Why you need to focus on your staff…
…to improve your customer experience
In order to operate effectively and maximise the guest experience, sports venues must get the staff engagement element right. This is a fact.
The customer experience may be a well-documented key focus of businesses, especially those in the sport, leisure and hospitality markets where competition for the public’s disposable income is relentless.
Engaged staff can make or break a day
But you have to couple this focus with that of the staff experience. “If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients” to quote Richard Branson.
Back in 2009 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the MacLeod report on engaging for success and found organisations with highly engaged employees achieved:
43% more revenue
12% higher customer advocacy
18% higher productivity
But does any of the following sound familiar?
Mindgym developed a white paper (2011) on the subject of the engaged employee and present a number of ways that stadiums go wrong:
Survey overload – collect a load of data with a lack of actions afterwards
Grand gestures – implement employee perks packages, but forget to talk to staff and say thank you
Distracted managers – start a process of change and then something more important comes along
Leave it to HR – they alone are meant to deliver engaged staff
The problem is that to get a staff team engaged in the business, it begins with the individual. Mindgym argue that how a staff member chooses to think about work will make more difference to employee engagement than anything else – leading to the classic scenario of ‘perception is reality’.
So, what can sport venues do?
Well they need to focus on developing the following mind-sets:
Optimistic – staff must feel confident they can make things better and celebrate successes. Use ‘what went well’ and ‘even better if’ reviews, focus on things to be grateful about.
Purposeful – if staff view it merely as a job then they’re not engaged. So unpack the reasons for their role, let them finish the sentences “fans love coming here because I …..” or “the team perform better on the pitch because I …..”.
Self-determination – don’t micro-manage, encourage proactivity.
Worth – staff must feel they are competent and able to contribute.
Resilience – it’s not all going to go well all the time. How staff move on from problems and setbacks in a positive, forwarding looking manner is important.
Get staff feeling and exhibiting these qualities, then you have an engaged team ready to drive the business forward to the benefit the fans. Plus, you’ll see lots of smiley, happy people.
Bringing it together to make it meaningful
We call it ‘one-team operations’ as it focuses on the staff journey and understands how the crucial elements of culture, engagement and consistency combine to create tangible benefits, including improved financial returns.
Rockvolt is here to partner with companies / venues / events to cultivate one-team operations, which ultimately ensure the customer experience is enhanced, which let’s face it, is what we all want.