Introduction to Service Culture

Module 1

Learning Outcomes:

• Define service culture

• Discuss the history and philosophy of service culture

• Identify the importance of service culture in the business society

• Explain how service culture work

Service Culture

It refers to a company culture that’s focused on customer service, so you could also call it customer
service culture. A company with a service culture focuses its mission and processes on serving the
customer first and foremost.

The goal is to provide the best experience and most value for the customer, and each employee’s duties
should be focused on that goal. An effective service culture motivates team members to put the
customer first.

Why is Service Culture important?

Customer service culture is important because it’s the key factor that leads to great service. When
customers experience excellent customer service, they are more likely to continue with your business
and also encourage other people to try it. In other words, providing superior customer service helps
your business gain repeat customers, plus a new word-of-mouth clientele.

How does Service Culture work?

This kind of culture happens when you make customers the focus of your business model. The business
philosophy, mission, values and processes should all be directed to the customer and the customer’s
experience with every stage of your brand.

Through a service culture, the employees learn to carry out duties and make decisions with the
customer always in mind as the top priority.

Service Culture definition

The following definitions of service culture set the backdrop for our reflection:

• “A service culture exists when you motivate the employees in your organization to take a
customer-centric approach to their regular duties and work activities.”

• “[We define service culture as] a shared purpose where everyone is focused on creating value
for others inside and outside the organization.”

• Our shorthand definition of service culture is “where employees are obsessed with customer
service.”

Service Culture is a philosophy

The very title of EHL Insights article “The Customer is King, and Customer Service Culture is his Queen”
suggests that a service culture is a prerequisite for great service. Indeed, a true customer focus can only
be achieved by centering your business philosophy and values around the provision of service excellence
and having that notion permeate every aspect of how your company is run.

As part of a service culture, employees at every echelon are called upon to embrace and personify the
concept of service excellence. This clear and intentional direction, this cohesion and common goal has
the power to give employees a sense of belonging. Just think of the black and white reality of
subscribing to a Zapponian mindset or volunteering to leave the company…

Jeff Toister’s use of the word “obsessed” above highlights the fact that a service culture shapes
employees’ thinking. It is a mentality that contributes to brand identity and provides a basis for decision-
making in everyday operations.

In outlining the desired attitude, a service culture sets the tone for staff to instinctively make the right
calls, choose appropriate wording and take the best action. Their interactions with guests and fellow
staff members alike are shaped by the guiding principle of customer-orientation.

A service culture exists when you motivate the employees in your organization to take a customer-
centric approach to their regular duties and work activities. Sales and service employees put customer
needs first when presenting solutions and providing support. Other employees work behind the scenes
to ensure customers get a good product experience. Developing a service culture requires time and
consistency.

Seek Feedback

The first step in developing a service culture is to show genuine interest in finding out what your
customers want from your company, products and services. Ongoing research can help you gain insight
as to how your company currently performs and what improvements you must make to strength loyal
relationships. Your employees can more easily by into the customer-first mentality you project if they
see you working to gather information about your customers.

Communicate and Establish Consistency

Most elements of a company culture begin at the top. As a business owner or manager, your actions and
words set the tone for what employees view as core philosophies of the business. If you project a
service attitude in your dealings with customers or clients, that helps. You can establish a vision and
company objectives that emphasize customer service. In delegating responsibilities to departments,
work teams and employees, you want to convey the specific duties each holds in the bigger picture.

Reward and Recognize

No matter what you say to instill viability in any cultural component, you must reinforce its importance
through action. To perpetuate a service culture, you need to include service standards in job
descriptions, employee evaluations and compensation. If you emphasize customer service in
assessments, raises and promotion decisions, even above other production and sales standards, it
strengthens your commitment. Publicly recognizing top service performers with praise and awards may
encourage workers to work on their reputations as elite service performers. You may also have to
eliminate workers that don't fit into or desire to fit into the culture.

Set Policies and Train

You service culture is also developed through formal written documents and communications. Your
company mission, website, employee policy manual and customer service policy all provide
opportunities to infuse customer-oriented policies for internal or external communication. Once you
establish customer-friendly policies, you need to orient and train new employees to accept the
standards. Part of developing an enduring service culture is getting new hires to quickly assimilate into
it.

MODULE 2:

DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICE CULTURE

Learning Outcomes:

• Determine the different factors in the development of service culture

• Analyze the principles in creating a service culture

• Discuss the organizational charts and how to create one for service culture

DEVELOPING A SERVICE CULTURE: A LEADER'S GUIDE TO SUCCESS

Leading The Change

Driving an organizational shift toward a higher standard of customer care and service must begin at the
top of the organization. Without the clear buy-in and participation of top leadership, lower-level
associates will see and feel the lack of support from the top down. As a leader, it's crucial that you have
an unwavering belief in the new culture and a clear vision of what success looks like. Without these two
leadership attributes you run a very high risk of a failed implementation and an unsuccessful
transformation.

Hire Right

Most businesses make the mistake of hiring people for positions without understanding that a service
perspective is important for all employees. Having both an internal and external focus on customer
service is a characteristic among successful organizations, which provide world-class service for their
external guests as well as their own workers.

Effective Strategies

• Behavior Based Interviewing: Interview with people's past performance in mind--it's the most
accurate predictor of what their future performance will be.

• Determine ahead of time what skills, attitude, temperament and background the ideal candidate
will possess, and do this before you begin interviewing.

• What motivates the candidate? Is it a paycheck, or the satisfaction of a satisfied customer? The
answer to this question will tell you a lot.

Communicate Expectations

One of the most important aspects in creating a service culture is setting expectations for each
employee starting from the first day on the job. Successful service organizations like Ritz-Carlton,
Starbucks, and The Four Seasons ensure that all employees go through the companies' orientation
program on the first day of work. New employees learn about the company culture, the expectations for
all employees, and what behavior will and will not be tolerated. New-hire paperwork and benefits forms
take less than 20 percent of the entire day. In other words, time is spent on educating new employees,
not simply covering the paperwork.

Effective Strategies

• If you don't have an orientation program with clear expectations, develop one. Make sure that
at least 75 percent of an employee's first day is spent explaining service standards, expectations, and
benefits of the culture.

• Be sure to identify both internal and external customer service--one without the other never
works.

• Role-play specific customer service issues with your employees. The more practice they have
dealing with difficult customers, the better they'll be when it actually happens

Train and Develop Your Staff

One of the secrets to a happy staff is ongoing development and learning. Continuing to train your staff
not only shows an investment on your part, but also equips your employees to be better at their jobs. By
providing new skills and training, employees will not only be more likely to stay with your organization,
but they'll be better able to respond to your customers' needs.

Effective Strategies

• Ask your employees what training or tools they need to be successful.

• Cross-train every employee possible so customers get the help they need even when an
employee with specialized knowledge is out sick.

Reinforce Service Standards

The most successful service organizations don't simply "talk" about their service standards, they live and
breathe them every day. Every department manager, director, and general manager knows the
standards by heart, exemplifies them daily, and even quizzes front-line employees on them. Service is
the backbone of their business and they know without it, the company wouldn't survive.

Effective Strategies

• Talk about a different service standard at each department meeting, as well as how everyone is
contributing to it.

• Every month. publicly recognize someone in the organization who best exemplifies a service
standard.

• Make sure all key personnel and leaders are on board with the service standards.

Empower Your Staff

One of the most often used and painful service expressions is "I'm sorry, I'm just not allowed to do that;
it's against company policy." Successful service organizations empower their employees to do whatever
it takes (within reason) to satisfy the customer. For example, Ritz-Carlton allows every employee to
spend up to $2,000 on any one guest to exceed customer expectations and make their experience
memorable. Don't get in the way of your employees: Let them take care of the customer first, and
explain the reasons to you later. The money your company spends in comping a hotel room, taking a
dessert off a bill, or providing your service at a discounted rate will come back tenfold.

Effective Strategies

• Have an organizational system that helps your employees take care of the customer. Customers
need to be taken care of at the first point of contact, not the fourth.

• Let your employees know that they're in charge of their customers. Tell them to do whatever it
takes to bring customers back.

• Continually ask your employees if they need anything to be more effective with your client-base.
If they do need something, give it to them.

Measure Your Success: Solicit Feedback

In order to create and maintain a culture of service, companies must continually seek out and embrace
complaints and then resolve them. Many organizations don't want to hear from their customers for fear
of what they might say. That is exactly why they need to hear it! By walking the floor of our business,
calling current clients, and sending out customer service surveys, managers can measure the impact of
their company's culture. Although some of comments can initially sting, the end result is an honest
organization that isn't afraid to admit when a mistake has been made.

Effective Strategies

• Ask for unsolicited feedback from customers whenever possible.

• Publicly celebrate "success stories" that customer pass along. There is no better way to ensure a
behavior continues than to reinforce it positively.

• Post customer service scores wherever possible. Visibility creates focus, and focus creates
success.

9 Principles for Creating a Service Culture

1) Create a relentless strategy. A relentless strategy is a lifetime commitment to customer service. It is a

propulsive, self-directed passion to continue to learn, improve, and exceed expectations in everything
you do. You have to be relentless in serving your customers; it has to be a way of life.

2) Reduce friction. Remove stupid rules, policies, and procedures. Most rules are put in place to prevent
customers from “taking advantage” of a company. What most managers and executives don’t
understand is that those rules actually reduce the chances a customer will do business with you.
Advertising and prices might get customers through the doors of your business once, but if they have a
problem with a product or service – and if your rules don’t allow you to quickly solve it for them – they
won’t be back. Make it easy to do business with you.

3) Empower employees. Empowerment is the backbone of great service. Everyone must be empowered.
If a front-line employee (your most important employee) does not have the power to satisfy a customer
on the spot – and to the customer’s satisfaction – that customer will do one of two things: move the
complaint up the ladder, often all the way to the CEO, which costs a lot in terms of time and money; or
simply never do business with you again.

4) Do everything with speed. People today expect and want speed. You must drastically reduce the time
for everything you do. This includes everything from answering the phone within the first ring or two to
meeting or exceeding the deadline for a customer’s project. If something normally takes three weeks, do
it in two. If you say you’ll get back to a customer within a week, do it within days. To focus on speed, all
employees must organize, prioritize, manage their time, and look for efficiencies.

5) Train your employees. Employees at every level of your business must be trained on customer service
every few months. Ninety-nine percent of customer interaction takes place with your front-line
employees, yet they are the least trained, least empowered, and least valued. When you spend the time
and money to train your employees – and do it continuously – you’ll realize a return on that investment
that will drive your business to new heights.

6) Remember customers’ names. The most precious things customers have are their names. Our names
are precious to us. Call your customers by name whenever you interact with them. Doing this lets the
customer know that you value them and their business, that you acknowledge and respect them, and
that they are important to you.

7) Practice service recovery. When you make a mistake, admit it and do whatever it takes to correct it.
All employees must practice the four skills of service recovery: act quickly, take responsibility, make an
empowered decision, and compensate fairly.

8) Reduce costs. Price is critical to all customers. Service leaders are frugal and always looking for ways
to reduce costs. My research shows that service leaders are aggressive at eliminating waste and costs.
When you reduce costs, you improve your bottom line. To realize even greater benefits, pass at least a
portion of those savings on to your customers. It will give you an edge over your competitors.

9) Measure results. To keep management passionate about the process of creating a service culture and
the financial investment and time required to do so, you must measure the results of your efforts. It’s
critical to know where you came from and where you are now. When you can prove that what you are
doing is having a positive impact, you will gain support throughout the company.