News for the Hospitality Executive |
New York, NY (October 2012)—In a
harsh global economy, great
service is the price of admission. Companies whose cultures aren’t
built around
the ability and the willingness—no, the eagerness—to delight the customer
won’t
survive. You know this. And if you’re a leader at global enterprise, no
doubt
you’ve gained more than a few gray hairs worrying about it. It’s true:
Transforming a culture that crosses many boundaries is no small task.
But Ron
Kaufman has a question that might put it all in perspective: If an
entire
nation can build a service-based brand and culture, what’s
stopping YOU? So LUX*
Resorts kicked off an uplifting service transformation, challenging
themselves,
the nation, and every member of their team to break away from the past.
Using
“caterpillar to butterfly” as its metaphor, the company transitioned
from
Naiade Resorts to LUX* Resorts and transformed its culture through
actionable
service education programs. Then, the national airline—where Mauritius
reaches
out to the rest of the world—followed suit with a similar program
called
“Stepping UP Together.” Why did the
people of Mauritius think such a cultural transformation would even
work?
Because Singapore, with the vigorous help of Kaufman and his team, had
blazed
the trail before them. During the 1990s when manufacturing and
administrative
jobs were being outsourced (sound familiar?), the city-state needed to
reinvent
itself. And so, starting with its Changi Airport and expanding to
businesses
throughout the nation, Singapore set out to become the uplifting
service
capital of the world. “It was a
transformation of attitudes from command to creativity, and of
behaviors from
compliance and control to compassion and concern,” says Kaufman. “This
national
effort has become increasingly successful through the years. And
because
Singapore is a microcosm of the world, what works there can work in
your
company, your organization, your career, and your life.” These
nations should serve as harbingers of hope for corporations struggling
to keep
customers happy in an increasingly competitive global economy, he adds.
When
you can’t compete on product or price, you can always compete on
service. “For
Singapore and Mauritius, the literal survival of their citizens
depended on
their making a change,” he says. “Well, for companies that want to be
around
five years from now, the imperative is just as great. Own a service
brand.
Build your service culture. Find ways to continuously add service
value, or
your company will not survive.” As Kaufman
has worked with countless organizations and governments over the years,
he’s
discovered a clearly defined architecture for engineering a powerful
and
uplifting service culture. Here are just a few of its building blocks: Stay
covered with great leadership. True service leadership
is not a demand for better performance pointed at the frontline service
department. It’s not a campaign slogan that gets splashed across the
wall. True
service leadership means creating an environment where every member of
the team
can take the lead in improving and uplifting—from the top down, from
the bottom
up, and from every position in the organization. Tan Suee Chieh faced a big challenge when he
became CEO at
NTUC Income—to make a great company even greater. More than 30 years
ago NTUC
Income was created by Singapore’s government to provide low-cost
insurance to
low-income workers. But as the Singapore economy grew, workers became
more
affluent and had many other options for insurance and financial
planning. While
NTUC Income was one of the most trusted names in Singapore, the company
was
also viewed as traditional and conservative. “Mr. Tan was charged with uplifting NTUC
Income into
Singapore’s new service-centered world,” tells Kaufman. “And he met
that
challenge with a bold and very public declaration. At a company
gathering and
in a full-page newspaper ad, he declared to everyone connected with
NTUC
Income—and that’s everyone in the nation—that change was coming. “And then he followed through—with a new
commitment to making
service come alive, with new staff who revamped the company’s logo,
branding,
and advertising, with innovative products, engaged and enthusiastic
employees,
and uplifting service education for every team member,” he adds. “Mr.
Tan led a
service revolution, and built a winning service culture, by involving
everyone
from the bottom up and the top down.” Create a
strong foundation through education. Many
organizations try to train their employees in customer service when
they should
be educating them. Training
teaches someone what actions to take in a specific
situation. Education teaches him or her how to think about service in
any
situation and then choose the best actions to take. “Great service is not just about following a
procedure or a
sequence of steps,” says Kaufman. “It’s about applying your attitude
and heart
with a proven set of service tools and principles. It’s about taking
valuable
actions at the right time to create an uplifting service experience so
that
customers and colleagues feel great about your organization. Service
education
must enable everyone on your team to make that vital distinction. “Singapore is now taking the significant
step of putting
service education into the school system,” he adds. “The nation is
teaching the
tools and principles of uplifting service to young people, which will
equip
them to succeed in the world’s service economy. Mauritius is working on
taking
similar steps.” Get
everyone to speak with one voice. A Common Service
Language enables clear communication and supports the delivery of
superior
internal and external service. When you
are creating an uplifting service
culture, a Common Service Language is the first building block. Why?
Because
language is the raw
material from which we create new meaning and new experiences
in life. By inventing or adopting a new language, you can actually
change the
world. “When Singapore began its transformation,
the Singapore
Public Service, a wide-ranging system of government with 127,000
officers in 15
ministries and more than 50 statutory boards, faced a problem,” tells
Kaufman.
“Imagine a citizen, a tourist, or an employer with a question, trying
to figure
out which office to call. All too often, callers would make an attempt,
only to
hear a public servant say, ‘Sorry, you’ve called the wrong office.’
That’s not
world-class service. “So Singapore’s Public Service leaders
created a new
phrase—and a philosophy—by implementing a policy called ‘No Wrong
Door,’” he
adds. “Today, if you call the wrong government office, a public servant
will
take personal responsibility to transfer you to the right officer in
another
government agency, and he or she won’t let you go until you have been
successfully connected. ‘No Wrong Door’ highlights the power of a
Common
Service Language: It’s simple, memorable, and effective.” Hire up.
Each new hire either makes your culture stronger or
makes your challenge to build a great service culture a little harder.
The
right people pull naturally in the right direction. Every new hire
sends a
message to everyone else. Either you are committed to your service
culture and
hire good people to prove it, or your commitment is shallow lip service
only,
and your next hire also proves it. “Singapore Airlines had to compete globally
from day one,”
notes Kaufman. “Competing against the world’s major airlines, the one
place
they could differentiate was service. In order to do this, they put in
place
rigorous and discerning hiring methods. If you are hired by Singapore
Airlines,
it means you are truly committed to delivering excellent service. It is
an
honor and a responsibility that every employee takes seriously every
day.
Through careful screening, interviews, and group exercises, the airline
carefully chooses new hires who will contribute to transforming
customer service,
keeping the airline well-known as a great way to fly.” Unite under
one vision. “Many Partners, Many Missions, One
Changi.” That’s the Engaging Service Vision that unites everyone who
works at
Changi Airport. At Changi, a coffee shop worker can tell you the
departure gate
locations and the fastest ways to get there. Airline employees know
where you
can buy last-minute souvenirs. Airport police can tell you how to find
the post
office and what time it opens. At this remarkable gateway, everyone
works together
to create positive experiences every day. “That’s what Engaging Service Visions
do—they unify and
energize everyone in an organization,” explains Kaufman. “They pose a
possibility each person can understand and aim to achieve in his or her
work,
role, team, and organization. It doesn’t matter whether you call this
building
block your service vision, mission, core value, guiding principle,
credo,
motto, slogan, saying, or tagline. What matters is that your Engaging
Service
Vision is engaging.” Constantly UP your game. A Service
Improvement Process creates
synergy by connecting people between levels and functions. Some issues
require
ownership on the frontline, involvement from the middle, and
sponsorship from
above. Others are quickly solved by teams working across silos.
Cross-functional team members bring new perspectives and fresh energy
to old
problems. This is where customer complaints are wanted and welcome,
where
survey reports are carefully examined for new ideas and insights. “A well-designed Service Improvement Process
promotes
communication across functions, divisions, and departments,” notes
Kaufman. “It
stimulates collaboration across levels, languages, and locations. With
thoughtful planning and invitations, you can also tap the creative
energy of
your customers, vendors, distributors, and even your government or
industry
regulators. All of these elements come together so that you are working
toward
a constant state of improvement.” Be a
service copycat. Service Benchmarking reveals others’
best practices and points to new ways you can upgrade yours. Develop a
focused
team of service providers who constantly seek to understand: How do
other
leaders create uplifting service experiences for their customers and
colleagues? What can we learn, then adapt, adopt, and apply to improve
the
service we deliver to our customers and to each other? “Singapore is a great place to service
benchmark,” notes
Kaufman. “Literally the entire nation is devoted to service, so
everywhere you
turn, from private companies to government agencies to individual
citizens, you
experience service improvement programs based on what customers,
visitors,
residents, and citizens need. Specifically, Changi Airport is a great
place to
look, especially when you know how the airport benchmarked its own way
to great
service.” Changi Airport wants passengers to enjoy
personalized,
stress-free, and positively surprising service. So the airport
installed a lush
butterfly garden, which is an incredible place to relax, and a
twisting,
four-story slide that offers unexpected thrills and excitement. But no
other
airport in the world provided these facilities as competitive
benchmarks. It
got its ideas from surprising places: hospitals and theme parks. “Changi Airport schedules flights and gates,
and welcomes
passengers and visitors,” says Kaufman. “Hospitals schedule surgeries
and
operating theaters, and welcome patients and visitors. Hospitals have
long used
gardens as quiet places to help people rest and relax in a stress-free
environment. And in many of the world’s best gardens, you will enjoy
the beauty
of butterflies. “Also, the airport welcomes families from
all over the world
with children who have energy to burn and want to have a good time,” he
adds.
“Well, theme parks offer engaging attractions for the exact same
families—attractions like multi-story slides.” Model the
behaviors you want to see. Being a service role
model is not just for senior managers and members of the leadership
team. It is
what happens every time people can see what you do, read what you
write, or
hear what you say in an internal or external service situation.
Leaders,
managers, and frontline staff must walk-the-talk with powerful personal
actions
every day. “When NTUC Income embarked on its cultural
revolution, Mr.
Tan knew he was asking people to change their traditional—and
comfortable—ways
of thinking and being,” says Kaufman. “The best thing he could do was
model new
behaviors for all to see and follow. He wanted his people to be more
flexible,
so he took up intensive yoga classes to demonstrate his commitment to
be
flexible and balanced. He wanted the team to think and act outside
their
comfort zones, so he shaved his head for a charity function. “Mr. Tan wanted the team to use new media,
go online, and
not be afraid of the digital future,” he adds. “So he created a Twitter
account, Facebook pages, and a LinkedIn profile to connect himself and
his
company to the world. Now he wants the company to be fit for the
competitive
future and is training to run a full marathon. Some in the company will
join
him on the run. And, through his behavior, everyone will be uplifted by
his
commitment.” “Singapore
is a nation of service,” says Kaufman. “When people realize that a
product
comes from Singapore or when an event is being held there, it’s an
anxiety
reliever because the country has made itself synonymous with uplifting
service.
Mauritius is working toward that goal now, and that is exactly the
feeling you
should strive to create in people when they think about your company,
your
department, or your organization. If these nations can transform into
uplifting
service cultures, you can do it too.” Ron Kaufman is a popular keynote speaker and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues, and Everyone Else You Meet (Evolve Publishing, 2012, ISBN: 978-09847625-5-2, $14.95, www.UpliftingService.com). He is a thought leader, educator, and motivator for uplifting customer service and building service cultures in many of the world’s largest and most respected organizations, including Singapore Airlines, Nokia Siemens Networks, Citibank, Microsoft, and Xerox. He is the founder of UP! Your Service, a global service education and management consultancy firm with offices in the United States and Singapore. Ron is a columnist at Bloomberg Businessweek and the author of 14 other books on service, business, and inspiration. Ron has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and USA Today. |
Contact: Dottie DeHart DeHart & Company Public Relations (828) 325-4966 [email protected] |