Enduring loyalty ebook
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EnduringLoyalty
Building a lasting service culture with your team and your guests
Louis S. Roden
2©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Why Does Loyalty Matter?People don’t quit companies - people quit people.
That phrase resonates with me every time I repeat it. When I first
heard the premise, it struck me hard. I first thought of every job I
had ever left, and soon realized that I never really quit a company; I
quit a boss. That’s not to say that I had a terrible boss at every job I
left. The absence of loyalty does not necessarily mean that one is in
a tyrannical situation. However, without a high degree of loyalty in
play, it was far easier to find the door.
In situations where I was very loyal to my leader and to my
teammates, I never left. Ever. I realized that I had endured difficult
times, inadequate resources, and even submarket compensation - all
in the name of loyalty. Now, I didn’t think in such terms then. I simply
“liked my job and my boss” so I stuck around. But in reflection, it was
the loyalty that was in play that made me WANT to stay – to work
harder, work smarter, and contribute all that I could to the team.
I soon realized that LOYALTY is the key. If a leader builds loyalty with
their team and fosters loyalty among its members, all the payoffs
that every organization wants to see are manifested –morale,
motivation, retention of talent, productivity, frugality, execution,
innovation – you name it. Every pain point that every business leader
– or any leader – has faced can be overcome, or at the very least
endured, in an environment rich with loyalty!
If a leader builds
loyalty with their team
and fosters loyalty
among its members,
all the payoffs that
every organization
wants to see are
manifested...
3©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Loyalty is Internal and ExternalThe same truism is in play with our guests. Before we go further, let
me first argue for my use of the term “guest” rather than “customer.”
By all means, this is rooted in my hospitality background. We would
no sooner call a guest in one of our hotels a “customer” as we would
call a visitor to our own homes a “customer” – and that puts it in
perspective. The term “customer” implies a transaction – a classic,
buyer-seller, pay then leave experience. The transaction needs to
occur, of course, but the transaction should be a COMPONENT of the
experience that our guests have, not the experience in of itself. In
fact, in an environment rich with guest loyalty, the actual transaction
is virtually incidental. If your guests are loyal, you’ll never “sell” a day
in your life.
So, the same rule applies. Guests don’t quit a company or a brand;
they quit a service provider, sales rep, server, account manager, and
the like. Now, as in the work environment, the right things need to
be in play – a quality product, a competent and efficient transaction,
and the right financial parameters. However, a high degree of
loyalty can often overcome deficiencies in these areas; conversely,
an environment absent loyalty may magnify even the smallest
deficiency – another reason why loyalty is so critical!
We would no sooner
call a guest in one
of our hotels a
“customer” as we
would call a visitor
to our own homes a
“customer”
4©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
It’s All About RelationshipsMost of us understand the importance of positive and healthy
relationships. They simply make life richer. When most of us consider
relationships, we think of those of a personal nature; family and
friends are the first to come to mind. However, our professional
relationships are equally important. Not also important…not
secondarily important…but equally.
Why equal? Consider this. Full time professionals spend over 70% of
their waking hours at work – day in and day out – week after week
and year after year. I think it is a clear and easy argument to state
that the place where you spend 70% of your life should be a place
rich in positive, productive and healthy relationships. Unfortunately,
the old adage of “it’s business, it’s not personal” continues to
permeate many work places. That old adage, ladies and gentlemen,
is pure, unmitigated bull crap. Everything is personal.
Think about it. Do you want to spend 70% of your life in an
impersonal, uncaring place? No one does, yet many of us do. When
we find a workplace where people build relationships with us and
actually care – it transforms us. It isn’t the physical space that makes
this transformation happen, it is the people within it…and it is
always, always driven from leadership…or destroyed by leadership.
the place where
you spend 70% of
your life should be a
place rich in positive,
productive and healthy
relationships.
5©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
It’s All About RelationshipsModern leaders at every level need to come out of the dark and
realize that the work place is a personal place, and it is the leader’s
job to build relationships at every opportunity. It isn’t only their
job either; it pays off for the organization and for the leader that
recognizes the importance!
Dr. Roger Pearman, one of the most respected scholars and
researchers in the field of leadership, conducted a meta-analysis
of the drivers of leadership success and leadership failure (or
derailment, as Pearman called it.) Pearman found in his study that
the single greatest driver of a leaders – any leaders – success was
their ability to build relationships with others. Interestingly enough,
the single greatest driver of a leaders failure (derailment) was the
exact opposite – their inability to build relationships. Plain and
simple, the single most important tool that any leader has, and that
any leader needs to work on, is their relationship-building ability.
The premise is clear, so why do so many leaders continue to struggle?
Many leaders continue to be stuck in the former mindset; a mindset
that is comfortable and quite easy to perpetuate – as a boss, I trade
money for work. You work and I pay. A simple, straightforward, tried-
and-true contract. One that provides no incentive beyond a paycheck,
builds no loyalty beyond the need for the paycheck, and certainly no
retention or performance expectations beyond “just enough not to
get fired.” The old mindset is simply prostitution without sex, and
organizations that want to be employers of choice for talent and
providers of choice for the consumer need to change – fast.
the single greatest
driver of a leaders –
any leaders – success
was their ability to
build relationships
with others.
6©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Relationships Matter to Our GuestsThe relationships that we foster and grow with our guests are quite
similar to those that we develop with our team, despite the fact
that we will spend far less time with them. The dynamics involved in
building both types of relationships are similar, and their importance
is equally vital.
Guest loyalty begins and grows when we marry positive relationships
with impeccable execution and/or product. Guest loyalty is NOT
fostered by seamless and efficient transactions. The transaction,
as mentioned earlier, is an important part of execution, to be sure;
it is necessary to build trust in our competence. However, no one
has every developed deep-seated loyalty because of an efficient
transaction. In fact, the very efficiency and accuracy of a transaction
is what makes it 100% forgettable.
Positive memories are created and loyalty begins to grow when we
make emotional connections with others, not when we execute
transactions. Time and again, a visit to any service provider will likely
be forgotten if all we received was an efficient transaction.
We will remember positive and negative emotional connections,
and we will also remember inefficient or incorrect transactions. We
forget “regular” or “correct” transactions since they are in our realm
of expectation.
Guest loyalty begins
and grows when
we marry positive
relationships with
impeccable execution
and/or product.
7©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Relationships Matter to Our GuestsFor example, say I visit a restaurant, order my food, eat my meal, pay
my bill, and leave. If my visit was efficient, accurate and absent any
negatives in regard to execution or treatment, it will be as I likely
expected…and will be forgotten within the hour. Add a significant
positive emotional connection within that experience, and I will
remember it and the person that predicated the interaction – and I
will not soon forget it. It bears to mention that I will also not readily
forget a negative emotional connection as well; they are equally
powerful to eroding loyalty as the former is to building loyalty.
Positive memories are
created and loyalty
begins to grow when
we make emotional
connections with
others, not when we
execute transactions.
8©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
It All Begins With TrustSo we agree that positive relationships are critical to develop with
our team and with our guests. Relationships drive loyalty with our
guests and our co-workers. So how do we go about it? It starts with
trust. A relationship absent trust isn’t much of a relationship at all,
as most would agree. In fact, positive relationships cannot form
without trust first being established, and loyalty cannot grow in an
environment absent trust – both personally and professionally!
Are you loyal to your best friend? Your spouse? A certain co-worker
or boss? I bet you trust them! If you didn’t, your loyalty wouldn’t be
there. The same applies to our guests. They simply will not be loyal to
us if they don’t trust our products, our services or, most of all, trust
us as individuals.
Trust is the fertile soil where relationships grow, and building trust
begins with fundamental steps that may be simple in construct but
difficult in application. Difficult because it takes awareness, intent,
commitment and - most importantly - sincerity. Relationships based
on deceit, indifference, unilateral gain, or unilateral loss, are soon to
fail.
We start building trust and relationships by getting to know people
and making emotional connections. I often illustrated this in my
programs with this simple example:
We start building
trust…and building
relationships… by
getting to know people
and making emotional
connections.
9©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
It All Begins With TrustIf I give my dear friend and colleague Ken my wallet and tell him I will be back for it in a few hours, I am 98.6% positive (usually elicits a chuckle!) that my wallet will be intact when I return for it. Why is that? Because I trust Ken. Why do I trust him? Because I KNOW him! The way he has engaged with me, and the way I have engaged him, has earned our mutual trust and helped us form a positive relationship.
Now, if I give my wallet to a stranger at work, or even someone I simply do not know well, will it be intact when I return for it? Perhaps. I may have just given it to the most trustworthy person alive, but I can’t and don’t know for certain at all. I have no reason to trust this person because they are unknown to me.
Some people you will NOT trust the more you get to know them; they will give you reasons based on how they interact with you, what they tell you, how they behave, whether they keep their word or tell the truth; but none of this awareness exists if people remain strangers.
Quite simply, you have to be KNOWN in order to build trust, and you have to build trust in order to develop positive relationships. Leaders must be know to their constituency – not from a bio on a website, group meetings, or posted manifestos; we need to share our hopes, desires, fears, mistakes, victories – and we need to demonstrate why we deserve the trust of others! We simply cannot introduce ourselves and say, “hello, my name is Louis and I am trustworthy.” We need to consider every day – how do I interact, engage and share
with this person that establishes trust?
Quite simply, you have
to be KNOWN in order
to build trust, and you
have to build trust
in order to develop
positive relationships.
10©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
It All Begins With TrustThe same premise is in play with our guests. If we are known to them, personally and professionally, form rapport with them, know their wants and needs – we begin to build trust and establish lasting relationships. We learned that as children; don’t trust strangers. We need to recollect this as adults, and not allow any of our people – team members or guests – to be strangers.
I am not suggesting that we can gain deep knowledge of everyone; nor am I suggesting that we should forget appropriate boundaries between leader and team member or service provider and guest. I am talking about bringing forth an approach, demeanor and attitude that allows trust to build and relationships to flourish, and doing this with intent and even with structure. The leader, service provider or sales professional that sets out to build relationships as a primary directive will serve themselves and their organizations well.
People follow people - and do business with people - that they respect, like, understand…and trust.
The leader, service
provider or sales
professional that sets out
to build relationships as
a primary directive will
serve themselves and
their organizations well.
11©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Tools to Begin the BuildSome feel that you need to be highly extroverted to build relationships; that you need to “sell yourself” to others. I don’t believe either of those statements. Building relationships may come easier to some; but all have the ability to do it. It simply comes from sincerity and strength of purpose.
The strength of purpose? Well, we have already seen that relationships drive a leaders success and trusting, sincere relationships simply make life richer. When we are in the twilight of our lives, I truly doubt that any of us will look back and say, “Well, I wish I would have built fewer relationships.” Positive relationships pay off over and over again. Lets take a look at the tools to help drive our strength of purpose to build successful relationships.
Positive
relationships pay
off over and over
again.
12©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
The Power of ObservationSome times the simplest of message hold great wisdom! The great Yogi Berra once said, “you can see a lot by looking.” One would think that simply opening our eyes and experiencing the world around us would make us capable observers. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
Interestingly, eyewitness accounts are often seen as the finest form of proof or evidence, when they actually are one of the less reliable forms of both. Scientific American reported in 2009 that 73 percent of 239 convictions overturned through DNA testing were based on eyewitness testimony!
Understanding Our Filters
When we experience anything through our five senses, those
experiences are filtered through the wonderful thing known as our
brain! The filters that reside within our brains can be very robust,
as they are made up of our experiences, likes, dislikes, preferences,
prejudices, and preconceived opinions and perspectives. As a result,
people can “see” the same thing, yet perceive it to be something
quite different. It is these very compelling and resilient filters
that leaders need to acknowledge…and transcend….in order to be
successful; for although these filters contribute a great deal to our
safety and success, they can also be the very things that keep us from
building relationships and growing loyalty with others, especially
those not like us!
you can see a lot
by looking.
-Yogi Berra
13©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Understanding Our FiltersAs leaders and team members, we need to understand that the law
of attraction exists and we need to make adjustments to our filters
to account for it! For example, if I am an extroverted leader, I will
be naturally drawn to extroverted peers and team members. I will
appreciate their desire to brainstorm, verbalize, share, and be quite
forthcoming. My ability to build relationships with them and foster
loyalty may come easy, as long as our goals and methods are in
general harmony. However, the introverted peers and team members
may be a different story! My filters may tell me that they are non-
participatory, disengaged, and “hard to read.” In the extreme, an
extroverted leader may see them as actually undermining efforts!
Whereas these filters are rooted in personality, others may be rooted
in experience. We may have had a positive or negative experience
with a person with any particular differentiator, such as where they
are from, where they went to school, what prior company they
may have worked, or the like. As a result, our filters may now type
anyone from that place, that school, or that company with the same
individual traits. Not fair by any means – but a common result from
our very compelling filters!
It is more difficult from the outset to build relationships with
people different from us; but it is the very first responsibility of
the successful leader to do just that. We need to accept that our
filters are there, see past them, and look for opportunities to build
relationships with others through the very same observations that
may have prevented us from building these relationships in the past!
It is more difficult from
the outset to build
relationships from
people different from
us; but it is the very
first responsibility of
the successful leader
to do just that.
14©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Looking for OpportunitiesOnce we wrestle with our filters and overcome the predetermined
outcomes that they lead us to, we can begin to see things in others
that allow us to begin to build relationships! These observations may
be simple, subtle, and quite basic – but make all the difference!
Leaders need to take the first step. Leaders need to accept that it is
their responsibility to establish relationships and be active in their
pursuit of them rather than passive; relationships may certainly
develop by accident rather than by design, but those accidental rela-
tionships are often impacted by our filters.
We naturally look for shared similarities in others to readily begin to
establish relationships. Similarities are always an effective starting
ground, but our interest in others needs to expand beyond what we
share in common. There are two “cue” categories to help put us on
that relationship road! Leaders need to
accept that it is their
responsibility to
establish relationships
and be active in their
pursuit of them rather
than passive
15©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Physical CuesPhysical cues usually provide the most readily available and
discernable information for us to begin to engage both team
members and guests! Engaging with this information is the first step
to building relationships, as it is founded simply on showing sincere
interest in others.
Of course, when we talk about physical cues, we are not referring
to physical characteristics such as height, weight, race, or the like
– these sensitive areas can be minefields, of course, and likely only
commented on far deeper into a relationship, if ever at all! We all
want to avoid the embarrassment and awkwardness of asking
when the suspected baby is due, only to discover that there is no
pregnancy. Ouch!
When we are talking about physical cues, we are referring to things
that we can see on or about others. Simple things. Things that they
have chosen to display or reflect; things that we can safely inquire or
engage about with the intent to begin a positive conversation! Those
simple, opening conversations gives us the incredible opportunity to
learn about that person. It’s the most important and necessary first
step that anyone takes in starting a relationship.
For example, someone wearing a conference badge, clearly
displaying their first name in bold print above their home city,
company name, or other information provides an obvious and easy
physical cue to engage! On many occasions I have observed these
badges while on elevators or at a reception in hotels or conference
When we are talking
about physical cues,
we are talking about
things that we can
observe on or about
others - something
that they have chosen
to display or reflect
16©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Physical Cuescenters and have easily began conversations by saying hello by using
their name, asking about their home city, and the like. The longer the
conversation continues, the more information you have to engage!
Conference badges, lapel pins, sports logos, rings, watches – the
list can go on and on. From airline pilots to traveling families, the
ability to observe and make positive, rapport-building comments and
conversations are everywhere!
Doing this without specific intent is one thing; meeting someone
on an airplane or at a conference may simply provide conversation
to pass the time, kindle a new friendship, or simply provide the
opportunity to be polite and make a positive emotional connection
with someone. With team members and guests/customers it is
something far more important. As discussed previously, it directly
contributes to our success to build relationships, so we should
look to this effort with team members and guests with intent –
conditioning our minds to look for these cues to begin, continue and/
or encourage engagement!
Greeting guests with questions such as “may I help you?” or “looking
for anything in particular?” is the surest possible way to elicit a
“no, thank you – just looking” response. In fact, those commonly
asked opening questions from salespeople the world over almost
instantaneously elicit some form of that same “no thanks” response.
the ability to observe
and make positive,
rapport-building
comments and
conversations are
everywhere!
17©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Tools to Begin the BuildSo why do sales people throughout the world continue to do it? It’s
easy, comfortable, risk-free and highly ineffective. Even if it does elicit
a “yes, you can help me” response because someone is on a particular
mission to find a certain item, it still does nothing to establish or
maintain a relationship! Simply because you executed a transaction
with me does not mean you’ve taken steps to build any type of
relationship with me – I may have bought from you out of need, but I
may never buy from you again. No relationship? No loyalty!
Emotional Cues
Emotional cues may be as quickly apparent as physical cues,
especially when we are being consciously aware of them. Observing
others and either responding to or acknowledging the emotional
cues that they display is a key part of building rapport and developing
relationships…all on the road to enduring loyalty!
For example, if a guest is clearly anxious, that should be a clear
emotional cue for any service provider! If we fail to acknowledge and
respond to whatever urgent need the guest has, we do not only fail
to serve, but we miss a key opportunity to build a relationship!
A guest in one of my focus groups once explained to me how
they had left their briefcase at a resort that they were visiting – it
contained their passport, wallet, and other important items!
Simply because
you executed a
transaction with
me does not mean
you’ve taken steps
to build any type of
relationship.
18©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Emotional CuesNeedless to say, they were anxious to recover it! Even when retelling
the story, I could feel the anxious nature this guest felt! They relayed
how they approached an associate and immediately explained
what had happened, clearly in a high degree of distress! They said
they were met with a pleasant smile and an automated “how can I
help you?” response! When I asked the guest what kind of response
they would have preferred, they responded, “I would have liked that
associate to drop their smile and show the same level of concern and
urgency that I had!”
Emotions are important information. If a guest is angry, sad, anxious,
worried, or frustrated… or happy, elated, excited, or contented…
our ability to read those emotions and respond appropriately and
accordingly is key. Great guest service is not about always being
some constantly smiling automaton – its about being what the
guest needs you to be at any given moment. We can “be” that way by
looking for emotional cues.
To be sure, the same emotional cues exist with the people we
work with! A leader, or co-worker, ignoring emotional cues of team
members not only do nothing to build relationships, but may even
serve to erode whatever relationship is there! I am not suggesting we
pry into peoples emotional lives…but if we agree that we spend 70%
of our lives at work, how can we expect to be emotion-less at work?
Time and again I’ve heard some form of “leave your personal life at
the door” from bosses. That adage belongs right next to “its business,
Great guest service
is not about
always being some
constantly smiling
automaton – its
about being what the
guest needs you to be
at any given moment.
19©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
Tools to Begin the Buildits not personal”. Not only is it weak leadership, its absolutely
impossible. If my son is at home with a severe fever – I am supposed
to simply forget that when I get to work? How could I? In fact, if
I did, I think that would make me a poor father! A co-worker just
received great news that her husband got a huge promotion, and
is very excited…or conversely, received news that her husband was
just laid off, and now is worried about making ends meet...these
emotions, positive or negative, are supposed to be “left at the door”?
That’s just not going to happen. It would take medication or surgery
to make it so. It’s a simple reality that leaders and co-workers need
to acknowledge and deal with emotions at work, view emotions as
valuable information, and respond appropriately. Not only is it the
most critical way to build loyalty and grow relationships...its simply
the right thing to do.
I’m not saying give free reign to emotions at work! That can certainly
be disruptive. I am talking about being aware of clearly displayed
emotional cues with both guests and co-workers. If a front desk
agent is clearly sad, eyes welled with tears, it will be pretty difficult
for them to deliver engaging service! Their emotions are not “none of
your business”…they are your business.
It’s a simple reality
that leaders and
co-workers need
to acknowledge
and deal with
emotions at work,
view emotions as
valuable information,
and respond
appropriately.
20©2014 Inspire Consulting Group. All rights reserved.
In ClosingTaking the first step in building enduring loyalty is the hardest, as
it requires a shift in attitude and perspective, followed by a shift
in behavior and approach! Both, to be sure, are far easier said then
done. The alternative, however, is to remain in a world of “can I help
you?” customer service and “its lonely at the top” management
that builds no loyalty, provides no personal development and, quite
frankly, makes our lives pretty mundane. One of my favorite sayings
is a Native American proverb – “A journey of a thousand miles starts
with a single step.” Take the first step – and enduring loyalty will soon
follow!
Taking the first step in building enduring loyalty is the hardest, as it requires a shift
in attitude and perspective, followed by a shift in behavior
and approach!
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