A Mall Tale

Just last week, in my role as one of the Dragons at The University of Brighton's Business School, I listened to retail project teams describing their frustration about their inability to get their teams united behind the delivery of service excellence. The students were able to clearly express their service goals but had failed to get engagement from their teams.

From the research I used for my book "Magic for Malls" this outcome is widespread. A clear vision at the top, adoption by senior and middle management, followed by apathy, indifference or conflict at the front line, where  service is delivered, summarised in this "doodle";
 

Unless the organisation is able to explain "why " giving great service is good for all, especially frontline staff, the "how" will not get off the ground. We need to tackle the desire to engage and create a culture where employees experience a personal, emotional benefit from their engagement. To do this, we have to consider the barriers to engagement and work towards their removal.

Let me share a true story to illustrate how this can be done.

Sylvia works as a member of a Mall housekeeping team, charged with keeping the floors clean and clear of clutter. On the surface, it's a mundane job was little in the way of excitement or variety. She is not privy to development plans for the centre, lease negotiations, up-and-coming events and promotions, yet, she is passionate about the role she plays.

She shared a 2-day Magic Programme with teammates shortly after joining the operations team.

In a previous role Sylvia had been a school cleaner for over 20 years. "I used to think people thought they were better than me. Now I know they're not."

She claims the course transformed her life.

"You notice a difference with the girls that have not been on it yet. They don't have the right attitude. One girl came in without tights on. She said she can't wear them because they made her legs itch.

I told her there is no such thing as "can't". My legs itch too after the summer, I said but you get used to it.

Next day she was wearing them. "

All her life, Sylvia had felt second-class, that her background and education somehow made her inferior to others and, in that mindset,  experienced  the frustration of impotence against life's challenges. She lived in a "can't do it, not worth trying, won't do it" world which, of course, became her reality.

The Magic Programme enabled her to tackle challenges, overcome hurdles and succeed in "well-doing". This well-doing  leads to a sensation of "well-being", which then leads onto a steady improvement in self-confidence.

Sylvia's working life developed into one where she performed her main role but also actively sought out shoppers who seem to be in some difficulty or were unsure about where they were going or had trouble finding a store. This added value delivers an extraordinary  experience for shoppers, whose expectations are usually low and thus makes a significant difference to their behaviour.

For my part, I believe ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things and my passion is to find ways to help them achieve these.

Low self-esteem is the greatest barrier to personal development and I seek to enhance  this by helping people discard the  unwanted  baggage of unsatisfactory parenting and schooling and replace it with positive learning.

Ordinary people, extraordinary stories...