Carolene Méli

Leadership culture as key element

There are many elements that need to seamlessly come together, in order to transform the experience you offer into one your guests will remember forever. To stand a chance at creating loyal customers, below aspects all need to be on point:

• Incredible online presence
• Authentic engagement
• Expertly thought-out services
• Unique and meaningful moments

However, an element that is rarely prioritised yet in fact ridiculously important in getting your guests to this place, is great leadership culture within your team. It doesn’t matter if you have one team member or 20 or if they are with you for one week or one year. If they don’t feel they are part of something greater than a set of daily tasks, you will never be able to create an incredible experience for your guests.

4 tips to influence your leadership culture

To easily and positively influence the leadership culture in your team, be guided by these 4 tips and associated practical actions.

1. Self-Leadership

How you show up for yourself on a daily basis, is a telling indicator of the kind of leader you are and will be professionally. If you regularly set goals for yourself and achieve them, manage your time productively and communicate well with those around you, chances are your leadership style in the workplace will reflect that. Your team needs to feel that you are a great leader and you can’t do this for them if you are unable to do it for yourself.

2. Quick but inspiring onboarding

You have a vision for how you want your guests to experience your brand, right? But do you have one for how you want your employees to experience it too? The way you are translating that vision into a reality for your team is crucial. Even if you are ridiculously busy when they begin, take the time to talk to them. Let them see your passion, your ambition and your goals for the experience you offer.

3. Daily Micro-learning

It is widely acknowledged that we all learn differently. But what methods are conducive to a great employee experience? In our industry, employees change quickly. In fact, everything changes quickly. So how can we create an environment that will not only advance our new recruits efficiently, but also at the same time work for us as the leaders, both in regards to time and money?

For learning to be effective, it must evoke emotion and inspire us. It must be digestible and it must be strategically distributed amongst real work.

4. Creating a feedback-ideas loop

It is pretty common practice for business owners and managers to make operational decisions without any insight from their staff. Usually this is an ego thing, with the business owner or manager believing that their expertise and intelligence far outweighs that of their staff.

Of course this will always be true to some extent, but the possibility of successful operational innovations and ideas to come from your employees themselves is huge. They are the ones that are interacting with your guests more than anyone else. Yes, you may be present day to day witnessing the comings and goings but they are the ones with fingers at almost every touchpoint.

So listen to them, ask them questions with a curious mind. Leave your ego behind and create an environment where they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.

Create great employee experiences

Self-leadership, quick but inspiring onboarding, daily micro-learning and creating feedback-ideas loops are all ways in which you as the business owner or manager can transform your employee experience. If their experience within your brand is positive, inspiring, educational and enjoyable, the work they will produce as a result will be work that positively influences the experience you offer your guests.

Just remember: great guest experiences start with great employee experiences.