Employee Engagement And Self-Service Checkouts

Do you know what it says to your employees when you replace them with a machine? It says "I don't trust you".

It also says, your job will soon be irrelevant. You are worthless. I can provide better customer service by removing you.

Many of supermarket chains are are increasing the number of 'fast' self-service checkouts, with the exception of Morrisons who thankfully did some research of their customer base and are removing them. 

At our local supermarket, instead of spending time at the checkout with a member of the Sainsbury's team, I am forced through the agonising self service process of bag opening, mis-scanning, being accused of theft, and waiting for approval for wine and before I can scramble out of the store. 

Sainsbury's have also reduced the number of people on the checkouts (naturally), so the queues build up, and just like animals heading to slaughter we are all forced into the zigzag of the DIY area.....

During a recent visit to McDonalds we found a new form of ordering system. Instead of ordering food from a person, big vertical screens were suspended from the ceiling, into which you can tap your order and it magically appears at the counter five minutes later. No need to talk to anyone if you don't want to. 

In our experience around 90% of the people coming in refused to use them despite staff begging them too. Note to staff - begging people to make you redundant is a bad idea.

Same experience at my local bank - Barclays staff now try and usher me to self service machines rather than spend time at the counters, and there's a move to keep me out of fuel stations by presenting me with a card slot at the fuel pump - the same story is true at my local train station.

Even more bizarre is the appearance of self service coffee machines from Starbucks - which is horrifying when you think that their value proposition is based around the quality of barista and bean. Why would I pay the same for a robot as the qualified barista?

While these are unlikely to appear 'in store' any time soon - the rise of the poor quality franchise outlet and the war for UK service stations between Costa and Starbucks is not helping quality perception.

Starbucks - remember this from 2008, when you shut all your stores in the US for the day?

"We're taking time to perfect our espresso. Great espresso requires practice. That's why we're dedicating ourselves to to honing our craft"

I suspect a little sub-note saying "but you can still use the machine at the gas station" would not fit.....

In common with 44% of the population (according to Retail Week), I prefer interaction with people rather than self service, and although retailers typically preach 'choice' and 'speed' as their reasoning, it transpires that the associated increase in theft is costing far more than the $125k installation costs and the staff salary savings.

These thefts cost retailers over half a billion pounds per year and as a consequence are causing greater investments in multi-sensory, anti-theft spying systems at checkouts, combined with an increase in security guards. 

Now I'm sure that there is short term pain investing in the technology, and the aim is long term savings by removing pesky humans from the equation (or at least reducing the number dramatically) - but none of these companies are thinking deeply enough about their brand.

Wake up. Your people ARE your brand. In an evolving service economy one of the very few things that separates you from the competition are the interactions your customers have with your staff. 

Here's a quote from a really great article by Kate Hilpern on brand value.

"Brand value is measured one brilliant customer experience at a time"

Machines do not give brilliant customer experience.  They provide short term novelty and the illusion of choice, but never long term relationships.

I am REALLY upset that my local Starbucks closed last week, I'll miss the coffee, and the meeting space, but much more than that I'll miss the team of human beings that have looked after me for several years (most are facing redundancy which makes it doubly hard).  

We've all been to 'good' and 'bad' versions of our favourite chains - and greater consistency can be achieved by a machine, but it's never going to ask you about your family and bring you an occasional free coffee, burger or kids toy. It also won't prompt you about a '2 for 1' offer you missed (that might slow the line).

More touch points between companies and their customers is a good thing - but so many companies are now flying in the face of common sense it bewilders me.

Self service machines are the exact opposite of employee engagement, they suppress any positive projection of culture and they reduce your value proposition. 

Stop doing it. Stop it now - think better of your staff, see past the cost and appreciate the enormous value these conversations, relationships and other interactions bring.

And we need to stop using the damn robots. You don't have to use them - in fact you can have great fun (and get even greater customer service) by proclaiming in a loud voice "Why would I use one of those, I like talking to others, and if I keep using a machine, soon all these nice people will be made redundant".

Try it and see. 

PS Great people really do make great companies, and I'm a big fan of both Starbucks and McDonalds for that very reason - read this blog for some more insight.





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Rules Are The Enemy Of Trust

I remember looking at an employee response to a "What could we do better" question, and finding a suggestion that those with a spouse in the military should be given a couple of extra days off when their partner had to move posts.

I raised this with the head of HR as an example of a 'quick win' to prove that senior leaders were listening and willing to make change based on employee suggestion. He remarked that if they needed a new rule to have supervisors act with common sense and compassion, then the issue was not with engagement, but rather with management. 

He was absolutely right of course. If you have an entry in your employee handbook that states "Do NOT throw chairs at others" or (and this one is real I promise) "No spandex to be worn in the office" - then you have problems.

The moment you start to build up rules, or over engineer processes (sometimes they can be the same thing) - you start to absolve employees of responsibility. It becomes easier to point at the rule book (or the process) than take the blame. 

Nobody sets out to kill innovation and trust with rules, they are applied with the best of intent, but beware the consequence of not allowing people to THINK for themselves and act in the best interest of the company.

_____________________________

I have a passion for watching great teams work - I wrote a blog about McDonalds some months ago which goes into detail on that.

But it's not always great to see teams in action though, during a visit to Oxford recently I saw the manager (or rather just his head over the metal in the kitchen), yelling at every server at the front to hurry up, split the queue, change station, etc. etc. 

I felt sorry for the staff, of which there were too few - but exasperated for him, because had he moved to the front and taken one of the many spare stations he may have gained respect, instead of embarrassing himself in front of customers and his team. 

(Was this due to rules or poor management - I honestly don't know, but I suspect both)

But one of my favourite evangelists for the common sense over rules approach is Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. He returned as CEO in 2008 after serving as Chairman when it became evident that the company was in serious trouble. 

Starbucks is all about the 'local' experience, and one of the things that went wrong was that the speed of expansion overwhelmed the culture and the values of the company. 

There was a point in time when only four different 'store styles' were being built. When the coffee machines were so high you couldn't talk with your barista. When expansion was so fast that proper training wasn't completed. This is not a recipe for success.

With amazing perception for what needed to be done in early 2008, every Starbucks store in the US was closed and this notice placed on the door - heralding to all that things were going to get better.

"We're taking time to perfect our espresso. Great espresso requires practice. That's why we're dedicating ourselves to to honing our craft"

But the biggest thing (at least in my opinion) that changed was the reintroduction of the 'neighbourhood' feel to each store. The cookie cutter approach to expansion was abandoned, and the stores started to get personal - and that meant the partners too. 

The managers in each store have a degree of autonomy, with their teams they govern the ambience and character in each location. My favourite places to go are those where the team really is enthusiastic about coffee, the customer and the location. In London (Vigo St) Malik explained to me the history of the building and how he was helping with translating some of the friezes and murals on the ceiling. 

Stopping on the M40 for a coffee as I drive by is an experience made brilliant by the camaraderie of the staff at Beaconsfield who seem to have photographic memories for customer names and a shocking level of energy even at 6am or 11pm.

At Bicester Village (where I visit the most) - the team always provide welcome inspiration for my work, weird experimental coffees, and nothing is ever too much trouble. There's always laughter, always a welcoming smile and always great coffee. I miss them when I'm away for any length of time.

I'm not going to name the stores where I've had poor experiences, such as the one where staff are punished if it takes more than three minutes from a customer entering a store to receiving their coffee, or the one where they put the chairs on the tables half an hour before closing and turn their backs on customers - you know who you are!

So what's this got to do with too many rules? Everything. Think of your 'star' performers - I'll bet they bend the rules. 

(In some cases where 'hero' cultures exist, some are encouraged to break rules, whilst others are punished - this is BAD behaviour. Fix it. Favouritism, like its close cousin nepotism is always a recipe for cultural disaster)

When managers listen to staff, things work out. You cannot create rules that work in every office, or store, or country - so why try? Think of the places you visit that you like the best. Is it because of the product or the people?

People are your most valuable asset, listen to them. The more responsibility that's given to the customer facing people, the better your customer service will be. The more engaged your teams are, the more value you will reap.

If you don't think that's the case, then evidently you do not trust your staff. So why did you hire them?

_______________________

(If you haven't read Onward, go and treat yourself now - especially if you don't believe there's a link between culture and business success)

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Fluffy Bunnies & Corporate Culture

I'm sorry about this, I really am. But I feel the need to point out a few basics about corporate culture.

Corporate culture does not mean happy, friendly, fuzzy bunny teamwork.

It does not involve sympathy, peace, understanding or doing the right thing for others.

Nor does in mean showing respect, reciting core values and promoting personal development.

It MAY mean some of these things; but I keep having conversations where people are clearly mentally substituting 'culture' for 'hippy'.

Here are some diverse organisations for you to think about for a moment....

(Apple, US Navy Seals ,Google, British Olympic Cycling Team, Starbucks, IBM, UK National Health Service, JCB, Virgin Atlantic)

Do they have the same culture? No.

Do they have strong cultures? Yes.

Are they successful at what they do? Yes.

Could they do better? Always.

What they DO share is a group of people drawn to others with the same beliefs, visions and aspirations as themselves. They provide an environment where people can 'fit', feel comfortable and be part of a large tribe working towards a common goal. Could most employees from one easily fit in another? No.

The culture of a company is what defines it's heart & soul. Changing culture means changing (and challenging ) behaviours, perceptions and beliefs. 

Never try and emulate another companies culture - be proud of what you have, remember that people came to work with you because they were drawn to you.

• If you need to change your culture, make sure you know what your culture looks like today, and make sure you properly measure it's current state.
• Be absolutely clear on your business goals, and why the culture you have is a risk to their delivery.
• Then work towards changing culture from the top down, the bottom up and the middle out. 

Use employee engagement methods, behavioural changes, leadership training, communications skills, corporate events, fire the people who don't fit, promote those that do, make your actions match your words and commitments.

But above all else - measure the effects of everything you do. Measure the engagement improvements, the attrition rates, the effect on quota achievement, on employee opinion, on social media, on the multitude of things that contribute towards your success (financial or otherwise).

And remember. You are unique, your company is unique. It may be that you need to be more aggressive, more dictatorial, more individualist. It may be that you need to work harder together, it may be that more respect is needed. It WILL mean tough decisions.

Lose the fluffy bunny from your mind.

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Why Do People Always Have To Leave?

I've been sat in my local Starbucks getting on with my work for the last hour or so, in truth because I find that a change in scenery often gives me a change in perspective.

Recently I've been pondering what makes certain places so outstanding that they epitomise all the positive aspects of their brand - I wrote a blog a few months ago about a particular McDonalds that could give teamwork lessons to any company in the world.

Like many people I'm a creature of habit, and there are a few Starbucks stores I stop at regularly when I'm travelling. I've noticed an fairly high level of turnover at these, and sometimes feel sad to be losing friends and familiar faces whose company I've grown used to.

Yesterday I found that Lewis, one of the assistant managers here is leaving and taking on a new role in a different company, and I felt sad about that.

But really this is a great thing for Starbucks (and for Lewis). Almost all those who have left have transitioned  to more senior roles in other companies - taking their training, attitude, and ethos with them. 

Which other company wouldn't want to take advantage of this? There are only so many  people that can progress upwards within a company - some will be lost, and what better way to build your brand professionally than by creating demand in the marketplace for those that you've trained.

Good things will always happen to good people. If you demand the best, then you always run the risk of them being poached into other positions by other companies - perhaps this is why some of the most well known and admired brands in the world have such longevity.

I'm out of the way upstairs writing this, and a moment ago one of the guys brought me up a  coffee (the one in the picture above) and a smile. I cannot express how nice it was to have this happen - and how much it was appreciated. 

It's the small things like this that make all the difference - but the key is having the right people in the right roles, no matter what the company, who really do love what they do and go out of their way to make people feel special.

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