The New Gold Standard
Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D.
When it comes to refined service and award winning hospitality,The Ritz Carlton Hotel Companysets the standard of excellence. With unyielding attention to every luxurious detail, staff members at The Ritz-Carlton consistently create memorable experiences for their guests in opulent settings worldwide.
As I studied this legendary service provider in preparation for my book The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, I identified the following factors in the company’s sustained success:
Define and Refine: Simon Cooper, president of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company noted, “You can’t put the veneer of quality on a business that lacks a sound foundation. The Gold Standards, and the disciplined business practices that emerge from them, create the platform for the achievements of our company.” The Gold Standards referred to by Mr. Cooper can be found on a pocket-sized card carried as part of the uniform of Ritz- Carlton employees. The standards reflect the service values, credo, motto and three steps of service each employee is to use as guidelines for the care they are to provide one another and guests. These values are reinforced daily in a process called “line-up” during which every employee worldwide is afforded the opportunity to hear stories of service excellence placed in the context of the company’s overarching mission and culture. Not only does leadership at The Ritz-Carlton DEFINE their culture through their Credo card, Line-up and Gold Standards, but they REFINE their products and service delivery methods in accord with the changing needs of the customer. This is evidenced by new hotel designs that reflect the uniqueness of the locale in which the hotels are located and a shift in service delivery from the more formal to the more personal.
Empower Through Trust: David Amistead once wrote, “Trust each other again and again. When the trust level gets high enough, people transcend apparent limits, discovering new and awesome abilities for which they were previously unaware.” Leadership at The Ritz-Carlton has created an environment of trust that begins with a methodical selection process that assesses and measures the talents of prospective employees against the talent levels of high performers. Once selected, leadership extensively trains new hires not only in operational aspects of their jobs but in the desired outcomes they want their employees to produce for customers. Once staff members understand those outcomes (e.g., memorable guest experiences and customer engagement), leadership steps back and allows the frontline to create those outcomes for the customer. This is clearly evidenced in the $2,000 per day, per guest authority given to every staff member which allows them to do whatever is necessary to enhance a guest’s stay or recover service – without seeking the approval of a supervisor.
It’s Not About You: Since the early 1990s, executives at The Ritz-Carlton looked outside their business to drive internal process innovation. They did this by seeking input from other world-class businesses such as Motorola, Westinghouse, Xerox Corporation, Federal Express and IBM, through the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award evaluation process. Ritz-Carlton leadership not only benchmarks other businesses, but they invest heavily in systematic listening to their staff, customers and investors. Extensive data is secured from these sources and performance is measured against the engagement level of guests and staff. Leadership understands that the more they listen to the needs of those the leaders serve, the more likely their staff will be to listen to the needs of the guests.
Deliver WOW: Ritz-Carlton leadership defines the desired memorable and emotional connection of a guest as a “Wow” experience. As such, staff members are encouraged to personally affect guests in pursuit of this level of emotional intensity. While a term like “wow” sounds more like a reaction you are more likely to hear from someone exiting an amusement ride as opposed to something that could be produced during a luxury hotel stay, the idea of a “Wow” experience hinges less on the inherent exhilaration of the product and more on delivering service that appeals to both the thinking and feeling aspects of the consumer. Twice a week, “wow stories” are presented during the line-up process. These stories range from herculean efforts made by staff to serve customers (such as employees constructing a ramp on their off work time so a guest in a wheelchair could enjoy a sunset on the beach) to more subtle yet equally important small acts of care and concern. In all cases, excellent service is a reward unto itself. Whether a staff member is working individually or in concert with a team, service gives back to the giver. At The Ritz-Carlton, however, those acts of giving are held up as examples of how well-defined values come alive through the collective efforts of staff each and every day. Leaders celebrate and cement culture by the stories they tell and retell.
Leave a Lasting Footprint: From the onset, leadership at The Ritz-Carlton sought to build a company that would have an enduring legacy. To that end, corporate social responsibility was not a trendy add-on in modern times but a component of its early mission statements. In addition to formal corporate giving programs such as Community Footprints, The Ritz-Carlton has developed the Leadership Center which provides training programs in quality focus and service excellence to individuals from businesses both large and small. Additionally, Ritz-Carlton leaderships actively partners with hotel guests, vendors, and key account representatives to not only celebrate those relationships but to give those individuals the opportunity to participate with leadership in community outreach programs.
Consistent application of these leadership principles has led to legendary customer service and memorable and transformational experiences for all who come in contact with The Ritz-Carlton. In the process, they have established The New Gold Standard of business excellence.
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By: Joseph Michelli, author of the newly released book “The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company” and the best-selling book “The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary”
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