A mediocre employee in your group is more than one mediocre employee--he or she is a human multiplier-effect, to the downside. If you have even one mediocre employee, you have announced to the world that mediocrity is okay by you, while conceding that you are willing to slow the entire group for the sake of the worst employee.

Thus, allowing that one person to stay is not being kind or generous; it's dangerous. It's dangerous for the individual, who knows that, at some level, he or she is doing second-rate work, and who you are locking into mediocrity, and it is dangerous for the group, which is slowed and distracted."
--from (Great) Employees Only

As well, look at the Slide Share presentation that John Moore posted on his site.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

But, as we look deeper, we see that it takes much more than talk to create highly engaged employees. Those companies that are serious about engaging their employees have:

1. Spent significant amounts of time talking to and listening to what their employees want.
2. Made significant investments in determining what drives engagement and how to measure it.
3. Recognized that they will need to create an employee experience that mirrors their desired customer experiences. In other words, they need to build the customer experience from the inside-out.
4. Made someone accountable for driving the move to engagement.

Yes, we did say that they have made someone accountable for driving employee engagement! If you are reading this and have yet to make someone accountable for driving employee engagement, you had better read on…

The best companies not only have Chief Customer Officers – increasingly they are putting someone in charge of driving employee engagement. Why now? Companies are realizing that they can no longer take the commitment and loyalty of their employees for granted.

1. They are realizing that valued employees, like valued customers, are free to make choices to engage, to commit, to stay, or to leave.
2. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 80% of line workers and 50% of Executives are dissatisfied with their lives at work.
3. Three quarters of new recruits feel that their employers are failing to deliver on their promises making the recruits feel less committed to their work.

With those facts, we are seeing companies put employee engagement on their priority list. Here are some examples of companies, who clearly have engagement as a top priority:

Royal Bank of Scotland has Greig Aitken, Head of Human Capital Strategy. We love this title! What does it mean? Well, Greig is in charge of assessing how effective the bank is at attracting, engaging, and retaining the bet people and how its people strategy drives business performance.

HSBC has Nigel Fretwell, who is Head of HR, GHQ and Global Head of Employee Engagement and Diversity. And HSBC (North America) has Liz Rabii Cribbs, who is Director of Employee Engagement and Corporate Services.

Lloyds TSB has Andy Clarke, Director of Employee Engagement.

Wachovia has Mickey Addision, SVP Employee Engagement.

Canada Post has Mary Traversy, SVP Employee Engagement. “Employee engagement is not the flavour of the month,” Traversy says. “

What we are talking about is a culture change and that is a long-term process.” Canada Post’s employee engagement plan is being rolled out through local leaders and is evolving. “We’ll continue to do research, measure results and roll with the punches.”

Penna, Plc has Alasdair McKenzie, Head of Employee Engagement and Culture.

Network Appliance Inc. has Francesca Karpel, Manager Employee Engagement.

Who is driving employee engagement at your company? If you think engagement will be a top priority – maybe you should consider making someone accountable for it!

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You might think the arrow does nothing here. But it says that amazon.com has everything from a to z and it also represents the smile brought to
the customer's face. Wow, that is quite deep.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Have a look at the blog, we are sure you will find it interesting:

A well known law firm is trying to teach its partners to say "thank you" and "good work" to its associates. It's no joke. The firm lost 31% of its associates in 2004 and another 30% of them in 2005. Each year, one-third of highly educated associates who make about $160,000 per year decide the money's not worth it.

With attracting, retaining and engaging employees becoming a top priority at many companies - we cannot forget that the basics still make a difference. Think about it - how often are you thanked for your efforts, for a job well-done? I know firsthand, how much it means to get that simple thank-you. A simple acknowledgement that someone appreciates your efforts and insights! Next time, think about how much you liked being thanked for the work you do and share it around!
Have a read!

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In the blog, they talk about how Disney has created a friendly environment for its customers. As they outline, it starts with employees and mirroring the friendly environment inside-first.

“Walt Disney Productions has been something of an anachronism in major industry by adhering to a first-name, open-door, informal code of behavior for its employees. And yet, these are the proven factors that lead directly to having fun on the job, maintaining a sense of humor and strong sense of internal friendliness. Ultimately, as Walt and Roy knew, it would lead to a strong external friendliness...a friendly efficiency with the public that would pay off in large dividends. No one can create the kind of friendly entertainment product we demand in a formal, unfriendly atmosphere. This important aspect of the Disney philosophy is universally recognized today by the public and press alike. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that "You can see more respectful, courteous people in Disney World in an afternoon than in New York in a year.”

If you know any other companies that are delivering employee experiences that mirror the customer experience, please let us know.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let us know what you think…

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Everyone who writes about or develops customer experiences should watch the McDonald’s 1972 training videos. Why? Because, in reality, we are still trying to teach employees the same things – to treat customers with courtesy – with a smile…

While the videos are certainly not Disney-quality – the messages as true today as they were over three decades ago. Customers want to be treated with courtesy. They want to be asked how they can be helped. They want to be thanked for their business. And they want to understand the best deals that are available – “do you want fries with that”?

We all know that employee engagement is at an all time low. And all of us have dealt with employees who don’t like their jobs. What we love about these videos is the simplicity of the messages. McDonalds tries to show its employees how smiling and treating customers with courtesy can be contagious. According to the video – “courtesy is what makes it run smoothly.”

However, what becomes increasingly apparent is the fact that so few companies are actually delivering on this simple concept. There are only a few companies that consistently deliver exceptional customer experiences and at the foundation of these experiences are engaged employees, who at a minimum treat their customers with courtesy. Why is it so difficult to deliver the smile?

Well, we certainly agree with Seth Godin, that it will take more than the creation of motivational videos to create courteous employees. We think that more and more companies should look to what the best have done - hire for attitude and train for skill.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

According to the blog, consumers in 2007 will need to take a deep breath and get ready for an olfactory onslaught: nostrils are becoming a target for marketers. Advertising Age has just named scents as an expected top ad trend in 2007.

The blog goes onto cite recent examples of where the power of smell will be used to sell.

1. Kraft Foods – one million People Magazine subscribers got a special holiday issue featuring “rub and smell” ads for products such as cherry Jell-O and white fudge Chips Ahoy.

2. Pepsico promotions have included print ads, coupons and store signs infused with the new soft drink’s fruit and French vanilla fragrances.

3. Verizon Wireless stores in the Northeast used chocolate “scent strips” to hype LG Electronics new mobile phone and music player named Chocolate.

We have also recognized the power of scent and believe that we will see an increasing number of companies using “smell” to not only sell products, but to create better customer experiences.

As mentioned in our previous blog – the Mandarin Oriental is using the five senses, including smell, to create a differentiated customer experience.

We recently visited the Marriott Hotel in Miami and were flooded with scents, that were not very appealing, but it was obvious they were trying to appeal to the senses.

We believe that more and more companies will try to appeal to consumers' sense of smell. Having said that, they need to be careful that they are creating appeal for their customers - unlike our experience at the Marriott, as all we wanted to do was to exit the hotel and get a "breath of fresh air"!

What is your comany doing to appeal to your consumers’ sense of smell?

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. YOUR MISSION FOR THE YEAR: MAKE A DIFFERENCE
In his final remarks in his Message to the Field a few years ago, (Herb) Kelleher told Southwest Airlines employees this:

"When you’re sitting around with your grandchildren, I want you to be able to tell them that being connected to Southwest Airlines was one of the finest things that ever happened in your entire life. I want you to be able to say, ‘Southwest Airlines ennobled and enriched my life; it made me better, and bigger, and stronger than I ever could have been alone. And if, indeed, that happens with your grandchildren, then that will be the greatest contribution that I could have made to Southwest Airlines and to its future."

So, that’s what Kelleher means by ‘a company led by love’. Whether you’re a manager, CEO or frontline service giver, what do you want colleagues and customers to say about you if someone asked them at the end of 2007? "Wow, they were inspiring this year: really lifted me up, helped me out, led by example, made me realise work doesn’t have to be a chore…" or "Same as everyone else, I guess: did their job competently, got on with it…" Up to you, really, isn’t it?

We agree with Phil – every company should have this new habit at the top of their list. The best companies are already thinking about how they can create better employee and customer experiences. If you aren’t already doing so – you had better think about how your company will make a difference to your colleagues and your customers.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When we arrived on the plane and got settled, we were approached by a stewardess. She asked how old my baby was and then went to the front of the plane. We were then approached again. She explained, that they should not have charged us for a seat for our infant, as it is against the policy of Transport Canada. So what? Well, here is where it gets interesting.

I would never have known that this was against Transport Canada policy. I was quite happy with my child in the seat beside me. But their employees weren’t and knew that the right thing to do was to refund my money. In fact, they held up the whole plane to confirm the policy with Transport Canada, and they refunded our money – on the spot!

Here is where empowered employees build loyalty – day-in and day-out. Congratulations to WestJet for empowering your employees to do the right thing for customers.

Posted by Judy McLeish at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)