Developing a team of
2MS
Ensure guests feel cared for by going above and beyond expectations.
Developing a team of
2nd Mile Service Leaders With A Great New Team
Manager Casey Durham leads from the front at Mooresville FSR. 8
create | Spring 2012
and many new customers, Valencia Town Center FSR in Santa Clarita, California, was off to a strong start when its doors opened in July 2010. In those early days, Operator Dustin LaChance’s team concentrated on the basics of customer service, but there wasn’t anything “special” about the experience in his Restaurant, he says. Then, LaChance hired his serviceminded brother, Donovan LaChance, who already had experience as a service trainer in the restaurant industry. In addition to checking in on guests, clearing trays and refreshing drinks, Donovan memorized guests’ names, which created a very devout group of regulars. After seeing Donovan’s ability to Create Raving Fans®, LaChance wanted to raise the bar for what 2nd Mile Service should look like in his Restaurant. LaChance enlisted Donovan as the main 2nd Mile Service trainer and asked him to help develop leaders specifically for the dining room. Following
LaChance’s example, Donovan now identifies Team Members who have friendly dispositions and deliver exceptional 2nd Mile Service without compromising speed of service. Once Donovan finds these Team Members, he encourages them to use their natural talents. For example, these Team Members are encouraged to develop their own unique way of introducing themselves to guests. Since Donovan took the lead on developing 2nd Mile Service leaders in the dining room, many Team Members are now on a fast path to becoming leaders. “By putting people in their element, leaders come out of that because they get to show what they can do,” LaChance says. “It gives them a spotlight to shine.”
Mentoring the Service Mindset For Operator Eddie Halliday, investing in individuals is key to keeping
employees excited about coming to work at West Town Mall, West Town Mall DTO and First Tennessee Plaza in Knoxville, Tennessee. Yet, with more than 100 Team Members to oversee, developing the skills, confidence and enthusiasm required for 2nd Mile Service is more than a one-person job. With this in mind, Halliday decided to implement a mentoring program where each of his leaders would oversee eight other leaders, and those leaders would help develop the next level of leaders—and so on, down to the Team Member level. This structure allowed Halliday’s leaders to develop their leadership skills in multiple facets of the business, including 2nd Mile Service. When Halliday meets with seniorlevel leaders, they discuss books about leadership and how they can apply key insights to improve areas such as 2nd Mile Service. Senior leaders also complete exercises on creating “REMARK”able experiences, and share
Spring 2012 |
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9
recent examples of when they used the connect, discover and respond strategy. “If they know they will be sharing specific examples in our time,” Halliday says, “they are more likely to be deliberate.” Following each meeting, Halliday sends an email with key learnings and a checklist that sets the stage for their next meeting. Key leaders use their meetings with Halliday as the basis for the meetings they’ll lead. They email Halliday their
process. After attending a Recipe for Service training session about two-anda-half years ago, Wiggins realized there was room to improve 2nd Mile Service at his Mooresville FSR in Mooresville, North Carolina. (Today, Operators can participate in Recipe for Service training sessions as a Market.) To thoroughly focus on every crucial part of the customer experience, Wiggins began training leaders who specialize in unique areas of service, including Recipe for
With the help of Ryan McGovern, the Service Coach in charge of general services like greetings at the door and drive-thru service, the leaders work together to address a lot of the same topics from different angles. By continuously communicating the importance of their positions, Wiggins empowered Durham and McGovern to take charge of 2nd Mile Service and share it with Team Members. Restructuring leadership produced a rewarding creative outlet for
The Challenge of Stepping Back
Operator Jerry Medders shares how letting go helped his leaders meet their 2nd Mile Service goals. Operator: Jerry Medders Location: Golden Isles Plaza FSR, Brunswick, Georgia
Challenge: Letting leaders
By working with their peers, leaders and Team Members are able to use their creative abilities to find new ways to help customers. agenda and action plans before each meeting. For two hours every two weeks, leaders take their groups of eight into an office at the DTO to work on key takeaways that came out of the leadership meeting with Halliday. Halliday believes these meetings have empowered his leaders to create more “REMARK”able experiences, which sets the tone for the rest of the team. For example, one leader encountered a woman who loves Chick-fil-A’s Multigrain Oatmeal but was unable to take work breaks in time to order breakfast at Chick-fil-A®. The leader created a “REMARK”able experience by surprising her with a bowl of oatmeal at her work. “Just knowing he was empowered to respond certainly was a factor in making this happen,” Halliday says.
Designing Leadership Departments For Operator Darin Wiggins, developing a team of leaders charged with 2nd Mile Service has been a step-by-step
10
create | Spring 2012
Wiggins’ team. By working with their Service Coordinator, Service Coach, peers, leaders and Team Members are and Emotional Connection and able to use their creative abilities to Relationship Coordinator (EC&R). find new ways to help customers. “It’s As Wiggins began considering fun for them; and that way, no one is people for the key role of Recipe for just coming in and biding their time Service Coordinator, Manager Casey until they’re off the clock,” Wiggins Durham was a standout. “He’s always says. “They feel a sense of pride, doing more,” Wiggins says, “like walkwhich is a huge benefit to them and ing guests outside with an umbrella on the business.” CRF rainy days and carrying bags to cars.” A major part of Durham’s role is working on Recipe for Service in huddles with Team Members. “He’s the one that plans the huddle topics for the weeks and months,” Wiggins says. “A lot of times in his huddles, it’s relative to Core 4.” In addition, Wiggins meets with Durham regularly to discuss strategies for Donovan LaChance (left) with his continually improvbrother, Operator Dustin LaChance ing 2nd Mile Service.
PERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVE
learn from experience, rather than stepping in to solve every 2nd Mile Service problem. Solution: Getting leaders more involved in 2nd Mile Service goal setting and allowing them to communicate important information to the entire team. From his post at the front of Golden Isles Plaza FSR in Brunswick, Georgia, Operator Jerry Medders watches his polished Team Leaders handle every situation that comes their way during the afternoon rush. This is common for Medders because trusting his team means holding them accountable for providing great 2nd Mile Service. “My people step up to the plate,” he says. “I only intervene if it’s necessary.” Medders focuses on setting the vision for his Restaurant and continually coaching his leaders to develop their skills. However, it wasn’t always easy for Medders to let his team take control of the details so he could focus on continuous improvement of 2nd Mile Service. “I was planning the morning huddles, spending a lot of time in the dining room and basically doing my version of what needed to be done,” he says. “I couldn’t do it all myself and I realized I was taking away from leaders who wanted to help carry the load.” Medders knew that the Restaurant could never reach its 2nd Mile Service potential without his leaders taking a larger role in
goal setting. He began holding weekly management meetings where his leadership would discuss their short- and long-term goals for 2nd Mile Service and other key areas of the business. During huddles held throughout the day, Medders and his top managers and shift leaders communicate important information. As leaders started communicating goals to the larger team, Team Members started placing more trust in those leaders. Watching his leaders grow into their new responsibilities also helped Medders feel more comfortable with their expanding roles in the business. “It helped me trust leaders to handle all the small issues of the day,” Medders says. Eventually, Medders was able to let senior leadership plan and execute the weekly huddle meetings with little to no involvement on his part. “It’s taken pressure off of me,” he says. “As more leaders understand the vision, they help carry the load. It’s not something you can do alone.” Perhaps the biggest challenge for Medders has been allowing his leaders to take part in the hiring process. Although Medders wasn’t getting the quality of applicants he was seeking, he was hesitant to include others in interviews. As Medders saw his leaders grow in their roles, he began to feel comfortable with the idea. Now, after opening up interviews to include leaders, Medders says he’s been able to identify more candidates who have strong 2nd Mile Service skills. It’s easy for Medders to see that his process is working because it’s reflected in the customer experience and in the happiness of Team Members. “The team can do a better job than I can if I tried to provide service all by myself,” he says. “It’s a joy to see that happen. They start to function on their own for their own pleasure, and it’s truly a reward system for all.”
“As more leaders understand the vision, They help carry the load. It’s not something you can do alone.” —Jerry Medders Spring 2012 |
create
11
Ensure guests feel cared for by going above and beyond expectations.
Developing a team of
2nd Mile Service Leaders With A Great New Team
Manager Casey Durham leads from the front at Mooresville FSR. 8
create | Spring 2012
and many new customers, Valencia Town Center FSR in Santa Clarita, California, was off to a strong start when its doors opened in July 2010. In those early days, Operator Dustin LaChance’s team concentrated on the basics of customer service, but there wasn’t anything “special” about the experience in his Restaurant, he says. Then, LaChance hired his serviceminded brother, Donovan LaChance, who already had experience as a service trainer in the restaurant industry. In addition to checking in on guests, clearing trays and refreshing drinks, Donovan memorized guests’ names, which created a very devout group of regulars. After seeing Donovan’s ability to Create Raving Fans®, LaChance wanted to raise the bar for what 2nd Mile Service should look like in his Restaurant. LaChance enlisted Donovan as the main 2nd Mile Service trainer and asked him to help develop leaders specifically for the dining room. Following
LaChance’s example, Donovan now identifies Team Members who have friendly dispositions and deliver exceptional 2nd Mile Service without compromising speed of service. Once Donovan finds these Team Members, he encourages them to use their natural talents. For example, these Team Members are encouraged to develop their own unique way of introducing themselves to guests. Since Donovan took the lead on developing 2nd Mile Service leaders in the dining room, many Team Members are now on a fast path to becoming leaders. “By putting people in their element, leaders come out of that because they get to show what they can do,” LaChance says. “It gives them a spotlight to shine.”
Mentoring the Service Mindset For Operator Eddie Halliday, investing in individuals is key to keeping
employees excited about coming to work at West Town Mall, West Town Mall DTO and First Tennessee Plaza in Knoxville, Tennessee. Yet, with more than 100 Team Members to oversee, developing the skills, confidence and enthusiasm required for 2nd Mile Service is more than a one-person job. With this in mind, Halliday decided to implement a mentoring program where each of his leaders would oversee eight other leaders, and those leaders would help develop the next level of leaders—and so on, down to the Team Member level. This structure allowed Halliday’s leaders to develop their leadership skills in multiple facets of the business, including 2nd Mile Service. When Halliday meets with seniorlevel leaders, they discuss books about leadership and how they can apply key insights to improve areas such as 2nd Mile Service. Senior leaders also complete exercises on creating “REMARK”able experiences, and share
Spring 2012 |
create
9
recent examples of when they used the connect, discover and respond strategy. “If they know they will be sharing specific examples in our time,” Halliday says, “they are more likely to be deliberate.” Following each meeting, Halliday sends an email with key learnings and a checklist that sets the stage for their next meeting. Key leaders use their meetings with Halliday as the basis for the meetings they’ll lead. They email Halliday their
process. After attending a Recipe for Service training session about two-anda-half years ago, Wiggins realized there was room to improve 2nd Mile Service at his Mooresville FSR in Mooresville, North Carolina. (Today, Operators can participate in Recipe for Service training sessions as a Market.) To thoroughly focus on every crucial part of the customer experience, Wiggins began training leaders who specialize in unique areas of service, including Recipe for
With the help of Ryan McGovern, the Service Coach in charge of general services like greetings at the door and drive-thru service, the leaders work together to address a lot of the same topics from different angles. By continuously communicating the importance of their positions, Wiggins empowered Durham and McGovern to take charge of 2nd Mile Service and share it with Team Members. Restructuring leadership produced a rewarding creative outlet for
The Challenge of Stepping Back
Operator Jerry Medders shares how letting go helped his leaders meet their 2nd Mile Service goals. Operator: Jerry Medders Location: Golden Isles Plaza FSR, Brunswick, Georgia
Challenge: Letting leaders
By working with their peers, leaders and Team Members are able to use their creative abilities to find new ways to help customers. agenda and action plans before each meeting. For two hours every two weeks, leaders take their groups of eight into an office at the DTO to work on key takeaways that came out of the leadership meeting with Halliday. Halliday believes these meetings have empowered his leaders to create more “REMARK”able experiences, which sets the tone for the rest of the team. For example, one leader encountered a woman who loves Chick-fil-A’s Multigrain Oatmeal but was unable to take work breaks in time to order breakfast at Chick-fil-A®. The leader created a “REMARK”able experience by surprising her with a bowl of oatmeal at her work. “Just knowing he was empowered to respond certainly was a factor in making this happen,” Halliday says.
Designing Leadership Departments For Operator Darin Wiggins, developing a team of leaders charged with 2nd Mile Service has been a step-by-step
10
create | Spring 2012
Wiggins’ team. By working with their Service Coordinator, Service Coach, peers, leaders and Team Members are and Emotional Connection and able to use their creative abilities to Relationship Coordinator (EC&R). find new ways to help customers. “It’s As Wiggins began considering fun for them; and that way, no one is people for the key role of Recipe for just coming in and biding their time Service Coordinator, Manager Casey until they’re off the clock,” Wiggins Durham was a standout. “He’s always says. “They feel a sense of pride, doing more,” Wiggins says, “like walkwhich is a huge benefit to them and ing guests outside with an umbrella on the business.” CRF rainy days and carrying bags to cars.” A major part of Durham’s role is working on Recipe for Service in huddles with Team Members. “He’s the one that plans the huddle topics for the weeks and months,” Wiggins says. “A lot of times in his huddles, it’s relative to Core 4.” In addition, Wiggins meets with Durham regularly to discuss strategies for Donovan LaChance (left) with his continually improvbrother, Operator Dustin LaChance ing 2nd Mile Service.
PERSPECTIVE
PERSPECTIVE
learn from experience, rather than stepping in to solve every 2nd Mile Service problem. Solution: Getting leaders more involved in 2nd Mile Service goal setting and allowing them to communicate important information to the entire team. From his post at the front of Golden Isles Plaza FSR in Brunswick, Georgia, Operator Jerry Medders watches his polished Team Leaders handle every situation that comes their way during the afternoon rush. This is common for Medders because trusting his team means holding them accountable for providing great 2nd Mile Service. “My people step up to the plate,” he says. “I only intervene if it’s necessary.” Medders focuses on setting the vision for his Restaurant and continually coaching his leaders to develop their skills. However, it wasn’t always easy for Medders to let his team take control of the details so he could focus on continuous improvement of 2nd Mile Service. “I was planning the morning huddles, spending a lot of time in the dining room and basically doing my version of what needed to be done,” he says. “I couldn’t do it all myself and I realized I was taking away from leaders who wanted to help carry the load.” Medders knew that the Restaurant could never reach its 2nd Mile Service potential without his leaders taking a larger role in
goal setting. He began holding weekly management meetings where his leadership would discuss their short- and long-term goals for 2nd Mile Service and other key areas of the business. During huddles held throughout the day, Medders and his top managers and shift leaders communicate important information. As leaders started communicating goals to the larger team, Team Members started placing more trust in those leaders. Watching his leaders grow into their new responsibilities also helped Medders feel more comfortable with their expanding roles in the business. “It helped me trust leaders to handle all the small issues of the day,” Medders says. Eventually, Medders was able to let senior leadership plan and execute the weekly huddle meetings with little to no involvement on his part. “It’s taken pressure off of me,” he says. “As more leaders understand the vision, they help carry the load. It’s not something you can do alone.” Perhaps the biggest challenge for Medders has been allowing his leaders to take part in the hiring process. Although Medders wasn’t getting the quality of applicants he was seeking, he was hesitant to include others in interviews. As Medders saw his leaders grow in their roles, he began to feel comfortable with the idea. Now, after opening up interviews to include leaders, Medders says he’s been able to identify more candidates who have strong 2nd Mile Service skills. It’s easy for Medders to see that his process is working because it’s reflected in the customer experience and in the happiness of Team Members. “The team can do a better job than I can if I tried to provide service all by myself,” he says. “It’s a joy to see that happen. They start to function on their own for their own pleasure, and it’s truly a reward system for all.”
“As more leaders understand the vision, They help carry the load. It’s not something you can do alone.” —Jerry Medders Spring 2012 |
create
11
