The challenge is getting them all on board and aligned,” explains Kirsten. “Because of that, it’s more about doing things with them, rather than for or to them. That same approach also works wonders when frontline team apply it to how they treat customers.”

We spoke to Kirsten about how Mitre 10 uses care, co-creation, feedback and empowerment to supercharge its success.

The boomerang of care

“Build relationships with people, care about them; and care will come back to you.”

At Mitre 10, this ethos filters through every layer of the organisation - from the Support Office’s relationship with store owners; to each team member’s approach to helping their customers.

How Mitre 10 cares for those INSIDE the team

When it comes to team, Kirsten is a firm believer in the power of strong relationships to drive business processes forward.

She believes relationships are crucial and that’s something that’s built over time. “You can’t just roll out a programme and mandate its use in a store. It’s unlikely to be taken up and if by chance it is, it’s not likely to stick. We prefer working with the stores and showing the material impact it could have on their business. Caring about their business more than your initiative is vital. This not only builds trust but loyalty too.”

“Trust doesn’t just come from implementing initiatives that have an impact… sometimes, it’s as simple as actually answering your phone, returning messages or remembering details about people’s lives outside of work. It is also about showing a cohesive approach - involving others across the business in the process of planning change.”

How Mitre 10 cares for customers

On the floor - it starts with helping people ‘from the front door right through to the checkout’. Kirsten believes that something as simple as a smile, genuinely wanting to help them or creating a moment of magic, like walking a customer to their car with an umbrella in the rain, can make a lasting impression. “Customers can feel this; if you care enough about them, they will care back... and even better, they will come back.”

She is also an advocate of focusing on the experience, not the sale.

“The most important thing for people is not product knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, that’s important, but what’s more important is caring about the person you’re talking to. When you do that, everything else falls into place.”

Cooperatives like to co-create; so should leaders

This same ‘care’ has been extended to how the company rolls out capability programmes.

Their previous approach involved coming up with an initiative and laying it on the table for stores to pick up. “We used to develop programmes to and for stores. When rolled out, they worked in the short term, but it wasn’t sustainable. We knew if we were to do anything new, it needed to focus on both a culture shift and capability lift. We needed to change the approach and do it together,” explains Kirsten.

She shares the old adage: “‘Involve the business’. They are more likely to know more than you do…”

This, however, is easier said than done, when you are based in a Support Office and not in store.

She goes on to say: “Questions are powerful. We asked ourselves: How do we involve these owners? How do we find out what their pain points are? It’s not about having a complete and ready roadmap; it’s more important to create a loop for constant feedback and input that enables you to co-create something together.”

“We’ve tested, validated and created what we call ‘freedom within a framework’ - a way for store owners to have the flexibility to make a programme their own, while keeping within a defined framework.”

“Now, instead of presenting something in finished format, we take a subset of stores and invite feedback from them early on in the development process. We ask questions and listen. Those who are involved can then help influence others positively.”

Use feedback as a springboard for success

Aside from feedback from store owners, Kirsten also believes that getting feedback from customers is crucial in helping develop a better experience, and can be used as a unifier, not a divider, within a business.

Mitre10 uses several tools to achieve this, including a customer feedback and reward programme for gathering insights (i.e. ‘give feedback and stand a chance to win!’). Internally, this has helped the team focus on areas that matter and work together to come up with resolutions for things that didn’t go so well, while also focusing on how to make experiences even better.

“The great thing about using customer insight, is that it moves away from ‘what Kirsten thinks’, or ‘what Support Office says’ and becomes more about the experience the customer is after. When customer insight becomes the key to initiating change, there’s not much to argue about,” says Kirsten.

Turn your team members into ‘experience advisors’

Aside from customer feedback, Kirsten also believes in the power of turning your team members into ‘experience advisors’.

“Epic customer experience starts with employing people who really like partnering with customers and solving problems. They will fast become your greatest asset.”

“Ask questions of them, too,” she advises. “Be open to learning about what might inhibit them from providing awesome customer service. The response may be surprising and quite often, there’s a quick fix…”

She goes on to say that incremental change in this area is one of the most powerful forms of improvement: “It’s important to realise it’s not about massive change at once. With both customers and team, make small incremental changes based on feedback. Find the one small thing you can do better. What’s the one percent improvement you could make? Try it. Make a few of those and they really do start adding up…”

Thanks, Kirsten, great tips for those of us who are ‘DIY’ enthusiasts when it comes to customer success….

Let’s recap Kirsten’s tips for nailing it:

Care for your people and customers and that care will come back to you in the form of loyalty and trust.

Learn the power of doing things with people, not for or to them.

Let customer and team feedback lead you!

It’s the small improvements that band together to make up big gains.

These perfectly sum up Mel’s whirlwind approach to inspiring herself, her team and her customers:

“Passion comes from that feeling of helping people achieve their dreams and giving them an opportunity to better themselves.”

“We all need to collaborate and come together more. Don’t fear your peers. We have so much to offer, and it's up to the older generation to grab the younger generation by the hand, lead and nurture them, and teach them to be leaders of the future.”

“There's lots of ways of creating a great experience, but everybody (everybody!) wants to be recognized. Everybody wants to be noticed. And everybody wants a smile.”

Mel will be speaking at our Global Frontline Summit on 16 February 2022, along with other inspirational leaders from people-powered businesses across Marketing, Customer Experience, Operations and HR.

Read more here: https://www.frontlinemagic.org/post/working-up-a-storm-in-the-fitness-world

Design repeatable experiences...

Once customer service basics have been embedded, Adi believes that the next step is to build value in the repeatability of a consistently great experience – and that takes more than just a great frontline team…

“Businesses spend tons of money on marketing and positioning themselves in a way that sets them apart from competitors. Where we often go wrong is not connecting campaigns (telling everyone how good we are) with the service we provide (cold and removed). Sometimes, these two things appear to be two very different parts of the same business.”

“When it all goes right - it’s important to ask, how did we do that? And how do we improve that? Not just once but every single time, so that what you arrive at is repeatability - an ability to deliver to a high standard over and over again.”

> But how?

Adi recommends that a good way to start interrogating your business model and customer-centricity (placing the customer at the centre of everything you do) is Matt Watkinson’s “Grid”. The Grid provides a structured tool that will help you evaluate where your business is at; determine whether your customer approach delivers the service customers expect; and ensures your strategy is tied into profitability decisions.

Adi also recommends familiarising yourself with ‘Design Thinking’ (see here for a simple explanation of this method of problem solving) which will help you place people at the heart of every decision and strategy, because “Building a good customer experience does not happen by accident. It happens by design.” (Clare Muscutt)

And then evolve...

Although Uber’s business was understandably affected by the pandemic, Adi also tells us how important Covid has been in learning lessons around continuous and deliberate improvement. Remaining compassionate towards Uber’s teams and customers and supporting them through tough times was a high priority, but building products and processes that are sustainable and live on past a crisis also had to be a key focus.

“We had to think on our feet, consider the true context for our user base and then look at opportunities to help move the business forward in an unexpected, non-traditional way.”

> But how?

To achieve this, Adi kept the conversation super practical.

“Talking about customer empathy and connection to your senior stakeholders can come across as fluffy or touchy-feely. I always try to take it from very ‘high level’ to practical. I base my approach on understanding the customer perspective; concrete data and of course Design Thinking models!”

She goes on to share how that played out in her region…

“For many of our partners, driving isn’t just a ‘side-hustle’ but quite often a means to support their entire families. Our drivers hadn’t just lost an income source, but their entire income altogether. Armed with this understanding, coupled with deep empathy for our customers who were unable to see their loved ones in person we piloted to launching a brand new parcel delivery service called Uber Connect. It was a fantastic way of ensuring continued business and care for our partners and customers.”

Reinvention shouldn't stop at just service…

Recognition and reward is super important at Uber. The company has regional and sub-regional recognition programs in place, with one of these, related to drivers, aptly called ‘Customer heroes’. Storytelling around these programs is key - with Uber making sure its people understand why a particular customer engagement or opportunity was so impactful.

“But then Covid hit and presented us with an opportunity to rethink our traditional recognition programs and how we recognise the teams tasked with implementing our customer success models. How could we continue to acknowledge a good job when we couldn’t be together and share in that success?.”

To Adi, that meant a new opportunity to zero in on intrinsic self-esteem and personal development to keep teams motivated and engaged even through the most tiring and toughest of times.

> But how?

“We’ve spent lots of effort focussing on personal development and helping (our people) think a little more broadly about their careers – which has created a new understanding of reward. Not just ‘Hey, you've done a great job’, but also ‘here’s an opportunity to hone your skills’. We have provided our people with opportunities to work on short-term assignments they might not normally experience in their everyday job. This made them feel motivated and excited and in turn, will of course result in them doing a better job at dealing with customers, and supporting the business.”

Getting the balance right

Customise but repeat. Define but evolve. Adi acknowledges that getting the balance right isn’t always going to be easy, but that repeatability will help bridge that important ‘space between’.

“Design your experiences starting with the customer at the forefront and support your people to provide that experience for every customer, every time.”

Some top tips from Uber’s Sub-saharan drivers (and riders!)...

Tap into warmth and hospitality!

“Every single time you come into contact with a customer is an opportunity to engage. Ask your customers if they’re ok; find out if they want to listen to music or just sit back and chill. Be that friendly face!”

Maximise everyday opportunities

“Every day is an opportunity to make a difference. Lost belongings followed up and returned quickly; keys left in the back seat driven across town to make getting inside (and safe) a lot easier - it’s the little things that matter.”

Encouragement goes both ways

“Driving, day in and out, is tiring. A driver shares their energy with you - why not pass the positivity right back! When you see your driver has a ‘5 *’ rating, ask them why or simply comment: ‘You must be a really cool person!’ It’ll make their day.”

In the food and service airport branches where fast food has to be even faster, a focus on excellence at the frontline is key. Here’s how Joe ensures his people’s insights are used to shape an even better future; how focussing on the right priorities and recognising the value in the work people love the most can alter your legacy; and how he keeps his teams motivated and encouraged.

When your plans don’t ‘fly’… look for the opportunities

Let’s set the scene for Joe’s most recent role at HMS Hosts - the brand behind brands, responsible for operating many of the eateries and stores at airports and travel-stops, including Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and Chili’s.

Joe had just taken some well-deserved time out, spent time writing his first book (and starting a second!) and reflected on what comes next – leading operations for around 1700 restaurants. He had an elaborate 100 day plan ready to execute, and on day two...the US shuts down. Covid had hit. After 10 days, he threw that same plan in the bin:

“I knew that it was going to be a different company...that when the pandemic ended, we would grow back differently. I had to restructure the field for the pandemic and now restructure it for the future. It was an opportunity to take forward the best of the culture of the business before the pandemic, but also take advantage of the things we wanted to do differently but didn’t, or couldn’t...”

For Joe, these decisions were shaped, in large, by the stories of the people on HMS Hosts’ frontline:

“Once I could get on the road again, the very first associate I met was a gentleman who has been working at Chili's for 50 years. There are so many stories of people working 30-50 years in the company and in some cases in the same roles. For me, so much of my job is now being shaped by understanding who our people are, because they are the ones with the understanding of our customer needs, and how to build connections quickly in that travel environment.”

Chart your flight around what matters most

One of Joe’s favourite quotes is “Don't be upset by the results that you didn't get from the work that you didn't do.” This helps him to stay grounded in the right responsibilities and invest in the right areas.

“Your legacy is set by the things that you talk about, not the things that you want to be important. So if your conversations are finance-led, that's the legacy you're leaving behind. But if you lead with service…”

(We know which of those legacies will be the most successful!)

Joe shares the perfect example:

“Many of us will remember the late fees at Blockbuster. Too many times, this small $2 fee was the cause of debate and dissatisfaction for customers and frontline teams. At the time, the business reported on stores that waived too many fees, creating a message that these payments were important – and more importantly – that making people pay them was more important than providing good service.”

“Chicken or fish?” Providing choice for the best recognition outcomes…

Throughout Joe’s interview, the importance of recognising the type of service you want to be known for comes through strongly.

The key here is to establish measurements for your top customer experience priorities, and benchmark those against the level of success you need. To really land those goals, bolt on recognition, and send a message company-wide on how important those experiences are to achieving success, both individually, and as a team.

“The Prize Patrol would surprise the stores that provided top service every month. We didn't show up because they had delivered great financials. It was because of guest experience, and that created a powerful message across the organisation.”

Joe also advocates for making sure recognition is as tailored as possible:

“I’ve always asked my teams how they'd like to be recognised. Because intention doesn’t always come through the way you would like it to. There are those who love public recognition - a shout out in front of the team. Others prefer one-on-one recognition or monetary awards. I think it’s really important to be thoughtful about how recognition plays out.”

Encouraging your people to take to the sky...in their own way

Airports can be a stressful environment for a lot of HMS Hosts’ customers, which means that their members of staff have to be absolute pros at looking after customers when they are at their most rushed (and also least likely to be expecting a memorable moment…) Foundational to this ability, Joe explains, is curiosity.

“People have to be really curious about other people, to work in a service environment. When passion and curiosity show up, that's when you’ll create experiences that stand out. When you really connect with someone, even if it's only for a few seconds, it's pretty amazing.”

He’s also an advocate for letting people choose their own flight path when it comes to their career - whether they are a high flyer, or enjoy gliding on ‘cruise control’, people often have their own intuitions on where they can add the most value…;

“Sometimes you have to find people's strengths and allow those to be a strength for the organisation. I think sometimes, as leaders, we want people to climb up the ladder; to progress - but sometimes that might mean taking them out of the place where they add the most value - and where they’re happiest.”

‘Janice’ is a perfect example of this. She is just one of the memorable employees that Joe has met on his travels. For almost 50 years, Janice has worked a small kiosk at her local airport and Joe loves to hear her tell amazing stories about her time working there, and about the people she serves. She hasn’t aspired to move up to manager and beyond, but she loves what she does.

Which brings us back to that rush to the departure gate…

We’ve all been there.. running through the airport, head in a pile of papers and passports, rushing to get to our destination. But even in these moments, life can be about the journey. There are thousands of frontline people at airports around the world who know how to land a smile every time; they know how you feel, and they are ready and waiting to show you that the day is going to be great… but at a pace, because they know you have a flight to catch!

“It can be really difficult to smile at someone and then not have them smile back. It may not always change the trajectory of that person’s day, but there's a pretty good chance it'll get a little bit better.

So on your way to your connecting flight, don’t forget to make a connection!

Josh four most important pillars for creating a strong culture...

FUN: “You cannot run a business without fun. If you do, everyone's going to be miserable, and no one will want to come to work.” 

UNITY: “You have got to work together as a team. Teamwork makes the dream work. If there's no teamwork, it'll never work.”

EARNINGS: “Well, if you're not making money, that's not going to work either.”

LEADERSHIP: “Good leaders will always create other good leaders who lead by example. Remember that the leaders have got to be the strongest; the ones who have a mentally tough mindset to grow others to be even stronger leaders.”And just because they’re too good not to share, here are a few more of our favourite Josh-isms...

Read the full summary post from the interview here: https://www.frontlinemagic.org/post/gymguyz-give-their-best-advice-for-a-frontline-workout

Anna Egan has deep experience in the fields of customer experience, sales, coaching and training. Her product knowledge and project management expertise have seen her play a pivotal role in building high-performing teams for global organisations.

"Building mastery in any frontline skill—customer communication, problem-solving, complaint handling, and so on—takes time. It takes multiple coaching touches, repeated practice sessions, and consistent reinforcement. It’s like climbing a ladder."

Find your unique why as a business

The word amazing isn’t just part of Shep’s title, it’s also part of his company mantra – to always be amazing. Shep believes that crafting your own unique company mantra or mission statement is an essential piece of groundwork for achieving consistent customer service, and something every company should think about.

He cites the service vision of the Ritz Carlton as a great example – “We're ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.” Nine simple words that became the north star of their entire organisation.

Your people need to know that they have a big impact, even (and especially) if they feel like they don’t, and having a purpose that people can see themselves contributing to is a bedrock of success.

That sense of purpose starts with your leaders – it’s their role to define it, communicate it and train everybody on it. And as Shep says…

“That means everybody. Everybody has to be in it to win it. That philosophy is to be embraced by everyone from the CEO to the most recently hired.”

Maximizingtop-qualitytreated

Maximising the quality of care for customers goes hand in hand with embodying top quality care for your people.

“Not only is the purpose tenet critical to building a team of people who feel like they are engaged with a meaningful mission; your people need to feel cared for and trusted.”

Shep talks about the golden rule we all grew up with, of ‘treating others how we want to be treated’, but gives it a twist.

“It’s simple. We do unto employees what you would have them do unto a customer. You treat people the way you want your customers treated.”

Abusing employees or taking your people for granted damages the customer experience in both the short-term and long-term, as the unhappy, unengaged energy of your people will feed directly into their frontline interactions.

Beyond showing care and support, embodying the golden rule according to Shep also looks like offering adequate and ongoing training to empower staff to make great decisions, balanced with a healthy dose of trust in your people to do the job.

“You want your customers to experience somebody with authority and conviction and confidence. That comes when they feel trusted.”

One magic moment after the other

Shep believes that lifelong customer loyalty is created one moment; one customer interaction at a time. It’s as simple as that. He explains that any time a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, that’s a moment of truth. In a single moment based on that one employee the customer is speaking to, the customer forms an emotional impression, for better or worse.

“So anytime that customer, member, guest, or whoever it is has the opportunity to form an impression, we want it to be a positive one.”

‘Magic’, as he calls it, doesn't have to be over the top. It just has to be better than average and it needs to be consistent to establish a sense of loyalty. This could mean calling back within an hour, resolving each complaint, or following up with an email so the customer never has to do the chasing.

With one small magic moment after the other, positive experience becomes predictable, and a sense of reliability, trust and confidence is formed. The customer knows that when they do business with you, beyond your products and services, this extra magic is what they can expect.

Forget about lifetime loyalty for a moment, and break it down into more bitesize chunks. Ask yourself and ask your people, how can you make your next interaction more positive?

Attitude trumps all

When you’re looking for new people to join your team, or thinking about what traits are most valuable, remember that attitude is king – not just someone who ticks the skills boxes.

“There’s an old saying – hire for attitude, train the skill. I think attitude is really important and it's not just attitude; it's personality. Make sure that the personality fits.”

As the world evolves, new technology, systems and processes can be taught to anyone. It’s an openness and eagerness to learn and serve that really sets people apart.

Shep’s parting words of wisdom for building loyalty?

“We’re not in a recession, we're in a resignation. You have to create an environment and a culture that attracts people, fulfils people, keeps people, and makes them want to engage with customers.”

Recapping Shep’s top tips for building customer loyalty

Find your mission statement or mantra. It should be something quick and easy to remember that can be the north star of all your interactions. Make sure leaders are embodying it and communicating it to get the rest of the team on board.

Treat your people how you want your customers to be treated. This care, support and trust will reflect directly in how they interact with customers.

Long term loyalty is created one moment at a time. Don’t get too caught up in the long-game, just focus on making your next interaction positive.

Attitude wins. While lot of skills can be taught on the job, a better question often is – is this person eager to learn?