Finefood Brisbane March 2010 Final

Fine Food Queensland, 2010

Fix the ‘Attitude Problem’

and Create Great Service

PS. Who has the attitude problem?PPS. What causes ‘attitude’ problems?

Presented by: David J. Solnet, PhDUniversity of Queensland

Shift Directions Consulting and Training

Monday, 11am

Monday, 11am

Today’s Plan(45 min POWER session + questions)

____________________________________________

① Quick introduction / background (5 min)

② How academic principles can be (and are!) practiced in the hospitality industry (5 min)

③ The evolution and complexity of customer service (5 min)

④ Linking employee attitudes to financial benefits (5 min)

⑤ ‘Crash’ course on organizational psychology (5 min)

⑥ Some practical tips / advice – ⑦ 6 Common Barriers to great Customer Service (5 min)

⑧ 12 question Quiz on Management Behaviour linked to customer service excellence (5 min)

⑨ 10 Practical Tips to improve employee attitudes! (10 min)

NOTES:① I move fast / Sharing a snippet of my passion for Customer Service!!!

② The ‘One Gem’ Theory | Handouts / email

③ Foundations in both academic / international ‘best practice’ | Would be a disservice otherwise… hope you will agree!

It’s all about our people….____________________________________________

“People… our greatest asset…” (Bill Marriott)

“…Our greatest asset, and the key to our success, is our people…” (Four Seasons Hotels Corporate Culture Statement)

“The people make the place” (Schneider, 1987)

“All of our success is attributable to our staff..” (Shannon Bennett – Vue de Monde)

“…Gen Y – ARGH! I can’t stand those little scoundrels.” (unnamed restaurant owner)

“The most trouble issue of concern to managers is effective HR management” (Enz 2001, 2009)

…YET NEARLY ALWAYS UNDERREPRESENTED AT SEMINARS / EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS!

Hope to help answer these 8 questions

____________________________________________1. The role of academia: How can RESEARCH and KNOWLEDGE about service help the PRACTICE of service?

2. What are some of the common links between all great hospitality companies? Solnet, MSQ 2008

3. What is Organizational Psychology? And why is this discipline so important to the hospitality industry?

4. What is the connection between employee attitudes (about their jobs and workplace), customer satisfaction, and profitability?

5. What is Employee Engagement? How can you get your team more engaged with YOU and with your CUSTOMERS?

6. What the most common (6) Critical Barriers to creating positive attitudes in the workplace?

7. What is the link between gardening and good people management?

8. Who does customer service and employee attitude management well? – Exemplars throughout….

About the presenter____________________________________________

① Sacked from first restaurant job at 19 (“…you’re not cut out for the hospitality industry”)

② By 21, youngest manager of high volume restaurant in US full service chain

③ Back to Uni - Master of Science in Hotel and Food Service Administration in 1994 – FIU, Miami

④ Adventure! Came to Australia (via Michael Hurst and Francis Domenech) to help with the set up and opening of Brett's Wharf; Appointed GM in 1996

⑤ Became and adjunct professor at UQ in 1999…. Convinced of value of PhD; started at UQ in mid 2002; PhD awarded in 2006

So now….

Doing now (related hats)

____________________________________________

① UQ School of Tourism – Leader: Hospitality Management Section; researcher/lecturer: Customer Service Management) (see next slide)

② Shift Directions – Advisory Services and Mgt Training Customer service quality initiatives; customer perception evaluations; employee attitude assessment, balanced scorecard implementations, HR advice and remuneration programs AND management / leadership and customer service training. Shift Directions PROFILE

Benefits of linking the two – a keeping an eye on (a) current industry practice along with (b) international best practice

I see this as my calling – to connect international business Best Practice back into the hospitality industry at the local level

Solnet 2008 - Service Excellence / Solnet and Hood Gen Y

Aiming to strike perfect balance

UQ School of Tourism______________________________________________________

University of Queensland ranked 41st in the world (UK Times Higher Education Ranking)

UQ School of Tourism ranked 5th of all tourism schools in world (research); Strong commitment to international diversity / only School of its type in Go8

University of Queensland: 40,000 studentsFaculty (BEL): 7,000 students

School (Tourism): 750 students

The Role of Universities / Academics

Teach, inform and educate

(leaders of tomorrow)

To gain deep understanding of relevant, critical subject matter

(broad vs. narrow)

Advance knowledge

through scientific enquiry

/research

Provide consultancy and research

services (large – UQ; small – SD)

Encourage debate,

discussion, thinking

Back to the topic ____________________________________________

Fix the ‘Attitude Problem’

and Create Great Service

Goal: 100% Customer Satisfaction!

_____________________________

Mission

Impossible!

Goal: fully understand employee attitudes

_____________________________

Mission

Impossible!

Complexity of Service____________________________________________

① Customer Service – very complex concept – Variations in business types and aims, customer expectations (can change daily)…moods, emotions…. SO COMPLEX!!

② 1980’s / customer service was quickly becoming ‘the’ margin of competition / World’s top business academics aimed to accurately understand / define and measure ‘service quality’. (Scientific enquiry!) PZB, 1985 - SQ

③ But WHY? What is the ultimate aim of ‘customer service?

④ Let’s have a look at a very useful ‘chain’ which helps us understand the links between service and organisational outcomes…

The Service – Profit Chain

Internal Service Quality

Employee perceptions

AND attitudes

Employee Retention

Employee Productivity

External Service Value

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Loyalty

Revenue Growth

Profitability

What is ‘ISQ?’ Why is it important?

____________________________________________① “Internal Service Quality” - The way an organisation provides service to its employees…. The perception by employees as to the way they are cared for by the organisation.

② The way healthy plants need nourishing soil!

③ Nearly ALL ‘DRIVERS’ of customer satisfaction relate DIRECTLY to employees!

④ Customers see staff as THE business! (a coffee shop at UQI – what makes me decide to stop in?)

⑤ Enter Employee / Organizational Psychology !

⑥ It is the area which interested me so much, I did a PhD on the linkages between employee attitudes and their subsequent behaviors. SPC 2008

Organisational Psychology____________________________________________

The application of psychological theory and principles to employees and organizations …focuses on increasing workplace productivity and enhancing worker attitudes – and the links between ATTITUDES and BEHAVIORS.

This management discipline focuses on elements of the workplace which impact attitudes which in turn impact behaviors!

Any gardeners out there?

Great ‘soil’ and continual, ongoing

care leads to healthy plants and

productive crop….

Poor ‘soil’, neglect and little or no

continual, ongoing care leads to UN -healthy plants and

UN-productive crop….

•

Customer contact moment

Individual attitude predisposition (born)

Leadership perceptions

HR Practices (hiring, induction, feedback, consistency!)

Training Practices

Employee Engagement

Supervisor support

Belief in owner / the company

Others….. (Hyatt)

NOT directly

managed!!

What’s in the ‘soil’ of employee attitudes? (link between ATTITUDE and BEHAVIOUR)

Direct Financial Benefits____________________________________________

① In one major study:• Top 25% scores = 7% BOTTOM LINE PROFIT• Bottom 25% scores = 4% BOTTOM LINE LOSS

① Marriott’s Corporate HR Director - David Rodriquez “We can accurately predict customer satisfaction and revenue growth based on LAST YEAR’S Employee Engagement scores for each hotel!”

② Another study showed a 1.7 times above the average profitability for those ‘units’ within a company that had above average engagement scores

③ 2% increase = $100,000 in sales (Business Week)

The hottest topic… ____________________________________________

① Old ‘buzz’ words – Employee ‘satisfaction’, ‘commitment’, ‘Citizenship Behavior’….

② Today we know the STRONGEST LINK between employee attitudes and customer service is about ENGAGEMENT (customer and employee) MANAGE YOUR HUMAN SIgMA HBR.pdf

③ Employee Engagement – When your employees are ENERGIZED, passionate, committed to excellence AND committed to organizational goals (emotion!)

④ Satisfied is CONTENTED. Engaged is ABSORBED! (think about a Kerry supporter vs. an Obama supporter?!)

⑤ So – one of the major keys to Great Customer Service lies rather scientifically within the attitudes of your employees toward YOU, and your BUSINESS

The WRONG attitude toward Customer Service!!

I just don’t get the time to spend; and

frankly I can’t be bothered!

I know it could be better, but I don’t know exactly what

to do Service is not that important: quality of food, location and comfort are more important!

We don’t need to give clear

direction as to our service

expectations…

We don’t use any kind of objective customer feedback

All we need to do is hire nice people - good seeds will

grow by themselves!

These responses fly right in the face of all of the evidence –

including best practice organisations – about what the EMPLOYER attitude should be about customer service and

service training!

Employee Engagement____________________________________________

o Employees are presumed to have efforts pooled and ready to flow assuming the right amount of varying organisational policies, beliefs, leadership behaviour, reward systems, etc.

o How to “harness the discretionary effort of employees”

o “…. When people are so fully present that they place themselves so fully into their task performances…

Employee Engagement

Positive engagedworkforce

Leads tobetter service

Happy customers More likely to return

Increased Salesand

Profits

QUIZ!!! On Employee Engagement

(what would your staff say)________________________________________________________________________________

1. I know exactly what is expected of me. (“The Perfect Employee”)

2. Our service standards have been CLEARLY explained (fast vs. friendly vs. formal vs. luxury, etc).

3. I have absolute respect for my boss / owner (trust, values, integrity).

4. My boss / immediate supervisor always sets a POSITIVE example.

5. We live and breathe customer service and satisfaction (or do we live and breathe costs, profits and negativity?).

6. We have regular open communication in our place of business.

7. In the last 7 days, I have received recognition or praise for doing something right.

8. My manager / supervisor seems to care about me as a person.

9. My opinion counts around here.

10. My coworkers are committed to doing quality work.

11. In the last 6 months, someone has talked to me about my performance.

12. Sometime this year – I have been given the opportunity to learn and grow professionally.

10 suggestions to improve your service

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. Take the leap of faith that investing in your workers / workplace (the SOIL!) will pay off !! (“Internal Service Quality”). FORTUNE MAGAZINE Best Companies

2. Practice the ‘Volunteer Principle’. (the way we talk to our staff will reflect the way THEY talk to the customer!)

3. Have a socially responsible cause – driven by staff (Green Earth)

4. Be generous with Staff Discounts (but get something back).

5. Be clever with HRM (Group interviews / ‘On board’ programs / Contract of Expected Behaviors…).

6. Be brave with your Unconditional Guarantees (Merlo).7. Use your Gen Y’s to your advantage! Solnet and Hood 2008 - JHTM.pdf

8. Celebrate, reward and MEASURE ‘non financial’ performance! Balanced Scorecard PAYOUT EXEMPLAR

9. Source regular feedback about customer experiences / Take all feedback seriously (no eye rolling) / USE PROPERLY!!! CEE SUMMARY EXEMPLAR 2010.xlsx

10. Have a professionally administered employee attitude survey at least once per year – with real plans actioned on results. EMPLOYEE OPINION REVIEW EXEMPLAR.xlsx

In closing ____________________________________________

1. Acknowledge that customer ‘satisfaction’ and service ‘quality’ are complicated concepts for which research and understanding continue.

2. Be mindful of Employee Psychology and how you can use this to your advantage.

3. Engaged employees, who are well trained and care will naturally do what you cannot on your own.

4. They can drive YOUR service profit chain!

5. And avoid ‘reverse’ customer service!

Thank youHope there was at least ONE

gem?

CONTACT INFORMATION

David Solnet, PhDM – 0411 828 757

 E – [email protected]

UQ Link:http://tourism.uq.edu.au/dr-david-solnet

Shift Directions Link:http://shiftdirections.com.au/