Facility Management talks to Darryl Prince, director of People and Culture ISS Australia and New Zealand, who demystifies what ‘excellent service’ entails and discusses key points on which service providers ought to focus for success.
Many companies place great value on ‘putting customers first’ or ‘delivering excellent customer experience’. What is it then that makes companies struggle with service delivery? Companies that deliver excellent service excel in the areas of people, processes, leadership and culture. They build their service management models on creating value for customers and engaging frontline employees in the service delivery process.
Excellent service is delivered through a meeting or interaction between people. Great service companies have great people, and they also have great processes for how to induct, introduce, train, manage, develop and promote these people. They have put in place systems and processes that are founded on respect for their people and a belief that an individual can do wonders – if they are given the right tools and management processes. What the customer defines as excellent service is what ISS terms as the ‘Appreciated Service Moment’. This is the difference between perceived service and expected service. These ‘moments’ are key in achieving that level of stellar service.
Investigating what a client is trying to achieve as a core purpose of their business and understanding the client’s mission, vision and values helps in creating bespoke solutions. It is crucial to establish this ‘purpose’ at the very beginning of the relationship, as integrated facilities management services should not just be commodity-based offerings. Integrated FM service providers must partner their clients, understand why clients need them and align service solutions with client vision, mission and values.
The ‘Appreciated Service Moment’ is determined right at the time of service delivery. This usually takes place at the interface between the user and a frontline service employee. It is during this encounter that the customer is evaluating the service and forming an opinion of its quality.
These five key points will help design a sound service excellence model:
- what value the customer is getting from the service
- how total quality is perceived in customer relationships to facilitate such value
- how an organisation will be able to deliver this perceived quality
- how an organisation should be developed and managed, and
- making the organisation function so the customer value expectation is met.
The Service Excellence Model below illustrates which service elements should be included.
Four main elements key to excellent service
- Service culture – Leadership behaviours that drive a service culture play a major role in effective service organisations. Value-based leadership is effective in making the organisation’s values and vision more meaningful and relevant to first-line management and frontline employees. The shadow of the leader can never be underestimated.
- Employee engagement – Solid people processes should be at the core of any service organisation. Successful execution of service delivery requires employees who have a higher purpose in their work other than simply what is dictated by the job profile. An understanding and commitment to ‘why do I do what I do?’ along with attitude, behaviour and, ultimately, quality are outcomes of having sound and robust people practices.
- Service quality – Processes to ensure consistent insight into customer needs can ensure customer retention and optimise their experience while stimulating development and dialogue.
- Customer experience – The key differentiator lies in the service management model. Traditional models no longer suffice and future focus should be on service delivery systems and the power of the human touch. Frontline service employees need to be empowered to create appreciated service moments.
Delivering excellent service
Understanding a client’s drivers – or purpose – can assist with answering the ‘why?’ question. This is the most important factor in successful service delivery. ISS demonstrates this in its contract with a major Australian airport where it provides security services. A key performance indicator (KPI) for the airport was to drive visitor expenditure in the departure hall.
By communicating and understanding the client’s needs, ISS tailored its security offering and aligned itself with those needs. By understanding the airport’s drivers/KPIs and factoring these in when tailoring service solutions, it made all the difference. On top of ensuring the safety of visitors and passengers, security personnel were keenly aware that they needed to possess a concierge service mentality to promote an environment conducive for shopping. Training, culture and client management systems in this instance made the process of airport transits a safe yet pleasant one, where travellers were more willing to spend – helping to deliver the client’s business goals.
The ‘human touch’ and why it is important
Many people services and, by and large, facilities management services have an operational focus. The overriding strategic objective, however, is to attract the right people with the right competencies and engage them to work towards shared goals.
The ‘human touch’ can only be achieved when the ‘heart’ of the employee is aligned with the client’s mission. Businesses need to hone and nurture this in their staff – to inspire and also empower them by encouraging a culture of commitment and not one of compliance. If successful, regardless of the nature of the facilities being served, be it a hospital or airport, if frontline employees are able to give that ‘human touch’ – an intangible value-add – in their service delivery, then that is the definition of delivering to the customers’ expectations and beyond – what we call excellent service.
Employee engagement is crucial for quality service
Most people who work in service industries genuinely want to do the right thing by others. Hence, at their core, these are people who intrinsically want to provide good service. It is fundamental and crucial during the recruitment process to select those who possess the aptitude for service with commitment. Thereafter, it is about employers ensuring staff are equipped with the necessary training and tools to execute their jobs well. The onus is on employers to get the basics right for employees.
How to engage employees:
- Remuneration package – paying enough, on time and legally, which can be a challenge for some employers in the service industry.
- Recognition – training management and leaders to understand the nuances of managing service personnel and recognising and rewarding achievements of frontline staff.
- Feedback – building solid processes where frontline staff who work independently can communicate with management in group or individual settings.
- Motivation and inspiration – Using formal recognition, both from company and client, can drive quality service and align staff goals with client KPIs.
Prioritise client management
Robust systems built around client management will lead to success. Build the relationship with clients from transition and mobilisation all the way through to execution and delivery. A structured engagement process with the client on multiple levels will facilitate discussions when it is time for contract renewal. Be disciplined with these systems and processes and it will pay off.
ISS is graduating its first team from its Key Account Manager Development Program. Designed to lift high-performing and experienced operators and raise their skills in relationship building and leadership, this program is helping ISS refine its client management systems. These ‘graduates’ then partner with client-side decision-makers to ensure service staff on the ground have an avenue to communicate with the client, to ensure optimum service by dealing with challenges as they arise. This highlights a key reason for some contractors or operators failing to meet client expectations – they focus on the wins (top line revenue, new businesses etc) and not on their ongoing relationships with clients.
There has been a real push to build on the culture, systems, and processes and people at ISS in the last three years. These three pillars have gone from strength to strength and have been the driving force in the recent successes of the business here in Australia.
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Darryl Prince, director of People and Culture for ISS Australia and New Zealand, has a wealth of experience from the service industry, from roles with Starwood, Four Seasons and the Accor group. He has led the development of the people and culture strategy and is passionate about bringing the ISS vision of being ‘The World’s Greatest Service Organisation’ to life.
This article also includes insights from the ISS white paper ‘Service Management 3.0 – the next generation of service’ by Morten Kamp Andersen (proacteur) and Peter Ankerstjerne (ISS).
