Dear Ritz-Carlton: How should leaders hold employees accountable? Answer from Jennifer Blackmon, Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: Nearly everyone wants to do a good job and nearly everyone wants to be held accountable for standards that they can be proud of. Coaching in the moment is an opportunity to ensure everyone is on the same page, clarify any misunderstandings and reset expectations. Yet, how many of us are able to hold ourselves to that standard? Coaching, in many instances, is associated with poor performance. Avoiding "those" discussions is easy when faced with competing demands, and it can be shrugged off as not being a priority. However, clear expectations and holding employees accountable are fundamental needs to ensure that everyone is set up for success. The Blog Post Dear Ritz-Carlton: Employees Accountable appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

"On a personal level, I send out about 20 thank-you notes a day to staffers, on all levels. And every six weeks I have lunch with a group of a dozen or so employees, to get their perspective on the business, to address problems and to get feedback." — Douglas Conant, former President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: Expressing gratitude is proven to make people happier, healthier and more productive. The need to feel appreciated is as human as the need for food, water and shelter. In terms of employee motivation, genuine gratitude is far more important than trinkets or gift cards, yet we often overlook it. The Ritz-Carlton embeds gratitude into the culture through First Class cards, annual awards, and other opportunities for recognition. When employees feel appreciated, they are more engaged—which benefits the business—but more importantly, everyone is happier. It’s essential for leaders to create an environment where employees thrive, and as Mr. Conant demonstrated, it’s essential that your leaders are role models for gratitude. You expect your employees to thank your customers, but shouldn’t the example of appreciation and gratitude start at the top? The Blog Post Inspired Thinking - Expressing Gratitude appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Dear Ritz-Carlton: How are employees encouraged to share ideas? Answer from Joseph Quitoni, Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: As part of our Gold Standards, Service Value 9 states that "I am involved in the planning of the work that affects me." To practice this, we have three major vehicles that focus on allowing our employees to share business improvement ideas with leaders. The first is daily line-up. Line-up is held at every Ritz-Carlton location around the world every day and aligns us as a company. It is also a formal opportunity to communicate with our employees, and they are encouraged to volunteer ideas, approaches, and solutions. The second is our Quality Improvement teams. These teams are made up of a diverse group of Ladies and Gentlemen representing all areas within the organization whose purpose is to tackle important issues and improve our key quality targets. Lastly, there is an internal database called Lion Share. This resource gives our employees the opportunity to view and share best practices to cultivate our service culture and Gold Standards, which leads to improved Quality in our hotels. ∞ On Monday, April 13, 2015, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center presents "Your Journey to Service Excellence," The Ritz-Carlton approach to legendary service, employee engagement and a customer-centric culture. This special Symposium takes place at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and early-bird pricing is available through December 31, 2014. Learn more about the keynote speaker, the presentation speakers, and the members of The Ritz-Carlton Executive Panel. The Blog Post Dear Ritz-Carlton: Employees Share Ideas appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

One of the reasons customers choose The Ritz-Carlton brand is because of our reputation for providing legendary service. Legendary service entails going above and beyond. However, it’s not only about exceeding expectations. It’s also about creating unique customer experiences that are memorable and personal. The following guest story shows how listening, caring and creativity were combined to craft a unique, memorable and personal experience for a very special guest. A Unique Customer Experience A young man with Down syndrome was visiting The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, and the Sales Manager learned the young man was especially looking forward to meeting the security officers because he was fascinated by this type of work. The Sales Manager recruited the help of the Loss Preventions Supervisor, the Director of Sales and Marketing, and a Loss Prevention Officer. Together, they decided to stage a VIP departure with the young man assisting with the escort. On the day of the surprise, the Director of Sales and Marketing pretended to be a celebrity VIP. She dressed up in a fur coat, scarf and movie star sunglasses and waited in The Ritz-Carlton Suite. Then, the Sales Manager and the Loss Prevention Officer met the young man in the lobby and asked if he would be willing to help them escort a very important guest. His face immediately lit up, and he said, "Let’s do this!" They escorted the young man to the Loss Prevention Base, where the Loss Preventions Supervisor was waiting to brief the young man on his assignment. The Loss Preventions Supervisor provided the young man with a personalized nametag, radio, and official Loss Prevention lapel pin. Then, they took the private elevators up to meet the VIP. The young man used his radio to call out, "Escort in route" and led the VIP to the security entrance—where special escort SUVs were waiting. Once the VIP was safely in her vehicle, the Loss Prevention Officer and the young man took a seat in the lead escort vehicle, turned on the siren, and drove away. Make Lifelong Memories When the young man returned to the hotel, the Ladies and Gentlemen gave him a wall of applause for his excellent security work. They presented him with a personalized plaque, naming him an honorary member of the Loss Prevention team. Creating unique, memorable and personal experiences require that you engage with your customers to learn what would be truly meaningful to them. When you provide the kind of service that shows thoughtfulness, care, extra effort, and creativity—you touch the heart of your customers and create unforgettable experiences. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development. We also guide organizations through a multi-step process in order to achieve sustainable culture transformation. The Blog Post Unique Customer Experience appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

"Employees are a company’s greatest asset—they’re your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel that they are an integral part of the company’s mission." — Anne M. Mulcahy, former chairperson and CEO of Xerox Corporation The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: There are many luxury hotel brands, but only one Ritz-Carlton. The difference is our employees — they care about creating memorable experiences for guests. In order to keep these employees and continue to attract the cream-of-the-crop, we must create an environment where people want to work because they feel valued and appreciated. This starts during orientation and carries through every phase of their careers with us. When you make employees feel special right from the start, then you begin to build loyalty. McGarrah Jessee, a company that offers creative services, carefully selected and hired their 100th employee and planned a first day celebration (see video) the new employee will always remember. Attracting and hiring the best talent is the first step. To help with retention, leadership should encourage and recognize the contributions of employees. What does your organization do to let employees know they are valued? The Blog Post Inspired Thinking: Attract and Retain the Best appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Dear Ritz-Carlton: What rituals or traditions does The Ritz-Carlton use to drive culture? Answer from Jeff Hargett, Senior Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: Our Daily Line-Ups are our most impactful and consistent way of energizing our culture on a daily basis and with every employee. They include opportunities for our employees—the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton—to engage with our values every day. We also drive our culture through Monthly Departmental Meetings and Quarterly Staff Meetings (called General Sessions). These additional opportunities go even deeper into our culture as we learn more information that not only impacts our local team, but also corporate information that keeps us connected with the larger enterprise. The Ritz-Carlton’s successful culture centers around an engaged workforce, which we build through positive reinforcement. One of the ways we accomplish this is through our First Class card program where colleagues can recognize each other when they have exhibited our culture through the service they have provided to our guests or each other. Of course, the best culture driver: Living It! ∞ On Monday, April 13, 2015, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center presents "Your Journey to Service Excellence," The Ritz-Carlton approach to legendary service, employee engagement and a customer-centric culture. This special Symposium takes place at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and early-bird pricing is available through December 31, 2014. Learn more about the keynote speaker, the presentation speakers, and the members of The Ritz-Carlton Executive Panel. The Blog Post Dear Ritz-Carlton: How Do You Drive Culture? appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Can you imagine an American football team making it to the Super Bowl without ever having a huddle? The huddle is a critical part of the game. It’s used to communicate strategy, to make sure players understand their role, and to inspire a winning attitude. Players huddle many times throughout the game in order to keep the team informed and unified. A huddle can serve a similar purpose at your business or healthcare organization. At The Ritz-Carlton, our version of the huddle is called Daily Line-Up. Daily Line-Up is a standing meeting that includes all staff and takes place at the beginning of each shift. Line-Ups typically take about 15 minutes, but because they serve as a Warm-up, a Tune-up, and a Catch-up, they have a lasting impact on employee engagement and organizational culture. The Warm-up—Transitioning from Daily Life An orchestra tunes their instruments before they start to play. Pilots conduct a pre-flight check before taking off. Most athletes stretch before participating in any strenuous activity, and theater actors engage in some form of pre-show routine or warm-up exercise. They would never think of walking in the stage door at the last moment, putting on their costume and then stepping onto the stage five minutes later. We can think of front-line employees as being "on stage." But how well do we prepare them for the start of their shift? Employees are coming into work with a variety of mindsets: One employee may be having financial trouble, one employee may be having child-care issues, and another employee may have had an aggravating commute into work. Do you want them all to go straight into their jobs and "get warmed up" with the first five or six customers or patients they meet? Or would you rather provide a transition from home to work? Just like an actor, employees benefit from an activity that will provide a transition from the mindset they "brought in the door" to the mindset your organization would like them to bring to customers and patients. The Daily Line-Up gives employees the opportunity to shift gears to a work mentality before they ever meet a customer or patient. The Tune-up—Enlivening Your Culture Author Napoleon Hill noted: "Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought." Your culture and values must be systematically enlivened and renewed for your employees. Telling your employees about culture in orientation, or putting framed posters of your values around the office, is not the same as actually living your organizational values. Daily Line-Up is the opportunity to reconnect each employee with their purpose and their mission before they start their day. Although there may be many elements to your Line-Up—such as corporate announcements and birthdays—the emphasis should be on your culture and values. At The Ritz-Carlton, the Daily Line-Up focuses on one aspect of our Gold Standards. Often the person leading Line-Up shares a personal example of how he or she has demonstrated or witnessed this Gold Standard being expressed. Hearing how your colleagues are living the culture inspires you to do likewise. Line-Up is also a chance for Senior Leaders to model the very same behaviors that they would like their employees to exhibit in their interactions with co-workers and customers or patients. For example, leaders can model the same greeting that they expect employees to provide their customers or patients. Leaders can bring the same level of energy—as conveyed in their body language as well as in the volume and inflection of their voice—that they would like employees to display in their daily work. Catch-up—Communicating Noteworthy News Line-Up is the perfect time to share organizational news, recognize employees or departments for outstanding achievements, and communicate announcements that impact your team. The Daily Line-Up at The Ritz-Carlton regularly includes celebration and employee recognition. Often times the recognition comes from leaders, but it also comes from colleagues who want to express their gratitude. Line-Up produces a team atmosphere, and when Senior Leaders share organizational news with employees, employees feel as if they are valued members of the team. Your organization will feel more transparent and trustworthy. Benefits of Daily Line-Up It may seem like too much of a time commitment to have every employee participate in a daily meeting, but investing a few minutes every day will have significant impact on your organization. After attending a presentation by The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, an employee returned to her organization and implemented a Daily Line-Up. Her boss shared the following feedback: "I have witnessed a complete transformation in our team…and ultimately our clients and prospects are benefitting greatly—which is the true test of any new initiative. It has simply been remarkable. Today was our 22nd day of Line-Ups! We have officially made it a habit, and it has been, without exaggerating at all, the best habit we have implemented in the 25 years I have been founder and CEO of my firm!" Daily Line-Ups benefit employees as well as customers or patients. If your organization would like to strengthen a culture of legendary service and increase employee engagement and organizational trust—don’t wait 25 years. Start your Daily Line-Ups today. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development. We also guide organizations through a multi-step process in order to achieve sustainable culture transformation. The Blog Post The Upside of Daily Line-Up appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

"Management must speak with one voice. When it doesn’t, management itself becomes a peripheral opponent to the team’s mission." — Pat Riley, former coach and player in the NBA The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: In order to have a voice, you first need a common language where certain words carry consistent meaning. How often have you encountered a work culture that lacks a clear language? The Ritz-Carlton has built its voice on the foundation of our Credo, our Employee Promise, our Service Values and our Motto. Management teams around the world make decisions that can be tied back directly to these values, which are discussed daily. We have a clear direction with clear expectations when our Ladies and Gentlemen learn our language. Over time, as we grow, our language becomes our voice and our voice becomes the guiding force behind our passion to create wonderful memories for our guests. Does your team have a common language? The Blog Post Inspired Thinking: Speak with One Voice appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Dear Ritz-Carlton: How are your brand and your culture related? Answer from Jeff Hargett, Senior Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: An organization’s brand and culture have a symbiotic relationship; they are interdependent. Culture is all around us; in our homes, our social groups and our workplace. Some cultures are very structured (The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company) while others are less structured (Apple). Both Brand and Culture are intangible. As consumers, we experience the results of Brand and Culture. For example, when you hold a cold can of your favorite cola on a hot summer day and then taste the refreshing, fizzy liquid that quenches your thirst, the Brand of that cola is being strengthened through your psychological enjoyment and sensory experience. When you sink into that cloud-like bed at The Ritz-Carlton, the Brand of Ritz-Carlton is being solidified as your "Hotel of Choice." Culture helps create the Brand, and Brand fortifies the Culture. When a culture of teamwork, engagement and purpose exists, the Brand will become legendary, thereby validating the Culture. ∞ On Monday, April 13, 2015, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center presents "Your Journey to Service Excellence," The Ritz-Carlton approach to legendary service, employee engagement and a customer-centric culture. This special Symposium takes place at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and early-bird pricing is available through December 31, 2014. Learn more about the keynote speaker, the presentation speakers, and the members of The Ritz-Carlton Executive Panel. The Blog Post Dear Ritz-Carlton: Brand and Culture Related? appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

How many organizations would consider the collective knowledge of their workforce among their important assets? Every day your workforce uses their intelligence to perform their duties and support your organization’s mission. Because your employees are busy, they rarely take the time to share their knowledge with their coworkers or industry counterparts. The result is a missed opportunity to share ideas, learn skills and help others grow as individuals and employees. The Ritz-Carlton enables our Ladies and Gentlemen to share their knowledge through a platform that is referred to as Lions Share. The purpose of Lions Share is to communicate and improve upon best practices. Every employee has access to Lions Share’s repository of best practices and solutions used by other Ritz-Carlton properties around the world. Chances are if a property is encountering an issue, others have faced a similar situation. By sharing this knowledge, we can quickly resolve issues with positive business outcomes. Benchmarking Internally According to Ralph Sibanda, Area Manager, Performance Improvement for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company L.L.C., "Lions Share is a great platform we have for recording and sharing our best practices from all our hotels. It’s the first place to stop if you are facing an operational challenge within your area, because it’s more than likely someone else had the same challenge and came up with a good idea to overcome it, or it will give you the beginnings of an idea to help you succeed." He also believes in the accessibility of the program. He notes, "A great solution from one hotel may be input by a Front Desk agent, for example, and then benchmarked by an Area Vice President to share with other hotels." Lions Share offers more than great ideas to overcome challenges; it also holds best practices from other properties that enhances the guest experience, increases revenue and captures cost savings. One of the advantages in having Lions Share accessible to everyone is that the top performing submissions have been tested in various regions and have proven results. Janet Souter, Vice President Quality for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, sees the future of the Lions Share as providing more social interaction between the Ladies and Gentlemen working around the world. The workforce would be able to share how they have refined or adapted the process to their property if they could "Like" or leave comments. Ms. Souter loves witnessing the evolution of ideas that come from the Lions Share. She has observed, "When I travel around to our properties, I ask our top performing hotels to tell me the secrets of their success, and it never fails. They have at least three or four initiatives they have put into place as a result of benchmarking other properties on Lions Share. The result of this is that they get a great idea from another property and then they continue to refine the process and make it their own and even better." Encouraging Employee Participation In today’s competitive environment, the ability to collaborate as a team is critical for individual and organizational success. True innovation requires collaboration. When you are able to publish an idea or a process and gather feedback from different departments or even geographic locations—the idea takes on a life of its own. Growth is organic and through the evolution of testing and reporting, a good idea at one location becomes a great idea company-wide. A collaborative culture not only improves organizational processes, it also encourages employees to look for ways to improve the organization. Employees take on a more active role when they see their ideas are valued and impact your organization. The best way to create a culture of knowledge-sharing is to first practice it at every level. The more senior management uses it, the more effective it will become in changing the culture. Second, put in place the knowledge-sharing technology and train and educate people in its effective use. An innovative and collaborative culture cannot be launched overnight. However, with the right tools and guidance, you can create the opportunity to harness the talent and intelligence of your team into a usable format. How efficient would your organization be if your workforce had a place to share their knowledge? ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development. We also guide organizations through a multi-step process in order to achieve sustainable culture transformation. The Blog Post Building a Collaborative Culture appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.