Hiring properly is one of the keys to engaged employees -- making sure that the people you hire are the kind of people you want as part of your team.
I recently went to the hardware store looking for a part for a door. The first person pointed me in the right direction - no luck. I asked a second person who directed me to a third person who directed me to a fourth person.
Finally the fourth person took me directly to the appropriate section and then when they were also unable to find the correct part, looked on the computer to find it.
Everyone one in this chain had the "competence" of knowing where to look, but only 1 person had the "character" to make the time to take me there.
At Pret a Manger, they hire happy people and teach them how to make sandwiches versus trying to teach people who know how to make sandwiches how to be happy.
Be clear on the character you want and then make sure your hiring practices build in the behavioural requirements.
Cheers!
Bill's passion is improving business results by working with leadership teams to change employee behaviours. He does this by equipping leaders with the principles, processes and tools to cultivate an engaged customer-focused culture.
As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.
For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/
Showing posts with label Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Training. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Pret a Manger vs. The Ritz-Carlton
I came across an excellent post in The Insider that you should read if you haven’t already done so. It features an interview with Jay Chapman, Head of Communications at Pret a Manger (a sandwich shop chain).
The thing that struck me was the similarities between one of the key business practices between Pret a Manger and The Ritz-Carlton. They both place very high emphasis on recruitment.
Like The Ritz-Carlton, prior to formal interviews for any role, all candidates (for any position within Pret) must work on the shop floor for a day. The team who works there gets a say on whether the candidate will fit in with the team there or whether they would like the person to work for Pret. If the answer is no, the candidate isn’t hired.
In this way the shop teams make decisions on who the next Purchasing Manager, the next Customer Service Advisor and the next Property Director are. On top of that, all new recruits spend a week or two working in the shop at the start of their employment.
Pret invests a lot in their recruitment process to make sure that their business is filled with “Pret people” from top to bottom and they actively encourage employees to bring their own personalities to work.
Jay believes this investment pays off one hundredfold -- 60% of staff at Pret’s head office began life on the shop floor -- and they know the business inside out.
Incidentally, ‘head office’ is described by Pret people as, ‘Hudsons Place’. This is because the people at Hudsons Place truly don’t believe they are any more important than the people on the shop floor – they’re just fulfilling a different function. This attitude of respect, treating everyone the same seems to run throughout Pret.
That kind of attitude comes from the top and sets the tone for the entire organizational culture.
So regardless of what kind of business you are in there is a lesson to be learned about hiring. Determine the culture you want and then design your recruitment to find those people.
At Pret, there is one quality which is an absolute must if you want to join the team – happiness. “You can’t hire someone who can make sandwiches and teach them to be happy,” says Jay, “So we hire happy people and teach them to make sandwiches”. This is hiring based on character versus competence, which you then train.
What are the key qualities you need to hire for -- and importantly, how have you designed your recruitment process to find those people.
Cheers!
Bill's passion is exceptional customer service -- internally and externally. He works with clients to activate a “customer-focused” culture where engaged employees internalize the brand values and deliver an intentional customer service experience that exceeds expectations.
As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.
For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/
The thing that struck me was the similarities between one of the key business practices between Pret a Manger and The Ritz-Carlton. They both place very high emphasis on recruitment.
Like The Ritz-Carlton, prior to formal interviews for any role, all candidates (for any position within Pret) must work on the shop floor for a day. The team who works there gets a say on whether the candidate will fit in with the team there or whether they would like the person to work for Pret. If the answer is no, the candidate isn’t hired.
In this way the shop teams make decisions on who the next Purchasing Manager, the next Customer Service Advisor and the next Property Director are. On top of that, all new recruits spend a week or two working in the shop at the start of their employment.
Pret invests a lot in their recruitment process to make sure that their business is filled with “Pret people” from top to bottom and they actively encourage employees to bring their own personalities to work.
Jay believes this investment pays off one hundredfold -- 60% of staff at Pret’s head office began life on the shop floor -- and they know the business inside out.
Incidentally, ‘head office’ is described by Pret people as, ‘Hudsons Place’. This is because the people at Hudsons Place truly don’t believe they are any more important than the people on the shop floor – they’re just fulfilling a different function. This attitude of respect, treating everyone the same seems to run throughout Pret.
That kind of attitude comes from the top and sets the tone for the entire organizational culture.
So regardless of what kind of business you are in there is a lesson to be learned about hiring. Determine the culture you want and then design your recruitment to find those people.
At Pret, there is one quality which is an absolute must if you want to join the team – happiness. “You can’t hire someone who can make sandwiches and teach them to be happy,” says Jay, “So we hire happy people and teach them to make sandwiches”. This is hiring based on character versus competence, which you then train.
What are the key qualities you need to hire for -- and importantly, how have you designed your recruitment process to find those people.
Cheers!
Bill's passion is exceptional customer service -- internally and externally. He works with clients to activate a “customer-focused” culture where engaged employees internalize the brand values and deliver an intentional customer service experience that exceeds expectations.
As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.
For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Tim Hortons 2
Wow, what a run of bad luck Tim's is having these days.
First, firing an employee for giving a child a FREE TimBit, and now, not allowing a pregnant homeless women to eat her breakfast in the restaurant.
The important learning is that it doesn't matter that Tim Hortons has a basis for either of these actions. What matters is that customers across Canada are not happy with the corporate behavior.
But in neither case, was this corporate behaviour -- it was a specific individual acting in what they felt was a totally appropriate manner. Can these be any louder warnings for us about the critical importance of working with our employees on the customer service experience they are providing.
Tim Hortons has been a good corporate citizen. They are a big sponsor of local community activities in sports, culture and the arts -- yet all of that money is being totally over shadowed by "unpaid media" that suggests the company is uncaring. Plus, I would guess, considerable time and money are now being spent to minimize and undo the damage created by there 2 recent situations.
How much better to have spent this time and money making sure employees understand and internalize the corporate culture.
So when the value of spending funds to create a customer-focus culture in the organization is questioned -- remember these examples.
It doesn't matter how well the head office gets it or how much you spend on training "what to do", if your employees don't embrace your customer service experience and understand how to interpret the policies in the context of the brand values you have developed, you will continually be fighting fires likes these.
It's the difference between hiring and training for competence versus character.
Cheers!
First, firing an employee for giving a child a FREE TimBit, and now, not allowing a pregnant homeless women to eat her breakfast in the restaurant.
The important learning is that it doesn't matter that Tim Hortons has a basis for either of these actions. What matters is that customers across Canada are not happy with the corporate behavior.
But in neither case, was this corporate behaviour -- it was a specific individual acting in what they felt was a totally appropriate manner. Can these be any louder warnings for us about the critical importance of working with our employees on the customer service experience they are providing.
Tim Hortons has been a good corporate citizen. They are a big sponsor of local community activities in sports, culture and the arts -- yet all of that money is being totally over shadowed by "unpaid media" that suggests the company is uncaring. Plus, I would guess, considerable time and money are now being spent to minimize and undo the damage created by there 2 recent situations.
How much better to have spent this time and money making sure employees understand and internalize the corporate culture.
So when the value of spending funds to create a customer-focus culture in the organization is questioned -- remember these examples.
It doesn't matter how well the head office gets it or how much you spend on training "what to do", if your employees don't embrace your customer service experience and understand how to interpret the policies in the context of the brand values you have developed, you will continually be fighting fires likes these.
It's the difference between hiring and training for competence versus character.
Cheers!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Tim Hortons
So I imagine by now everyone has heard about the situation at Tim Hortons that resulted in the firing of an employee for giving away FREE Food. The employee's crime? She gave a FREE TimBit to a regular customers youngster.
Within 2 days this event was reported in every national newspaper, was on all major online news feeds and was being discussed on our local All News radio station. This is a perfect example of how the employee, in this case the manager who fired the employee, owns the brand.
By this single action the manager was communicating to the entire Country how Tim Hortons treated their employees and by default how they viewed their customers -- definitely an off-brand Moment of Truth.
Tim Hortons had rightly established a policy that it was inappropriate to give away FREE Food. The issue here was that the manager had not been given (or felt they had not) the ability to interpret this policy against a strong, well-communicated set of brand value that would help them interpret the policy in a manner that was consistent with the brand values.
I think common sense would tell us, that firing someone for giving a free TimBit was not the intention of the policy. But it was totally correct based on the policy.
The positive ending was that the employee that was fired was quickly re-hired by Tim Hortons at another location. Tim Hortons recognized that they needed to respond quickly and they did.
The question is, will they recognize the root cause of the problem and take steps to instill a strong, well-communicated set of brand values/service principles across the organization so their policies are interpreted appropriately.
I always say, "An organization needs a short list of expectations, versus a long list of rules."
Cheers!
Within 2 days this event was reported in every national newspaper, was on all major online news feeds and was being discussed on our local All News radio station. This is a perfect example of how the employee, in this case the manager who fired the employee, owns the brand.
By this single action the manager was communicating to the entire Country how Tim Hortons treated their employees and by default how they viewed their customers -- definitely an off-brand Moment of Truth.
Tim Hortons had rightly established a policy that it was inappropriate to give away FREE Food. The issue here was that the manager had not been given (or felt they had not) the ability to interpret this policy against a strong, well-communicated set of brand value that would help them interpret the policy in a manner that was consistent with the brand values.
I think common sense would tell us, that firing someone for giving a free TimBit was not the intention of the policy. But it was totally correct based on the policy.
The positive ending was that the employee that was fired was quickly re-hired by Tim Hortons at another location. Tim Hortons recognized that they needed to respond quickly and they did.
The question is, will they recognize the root cause of the problem and take steps to instill a strong, well-communicated set of brand values/service principles across the organization so their policies are interpreted appropriately.
I always say, "An organization needs a short list of expectations, versus a long list of rules."
Cheers!
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