<\/p>\n
Specifically with regard to ambassadorship at Virgin, and how it is built on emotional sensitivity, Colin determined that two key values are generated by linking employee and customer experience:<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, it shows Virgin values employees and wants them to feel like their employer cares about their personal lives and needs. Secondly, it shows that Virgin understands that an employee\u2019s personal emotional state carries over into the emotional state they present to, and create for, customers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Wish I\u2019d said that, because it encapsulates both the value of stakeholder group linkage and the real-world value of ambassadorship.<\/p>\n
Among airlines, working in a supportive, trusting, fun, responsive and energetic culture isn\u2019t confined to staff at Virgin. Southwest Airlines, a company serving more than 100 million passengers per year, also pursues similar approaches with employees, recognizing that these benefits, and living purpose and values, are the foundation for passionate and ambassadorial behavior. Per\u00a0an article for Forbes by Carmine Gallo<\/a>, Herb Kelleher\u2019s formula for success at Southwest was three-fold (amended and expanded somewhat by me):<\/p>\n
1. Create a culture of inclusion and service<\/strong><\/p>\n
Culture is the character and personality of the organization. It\u2019s what makes the company unique and is the sum of its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviors, and attitudes. When corporate culture is strong, there is high alignment of accepted values and behaviors within the organization, and employees feel positive about their company, workplace, the value proposition of its products and services and, optimally, the customers.<\/p>\n
At Southwest, the essence of their culture is that employees rank first, customers second, and shareholders third. Since the company\u2019s founding almost 50 years ago, part of its corporate mantra and mindset is that the enterprise is in the customer service business \u2013 they just happen to fly airplanes. Central to executing this vision is a culture where people come first. Southwest\u2019s leaders have believed that if they treat employees right, employees will treat customers right, and this, in turn, will created desired passenger business and profits.<\/p>\n
As Kelleher has said: \u201cWe tell our people, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about profit. Think about customer service.\u2019 Profit is a by-product of customer service. It\u2019s not an end in and of itself.\u201d Building employee ambassadorship, supported by a stakeholder-centric culture, has a trickle-down effect.<\/p>\n
2. Hire for attitude and dedication first<\/strong><\/p>\n
At Southwest, talent acquisition and management are multi-layered. According to Julie Weber, VP of People at Southwest, the company isn\u2019t so much looking for specific skills and background (although alignment between applicant capabilities and skillset is recognized) as for spirit, a desire to perform, persevere and innovate, an ability to put others first and proactively serve customers.<\/p>\n
These attributes and expectations are on every job description, and hiring for values \u2013 so essential in founder Kelleher\u2019s concept of how an airline should run \u2013 help to keep Southwest on top. As he once said, \u201cA motivated employee treats the customer well. A customer is happy so they\u2019ll keep coming back, which pleases the shareholder. It\u2019s just the way it works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Virgin also fiercely believes in putting people first, placing a premium on hiring for attitude and, like Southwest, only selecting about 1 out of every 100 who apply. Branson has noted: \u201cThis is a company that simply wouldn\u2019t exist without the energy, the determination, the wit and the wisdom of our people.\u201d This is what I\u2019ve often described as embedding employee ambassadorship in the enterprise DNA, and connecting the employee experience with the customer experience.<\/p>\n
3. Trust, empower, and enable employees to do the right thing (for each other, the company, and for customers)<\/strong><\/p>\n
Southwest not only hires the best people, the company also invests heavily in terms of cross-training, team-building, provision of resources, and development of independent thought, decision-making and servant leadership capabilities. Again, Southwest puts employees first, and gives them the \u201ckeys to the kingdom\u201d regarding action latitude; but they want employees to have a common purpose \u2014 putting\u00a0customers<\/i>\u00a0first.<\/p>\n
Southwest well understands that guiding purpose, vision, mission, and values at most organizations are little more than words and concepts typically pushed by the CEO and HR or injected by employee engagement consultants. Results are that only the most dedicated employees pay attention to them and\/or work in the customer\u2019s and fellow employees\u2019 best interests. At any typical employer, trust, empowerment, and enablement are given little more than flavor-of-the-month lip service and are rarely institutionalized or embedded in the culture.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a fourth method that Southwest uses to reinforce the stakeholder culture and employee behavior: Innovative reward and recognition programs that often include airline passengers. For example, Southwest gives coupons known as \u201cKick Tails\u201d to their frequent flyers, but the coupons aren\u2019t for customers. Instead, they are for the customers to act on behalf of the company in helping to reward employees by \u201ccatching them doing something right.\u201d Employees can redeem coupons, using the codes on the back, for raffles and prizes. It\u2019s a novel, and inclusive, way to reinforce employee ambassadorship and extend their highly stakeholder-centric culture.<\/p>\n
In our work as customer experience consultants, we find that some companies apply literally none of Kelleher\u2019s three basic formula elements. They are constrained by strong sales or product orientation, command and control fiefdom management, and little operating flexibility for, or trust in, employees. A somewhat higher percentage of companies are applying one of the three elements. Occasionally, we find a company applying two of the elements.<\/p>\n
Rarely, though, do we find companies with the wisdom and discipline to apply and leverage all three components. Both Virgin and Southwest believe in, and practice, the art and science of keeping customers, and keeping them at the forefront of employees\u2019 minds. Does yours?<\/p>\n
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Republished with permission from CustomerThink.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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