Shocker here, I know, but things don’t always go according to plan. I attended a Disney Institute session on Disney’s Approach to Quality Service. One of my biggest takeaways was the concept of who’s fault something was doesn’t always matter, “It’s not our fault, but it is our problem.” It has to do with when things go wrong, and you are not to blame, but you do have to manage the reactions and outcomes for the people in your care.
This concept of addressing challenges that impact your school district or business, but are not caused by you or your staff is particularly important this school year. COVID-19 is not your fault, snow days are not your fault, issues with vaccines are not your fault. Yet these events impact you, your staff, your students and your community. So how you handle and communicate about these events is your responsibility, and when done properly, you can come out with a better relationship with those who are affected by the decisions.
Here are a few things to remember when trying to improve quality service within your organization.
Acknowledge this situation – Something happened and it is negatively affecting someone in your professional world. Ignoring it doesn’t help. For most people simply acknowledging the issue helps to validate them and their feelings of frustration and that will help to cool things down.
Empower your team – When a problem exists, you want to solve the issues at the lowest possible level. As things escalate up the levels of command, often so does the level of frustration. So whenever possible, empower your front-line employees, such as secretaries, bus drivers, custodians and teachers, to be creative and find ways to address the issue. Empowering your employees also makes them feel better and more in control of their own world.
Make a connection – When staff, students, parents and even community members feel an emotional connection to leadership, they are more likely to be satisfied in any given situation. According to The Gallup Organization, organizations that optimize an emotional connection outperform competitors by 26% in gross margin and 85% in sales growth. Emotionally engaged customers are three times more likely to recommend, three times more likely to re-purchase, less likely to shop around and much less price-sensitive (Disney’s Approach to Quality Service, 2015). So especially in times of difficulty, send a message to share the emotional side of the issue. You are a person too, and sharing how much these issues and decisions impact you is part of your leadership role.
Setting the tone – When residents, parents and students feel they can reach out and connect during good times, it makes it easier for them and you when things go off track. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park, signs are posted about the Yeti. This gives the employees permission to engage with their guests positively. The same can be true for schools and organizations. When you regularly communicate with your constituents and encourage them to share their thoughts, that lays the foundation for not only when things are good but also when they go poorly.
The bottom line is that things are going to go wrong and oftentimes it isn’t your fault. But how you handle the situation and what kind of ground work you lay down before an issue arises will make a big difference for your long term success.