Training for a Culture of Service Excellence

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Training for a Culture of Service Excellence

• Varner Story, MA, SPHR
• Wendy Danbury, MBA
• Indiana SHRM Conference, August 2008

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CADDIE

• Culture
• Assess
• Design
• Develop
• Implement
• Evaluate

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Major Factors in a Service Culture
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Major Factors in a Service Culture
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Executive Support

• Resources
• Time
• Facilities
• Materials
• Staff
• Messages
• Formal
• Informal
• Face Time

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Before Approaching Execs

• What are your companys vision, mission,
  values, and long-term goals?
• What is currently going on internally in your
  business and externally in the industry?
• What language do you speak?

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Getting the Buy-in

• Creating a contract
• Showing the commitments necessary on both sides
• Communicating your end-result benefits

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Major Factors in a Service Culture
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Recruiting

• Fit the right person to the right job
• Hire for cultural fit
• Technical skills can be taught
• No job is exempt from your service culture

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Recruiting

• Competency-based hiring vs. resume-based
• Behavioral interviewing
• Simulations, skill checks
• Personality assessments
• Motivational fit
• Group interviews team fit

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Major Factors in a Service Culture
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Needs Assessment

• Clear definition of desired culture
• Vision, mission, values
• Clear understanding of current culture
• Assess and define how things are today
• Strategic goals
• Executive leadership expectations
• Knowledge and skill needs

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Ongoing Training

• Design courseware to fit and perpetuate desired
  culture
• Support and enforce desired cultural norms as
  part of every training event

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Designing Service Training

• Pluto
• Personalizing
• Listening
• Understanding
• Transitioning
• Offering

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Purchase Service Training

• You can use this option to compliment your
  existing programs.
• There are many vendors from which you can select.
• Finding a culture match between you and the
  program you select is critical.

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New Employee Orientation

• Primacy effect
• Explicitly communicate the culture (e.g. vision,
  mission, values)
• Implicitly model the culture
• Length of the orientation process

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Spirit to Serve

• Treat your associates right, and they will in
  turn treat your guests right.
• "Culture is the life-thread and glue that links
  our past, present, and future." -- J.W.
  Marriott, Jr.
• Service in action.

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Disneys Keys

• Four Keys reinforcing culture through
  decision-making process
• Safety
• Courtesy
• Show
• Efficiency

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Major Factors in a Service Culture
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Rewards Recognition

• Give your employees an experience similar to what
  you expect them to provide your guests
• If youre not doing it, why should they be doing
  it?
• Informal e-mails, thanks at staff meetings,
  etc.
• Formal company-sponsored rewards systems

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Major Factors in a Service Culture
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Environment

• Understand the undercurrent otherwise they can
  undermine your efforts.
• Sample your climate with a survey to take the
  temperature of the organization.

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Environment

• Truly living the mission and vision.
• Create an environment that sets the bar for best
  practices.
• Malcolm Baldrige Award
• Be the catalyst for change.

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Evaluation
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Conclusion

• Dont try to carbon-copy another companys
  culture yours is unique.
• Use your vision, mission, values, and long-term
  goals to help define the culture
• Refine and customize the stated culture to fit
  your own organization
• Next steps
• Re-visit your stated culture (vision, mission,
  values) and determine whether its valid and
  communicated to all.