reflective paper 7 - 9 pages long (NOT a book review)
Lucyya
Lecture8LDRS300-HP.pptxTWU LDRS 300: Leadership as service
Lecture #8
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Today’s agenda
Why is Culture Key
Steps to building a Service Focused Culture
Challenges in Shifting to a Service Focused Culture
Blessing for the Week.
A heart to serve; Building a Customer Focused Culture.
As servant leaders we need to be constantly moving ourselves and those we influence to how best to serve others.
Those who follow us.
Those who we follow.
Those with whom we have influence.
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This lecture is based on the book, The Service Culture Handbook (2017) by Jeff Toister
Defining culture
What is Culture?
Why is culture Key?
What is a Corporate Culture and why is it key?
What is a Service Culture?
CULTURE DEFINED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woP0v-2nJCU
Edward T. Hall (1976) wrote Beyond Culture to explain how there are things visible in Cultures and things that require closer investigation.
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What Makes up Culture?
Patterns of Behaving
Patterns of Feelings
Traditions /Customs
Thinking Patterns
Leadership Patterns
Patterns of Responsiveness
Patterns of Conversations
2) Why is culture key?
Culture is our way of life;
Our values
Our beliefs
Customs
Language
Traditions
Reflected in our history
Our heritage
How we express ideas and creativity.
There are direct benefits to a strong vibrant culture;
A strong sense of belonging.
Growth both personally and intellectually
Increase ability to relate to each other
Health, wellness, self-esteem, & development
3) What is a corporate culture & why is it key?
5 Elements that make up a truly innovative organization;
Focused innovation strategy
Winning business strategy
Deep customer insights
Great talent
Ability to execute plans successfully
Yet, the greatest element by far is the Corporate Culture;
The organization’s self-sustaining patterns of doing, thinking, feeling and believing.
Culture ties all the elements together to create synergy for success.
A successful organization knows what their culture is and how it is improving the culture to achieve the vision.
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Definition of Corporate Culture
“Corporate Culture is the way an organization’s members think, act and understand the world around them”.
(Toister, 2017, p. 8)
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How do we understand an Organization’s Culture?
Edgar Schein, Researcher and Business Management Professor specializing in organizational culture says this:
“In analyzing the culture of a particular group or organization it is desirable to distinguish three fundamental levels at which culture manifests itself:
- Observable artifacts,
- Espoused Values,
- Basic Underlying Beliefs.”
Edgar Schein’s Model of organizational Culture
So, What is a Service Culture?
“Service culture is an organizational culture where there is a collective way employees think about providing outstanding service, act to provide it, and understand how and why they do it.
My shorthand definition is a service culture is one where employees are obsessed with customer service.”
Jeff Toister, 2017, p. xi
4) What does a positive culture look like?
As you watch the video note what you hear about what the speakers say about a Customer service culture.
Video is hyperlinked to picture.
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“Since our humble beginnings, Zappos has been a customer-obsessed company that focuses on delivering a WOW experience. We aim to inspire the world by showing it’s possible to simultaneously deliver happiness to customers, as well as employees, vendors, shareholders and the community, in a long-term, sustainable way.” (https://www.zappos.com/about/what-we-live-by )
ZAPPOS
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A Service culture comes from vision, Mission & Values
Customer service vision Statement
”A statement that clearly defines the quality of customer service employees are expected to provide”
(Toister, 2017, p.35)
Customer Service Vision
Sample customer service visions
3 steps to creating a customer service vision
1. Gather Input.
2. Writing the Vision Statement.
3. Validating the Vision.
1. gather input
1. Who needs to be around the table to have say in what the Vision should say?
2. What voices are important and why?
3. How, when, and in what way will we gather their input?
Surveys
Online
Face to face
Teams or individuals
Onsite or off-site
4. Ask one key question, “What would you like customers to think of when they think about the service we provide?” (Toister, 2017,p.40)
2. Writing the Vision
7-10 people is optimal.
No more than two hours in length.
Three steps:
Clarify objectives & Review data
Draft Vision
Capture examples
A good Customer Service Vision has the following criteria:
1.Vision Statement is simple and easily understood.
2. Vision is focused on customers.
3. Vision reflects both who you are now and who you aspire to be in the future. (Toister, 2017, p. 43)
#3 validating the Customer Service Vision
The Vision needs to resonate and make sense to everyone in the organization, not just those who created it.
Getting all the stakeholders on board with the Vision is a key step to having the Vision embedded throughout the organization and become part of the culture.
Who are the STAKEHOLDERS?
Employees/Staff
Investors/Owners
Customers/Clients
Suppliers
Who are the stakeholders in an Organization?
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There are several ways to engage stakeholders
One to One meetings, phone calls, zoom with senior executives
Focus groups, town hall meetings, department meetings
Use a survey to get input about their response, concerns or feedback to the vision.
The point is to engage those
who will be most effective in
living out the VISION.
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Develop a plan to present your Customer Service Vision
Create tools and training to get everyone on the same page.
Reinforce the new culture with encouragement, memos, evaluations, quarterly check-ups, coaching and mentoring.
Assess employee engagement (ongoing) through a variety of tools, both formal and informal.
At the end of the day, every employee should be able to answer these THREE questions:
1. What is our Customer Service Vision?
2. What does the Customer Service Vision mean?
3. How do I personally contribute to the Customer Service Vision?
CORE Values guide the Customer Service Vision
CORE VALUES must come from the people who must live them out in the company; The Employees.
Servant Leaders understand that telling followers what to think and believe is a total waste of time. (Toister, 2017)
CORE VALUES are constant when everything else is changing.
CORE VALUES is understood and spoken by everyone at all positions within the company.
EVERYWHERE!!!
CORE Values that produce Fanatical support…rackspace
Service Culture Challenges
Changing a company’s culture is not a simple task.
Change requires LEADERSHIP to create the environment.
Many companies have attempted to change the culture within the organization with poor results.
Some basic reasons for poor results are;
Employees are not engaged or asked for their input.
Leaders do not model the desired culture, they only tell followers how to behave.
Important and strategic decisions are not driven by the Vision and Values are not used as guides to the right choice.
Negative C u l t u r e
A negative culture breeds DISENGAGEMENT!
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What Disengagement looks like
Video hyperlinked into picture.
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So why do culture initiatives fail?
Companies try to adopt or borrow some other company's ”service way” without understanding their own unique people, products and values.
Leaders are not committed to the work it takes to create and sustain great customer service
Lack of Time & Money.
Little to no Training.
Infrequent Evaluations and lack of ongoing goals to improve and expand their service culture.
So why do culture initiatives fail?
Employees are unclear about what the service organizational culture is.
Employees are not trained, mentored or coached in the service culture ways or they see a disconnect with what the company says and what they actually do.
“Building the right culture is simply too much work for most companies.
The few that break through work at it everyday. They resist the urge to take shortcuts, and they stick with the initiative for the long haul.
These elite few companies understand that culture isn’t easy, and the embrace the challenge (Toister, 2017, p29).”
What About You as an Apprentice servant Leader?
Are you willing to do the hard work needed to improve the world you live in,,,,
Or are you going to let things be and walk by on the other side and not concern yourself with anyone but yourself?
Who Do you Identify With In The Story Of The Good Samaritan?
The Priest? – Was too important to stop and help.
The Levite? – Was too busy to stop and help.
The Good Samaritan? – Saw the need and did whatever he could to help.
The wounded man? – Found himself in a desperate place in need of help.
The Audience who heard the story? – Part of a group who have heard and are being exposed to a different way of living life.
The Story Teller? – Someone who has a message and has a huge burden or responsibility to get the message out to people.
We are at different times in our lives each one of these people.
But we have choice to decide who we will become.
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We, individually, always have a choice how we will show up in whatever work, school or social environment we find ourselves in.
So what kind of culture will you create when it comes to serving others?
Today’s blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord show you his kindness.
May he have mercy on you.
May the Lord watch over you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-27 International Children’s Bible
All through the Christian Church history this blessing has been spoken to people to remind them of God’s care and presence.
As you persevere in your studies be encouraged that you are not alone.
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