You can feel it right away: The energy, the vibe.
You see it on their faces as people walk in to work: Their eye, their mouths.
And you know it when someone speaks to you: The tone, the warmth.
It’s Culture, and it starts right there in the lobby.
(And the “lobby” I’m talking about could be on the phone, in the waiting room, or at the checkout counter.)
You Know How I Know That You Have A Great Culture?
When I walk in to your office, your showroom or your warehouse:
- People smile warmly
- People offer to help
- Someone offers me a drink of water.
OK, we all know that in some places the smiles are forced: car showrooms, department stores.
But you can get the best clues from the people whose job
title is not “Receptionist” or “Salesperson”:
- Do random people walking by offer to help me?
- Do employees smile at each other?
Key Culture Question: Does your organization treat visitors like honored guests?
You might be asking: Why do I care? And isn’t this Customer Service not Culture?
I care because the way your people treat your guests (customers) tells me a lot about how your employees feel they are treated.
People can force a smile – but it doesn’t feel genuine. People can say “Have a nice day!” and it sounds robotic, almost rude.
No. If you want your employees to care for your customers, you have to care for your people first. If you want your employees to honor your clients, you have to honor your people first.
It’s the corollary to the Golden Rule:
“Treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers.”
Because they will treat your customers they way they feel treated anyway!
The CEO Sets The Tone For Culture
So don’t rush out and hold a training class on treating customers like honored guests. That won’t work unless your employees feel honored.
And the CEO has to start it:
- How does your CEO treat people in the lobby, the elevator, the lunch room, the factory floor?
- Does she think about the human impact of decisions, policies and strategies?
- Does he live the values written on that plaque getting dusty on the wall?
If you are a senior leader make the change today:
- Treat your people like honored guests (they are!)
- Do the same for the janitor as you would the VP (in fact, be even nicer to the janitor!)
- Go help the next guest you see sitting in your “lobby” (yes, you, the CEO!)
When it comes to Culture, CEO’s have to show not tell.
And you can learn a lot just hanging out in the lobby.
Thanks for reading,
Tim
Tim, you’ve managed – once again – to find a key gem. As the senior public relations manager for our Motorola business unit, I quite often met with departments to talk about stakeholder relations. No such meeting was more important than my twice-annual briefing of security personnel. I always brought a mirror with me and I would walk around the room giving everyone a chance to see his/her reflection. Then I would say: “Remember that face. For the people walking in the front door of our facilities, that is the face of Motorola.” Then we would talk about first impressions and how security personnel are key to making those first impressions positive.
Good topic. Good insights.
I should have read my response more carefully before posting. I left out something very important. Stakeholders are people of who have an interest and an impact on a company’s success. Stakeholder relations involves planning and implementing strategic and focused interactions with the company’s key stakeholder groups. No one stakeholder group is more important than any other and employees are – most definitely – key stakeholders.