By Dennis Snow
we all know that customer service initiatives come and go , usually beginning with a lot of fanfare and ending with a quiet departure . With each occurrence of this pattern , an organization ’ s employees become more and more skeptical about subsequent service initiatives . When employees don ’ t see intense leadership commitment beyond the program ’ s rollout , they quickly understand that the initiative is another program of the month . The general feeling becomes , “ Wait it out ; this too shall pass .”
There is no shortage of vision statements , service strategy formation and service program rollouts . It is in the execution of these initiatives that organizations often come up short . The virtues of customer service have been preached for years , but the results have been less than impressive . Why ? The main reason is that most organizations want a “ smile pill ” that can be taken with little or no disruption to the current routine . In order to truly generate lasting service improvement , a top-down commitment to changing processes , behaviors , measurements , etc . is needed .
To execute a vision or strategy effectively , leaders must be committed in the long-term . Employees at all levels are watching to see how committed their leaders are . Clues to commitment to execution include : what does my manager spend most of her or his time talking about ? What do our meetings focus on ? What does my manager hold me accountable for ? What gets rewarded and recognized ? And probably most important of all , how well does my manager walk the talk when it comes to providing excellent service ?
There are three key leadership behaviors that will demonstrate commitment to executing a service improvement strategy :
Service
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2016 Issue 4 | THE SCORE
Walk the talk
Before employees take personal responsibility for creating an environment that demonstrates a commitment to excellence , they must see that their leadership team is committed . If , for example , you expect employees to acknowledge customers promptly , it is vital that you do the same . If you expect employees to pay attention to detail , then picking up a piece of trash off the floor as soon as you see it will speak volumes beyond anything you can put in a policy manual .
A recent article in the Orlando Sentinel highlighted Erin Wallace , vice president of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World . Part of the story emphasized that whenever Erin walks the park she carries and uses a “ nabbie grabber ,” which is a device custodians use to pick up cigarette butts off the ground . Imagine the impact this has on Disney cast members . Cast members are reminded that it is everyone ’ s job to keep the park clean . It also reinforces one of Disney World ’ s key values – attention to detail . If , however , Erin were to simply walk by a piece of trash on the ground and not pick it up , cast members would quickly get the idea that “ attention to detail ” is simply a catch phrase , not a true value .
A clear example of walking the service talk is the willingness to put service support systems in place . Support systems demonstrate that you are prepared to back up the talk with resources . Southwest Airlines , for example , is noted as a service leader . They constantly preach the value of excellent service . They don ’ t just talk about it , however . Southwest is the industry standard when it comes to flight turnaround time : 20 minutes . They are currently working on a new jetway system , however , that will improve the turnaround time to 15 minutes .
If you watch the Southwest ground crew in action when a plane arrives , you ’ ll see that it is similar to a racecar pit crew . Everything is ready to go into motion as soon as the plane