The Leadership Book of Numbers, Volume 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1 - SERVICE EXCELLENCE Chapter 1 The Top 10 MUSTs for Creating & Sustaining Service Excellence Chapter 2 The Role of Senior Leadership in Driving Excellence Chapter 3 The Role of Mid-Managers in Driving Excellence Chapter 4 Creating a Memorable Customer Experience – The 5 Steps Chapter 5 Five Reasons Employees are Cynical about Vision & Mission Chapter 6 The Six Things a Leadership Should Never Assume Chapter 7 Providing Service Excellence to Internal Customers Chapter 8 Taking the Mystery Out of Mystery Shopping – The 5 Essentials Chapter 9 Creating Employee Engagement – The 5 Key Elements PART 2 - LEADERSHIP Chapter 10 The Seven Signs of a Bad Boss Chapter 11 Ten Critical Expectations of Leadership Chapter 12 Leadership through Accountability – The 5 Essentials Chapter 13 Business Acumen – The 5 Key Elements Chapter 14 Developing Powerful Presentation Skills Chapter 15 The Power of Professional Presence – The 20 Basics Chapter 16 Confronting Unacceptable Behavior – The 8 Essentials Chapter 17 Delegation, Empowerment & Time Management – The 5 Essentials Chapter 18 Interviewing with Excellence – The 10 Essentials Chapter 19 Driving Results with a Lean Staff – The 15 Essentials Chapter 20 Overcoming Tough Economic Times – The Ten Imperatives Chapter 21 Top 5 Mistakes Managers Make in Recessionary Times PART 3 - HUMAN RESOURCES / EMPLOYEE LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT Chapter 22 Fifteen Standards Every HR Team Should Live By to Drive Excellence Chapter 23 Gaining the Support of Your C-Level – The 5 Essentials Chapter 24 The Top 10 Ways to Recruit & Retain Highly Talented Employees Chapter 25 Creating Training that Sticks – The Top 10 Tips Chapter 26 Getting the Most Out of Web-based Training Chapter 27 Training & Development in Lean Times – The 5 Essentials CHAPTER 1 CREATING & SUSTAINING SERVICE EXCELLENCE Occasionally I am fortunate to work with model companies, who truly value my expertise and follow (to the letter) the roadmap laid out for them, with tremendous success. This inspired me to share my Top 10 Musts for Ensuring Success in Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Service Excellence. As we go through these essentials, I urge you to identify which ones you should be focused on to strengthen your brand promise. 1. Senior Leadership MUST be actively involved. When the CEO and other C-Level Executives are involved in the process from start to finish, it demonstrates the importance and value of service excellence within the organization. Standing on the sideline, periodically cheering the team on is not enough. I have worked with organizations great and small across all industries, and those where the CEO or highest ranking executive were part of the process experienced the greatest levels of sustainable success, employee buy-in, and return on investment. 2. Service Excellence MUST be a company-wide initiative. Every department must be responsible for delivering an exceptional customer experience, whether they deal primarily with external or internal customers. When service excellence training is relegated to just one area or only to front-line staff, employee enthusiasm and buy-in are short lived. Employees, especially those at the front-line, must see and feel that everyone within the organization is supporting them in driving excellence from the boardroom to the storeroom. 3. There MUST be employee involvement throughout the process. When employees are involved in the planning of work that affects them, their level of support and buy-in are immeasurable. No one wants a customer service initiative shoved down their throat without their input and feedback being taken into consideration. Employees who are part of the solution help champion the cause, are more apt to hold themselves and their peers accountable for driving excellence, and have a greater sense of pride and fulfillment in their work. 4. A Project Owner MUST be established. The responsibility of getting teams together, scheduling follow-up meetings and training sessions, and ensuring information gets communicated system-wide must be delegated. The Project Owner’s role should be perceived as one of distinction, honor, and empowerment; not just extra work. The CEO should hand select the right person. Someone who is liked and well-respected among their peers; has great communication skills (verbal and written); and possesses excellent organizational skills. Most of all, the role must be delegated to someone who truly wants it. 5. Customer Service Expectations MUST be established. What are the key touch points that make up an exceptional customer experience? The answers cannot be left to chance. You cannot assume that all leaders and staff are aligned with what an exceptional customer experience should look, feel, and sound like. It must be established, regularly reinforced, and measured. This should also be outlined in your organization or team’s standards of excellence, often referred to as Service Standards. 6. Customer Service Expectations MUST be integrated into every aspect of the work environment. How do I accomplish this, you might ask? Well the answer is simple, through on-going employee learning and development; performance reviews that measure the employee’s ability to bring the organization’s vision, mission, and values to life; reward and recognition of sustained superior performance; and of course, on-going communication. Most likely you already have the right tools and resources at your disposal, just make sure you are properly using them to reinforce excellence. 7. Departmental and Team Leaders MUST be held accountable. We always make it clear to supervisors and mid-level managers that the success or failure of any service excellence endeavor lies within their hands. If they are committed, walk-the-talk, and foster a work environment that makes it easy for their team to drive excellence – the initiative will result in long-term success. If they are negative, cynical, or skeptical, the initiative will slowly fade and become just another unsuccessful program of the month. Leaders must clearly understand their role in driving excellence, and be held accountable to it. 8. Monthly targets MUST be set. What gets measured, rewarded, and recognized, gets done! When monthly targets are set it is easier to identify and celebrate accomplishments. At the beginning of the service excellence endeavor, monthly (or even quarterly) goals and expectations should be established and communicated, with routine follow-up to ensure that goals and expectations remain the focus of the initiative. 9. Communication updates MUST be regular and consistent. Every form of communication used within the organization should be resourced to ensure a consistent message is delivered. Employee newsletters, the company intranet, internal blogs, and senior leadership communication should all be aligned when it comes to reinforcing and fostering a culture of service excellence. Communication cannot be hit or miss, it should be monthly at a minimum. Sporadically sharing updates every couple of months is ineffective. 10. Everyone throughout the organization MUST remain vigilant. Even when it looks and feels like nothing is changing, change may very well be occurring. And because change takes time, especially in larger organizations, everyone must remain vigilant and optimistic. Most important, when it looks like the organization is getting off track, senior leadership must step up to ensure everyone stays focused on driving excellence. Bottom-line, these top ten must are not all-inclusive. However, our hope is that it inspires you to search out ways to ensure service excellence is a sustainable focus within your organization.