How to form lasting habits

What does it take to form lasting habits? Roxana-Maria Barbu provides us with a glimpse into the fascinating psychology of habit formation and how to facilitate it for both your customers and your frontline employees.

The Great Resignation is a hot topic right now, and there are many HR professionals and leaders looking to find the root causes and ways to retain their top talent within their own business. But instead of talking about ‘retention’ and ‘turnover’ and implementing over the top initiatives that gloss over what people are really looking for, we think Cheryl DeSantis, Chief People and Diversity Officer for SmileDirectClub, has a far better idea – and it comes from a much more human place.

Christine Trippi gives you a practical 4-step guide to always saying yes to customers. With over 30 years in the hospitality industry, Christine knows how to keep the customers happy!

Wendy Miller, Senior VP of Customer Success at Ruby, is passionate about building customer-focused organisations that enable frontline teams to create strong and lasting client relationships while maximising company profitability.

Jami Kaliebe (VP for Scarlet Health) and Vinny Pacione (VP for Consumer Technology and Digital Solutions at BioReference Laboratories) are passionate about creating modern digital health solutions to their patients' unique needs.

Few people know contact centers like Jeremy Hyde. He’s spent the bulk of his career helping companies like Medica and UCare, and now Sun Country Airlines, deliver an exceptional experience to customers. In his current role as Director of Customer Service, he supports an incredible 1,800 employees and 3 million passengers.

Dave Kohari has a passion for customer experience and a 25 year career spanning startups and global corporates. He’s currently VP of Customer Success at mobile workforce management software company Skedulo where customer success = company success.

Ethan Andelman is the Marketing Executive for respected financial services firm Lendmark. He works with millions of customer touchpoints every day and understands how important it is to get the basics right.

Chris Wong is passionate about helping New Zealanders manage their money, and his team at New Zealand Home Loans (NZHL) is out there every day supporting customers to get into their homes and manage debt.

Meet Sandra Thompson - Customer and Employee Experience Educator and Tedx Speaker. Her superpower? Improving customer and employee experience.

Yvette Mihelic is a seasoned customer experience executive with over 20 years of industry knowledge. Currently leading customer experience for Australia’s John Holland Rail Operations and Maintenance, she’s passionate about placing customers at the heart of the business. 

Whitnee Hawthorne, has been ‘piloting’ her way through a career in the travel industry and customer service at breakneck speed and even now is just taxiing down the runway at her next big opportunity as SVP of Travel Experience for TripActions.

Transforming a business from the inside-out only really gains momentum when those tasked with implementing the changes can truly say: “We’re with you all the way”. This is something Mitre10 New Zealand’s Head of People Experience Kirsten Riechelmann has experienced first hand in her 15 years of working with the country’s largest home improvement retailer.

“Workout hard and be nice” is the simple yet powerful mantra of leading fitness brand Barry’s Fitness Studios, encapsulating the culture and reinforcing the values that have made this global business as successful as it is today with more than 82 locations around the world.

‍How do we improve customer experience? How do we orchestrate those interactions that leave customers buzzing and coming back for more? We got some tips for you to help you along the way...

Mel believes her greatest success is that she’s proven that it’s possible to become the best version of yourself and to create change and inspire others, even without a ‘formal’ education in the fitness industry. Her interview with us is a testament to her tenacity, leadership style and ability to build her business by building others up to be their best…

With almost 40 years of retail brand experience leading some of the world’s most well-known and well-loved companies, including Blockbuster, Starbucks and Jamba Juice and now leading from behind the scenes as Chief Operating Officer for some of your favourite quick-stops at airports across the US, Joe Thornton knows that the fastest and most impactful way to make a difference to someone’s day, is to give them great service. 

Adi Tobias, Head of Customer Experience for Uber across seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, believes getting the balance right between customisation and repeatability is core to designing customer centric processes and products.

Building mastery in any frontline skill—customer communication, problem-solving, complaint handling, and so on—takes time. It takes multiple coaching touches, repeated practice sessions, and consistent reinforcement. It’s like climbing a ladder.

“Mindset is everything…” is Josh York’s favourite quote. As CEO of one of the world’s fastest growing fitness companies, GYMGUYZ, a best-selling author and founder of the Fuel your Drive podcast, he’s living proof of what a positive mental attitude and hard work can help you accomplish.

Someone whose title is Chief Amazement Offices is definitely someone who knows a thing or two about creating that ‘WOW factor’ for customers. Let’s introduce you to Shep Hyken, the CAO of Shepard Presentations, as well as a hall of fame speaker and a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author.

Jerry Campbell’s frontline career credentials include both senior military and corporate positions; yet despite lived experience across those two very different environments, Jerry believes “The fundamentals of supporting a frontline team are always the same…” 

Dr. Patti Fletcher — Forbes contributing writer, award winning CMO and bestselling author, shares some breaking statistics at the Global Frontline Experience Summit 2020. 75% of change management programs fail.

As one of the biggest and most well-known brands in the world, Starbucks is on a mission “To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” 

Before we can understand the connection between EX and CX — we must first understand the key differences. The first difference Mike highlights is the balance of power. Think about the good old saying “The customer is always right”. When you apply that to the employee, it doesn’t have the same ring.

 Les Mills is a company that is crystal clear on its vision: “50 years ago, we had a dream — to make humans fit for life. We bring the world’s best music, moves, and instructors together to create life-changing fitness experiences, powered by science.”

Every piece of feedback is an opportunity to learn and evolve. It could be as simple as a reminder to a member of the team if there was a slip up… but if feedback highlights something that could be done better for all customers, then that’s a win…for the business and the customer!

Greenix is a company that cares about its customers and the team loves what it does. But...Mitchell acknowledges that pest control might not be everyone’s first job choice and that frontline roles aren’t always the easiest roles. He believes that as a leader, you can’t apologise for that, but he does have plenty of ideas around how to keep yourself and your team motivated…

When Walt Disney built Disneyland in 1955, his vision was to create a three-dimensional movie for visitors to escape to….a place so magical that even today, it’s known as ‘The Most Magical Place on Earth’, with six themed lands and dozens of attractions that appeal to all ages.

The way in which we deliver optimal customer experience is changing. What worked ten years ago, for many businesses, is obsolete now. With emerging technologies, automation and artificial intelligence it can be tricky to navigate how to win on customer experience.

Across all industries, exceptional frontline service (we like to call it ‘magic’) is important, but in the beauty business, that service is more personal and emotional than anywhere else. To Caci Clinics, NPS and customer feedback is key and what drives them to constantly improve.

Accelerated by Covid and the response to lightning-speed changes to customer shopping habits, there’s a growing trend in retail to build business success through doing what’s right for the customer. But is it counterintuitive to do the right thing instead of managing the bottom line? And how can we make sure that following an ethical North Star, won’t take customer experience south?

When a Provenance guest made an unusual request for a hand drawn and framed picture of science icon Neil Degrasse Tyson; a star struck love letter and an extra mint on the pillow, a member of staff at the front desk saw an opportunity to make a difference. 

How do we measure the impact of each aspect of that experience on overall score? Human connection can have as much as a 40% influence on overall NPS score. At the Frontline Experience Summit, 2020, Alyona Medelyan, CEO talked about diving into the details to find the magic in your data.

The AirBnB platform connects 7 million listings in 91 countries; with an incredible 2 million customers staying at an AirBnB every night. For ordinary product owners, providing an exceptional experience when you have such huge variability in your product would be mission impossible...Liz calls that scale and variability “an interesting problem to solve…”. 

What we learned at our last Frontline Magic Local: An evening showcase event for our community members featuring some of the best customer experience innovators in people-powered businesses.

Farhad believes that Green Drop Garage customers “Actually look forward to their car repairs, and in part that comes down to the repair shops mantra of doing right by two key pillars; the customer and the environment...”

Bryan Clayton, CEO, and co-founder of the GreenPal app, has invested years into looking after gardens all over the US - and also - growing a very special breed of customer service excellence. 

The inspiration for Charles’ book is a sad one, having lost a well-loved colleague suddenly – Jason had a contagious energy and passion for customer service, and made everyone he met feel like they matter with just one line: “Thanks for coming in today.”

Jim’s Mowing's incredible success didn't happen overnight. It was based on clearly defined service standards; a genuine passion for people and an obsession with asking the same question every day – “How can we do better?” 

Sally Coates, CEO of Retail Mentors, fell in love with the retail industry at just 11 years old. Tenacious and ambition, she set out to identify people who could help her land a job in her dream industry. She didn’t know it back then – but what she was actually doing was looking for mentors. 

For Lucy Gain and her sister Amelia, purchasing a large 5 star hotel in their early twenties wasn’t quite in their plan… until it was! The Queenstownn hotel’s numbers showed that it hadn’t been reaching its full potential, but the sisters were ready to take a calculated risk – confident that some quick wins could help turn the hotel around. 

Leaders challenge their people to put themselves in the customer's situation and give them the freedom to get creative and take action. “What would the customer want, appreciate and value if you did it? Sometimes that costs us a little money to fix problems that we don't pass onto the customer.

The future is built on the present, and the best organizations are those who are working on being the best they can be right now.

If you asked Matt Brown, founder of “My Father’s Barber” what his occupation was, he’d tell you that he was a barber, hair artist, and educator. But if you asked Matt what his purpose was, he’d give you a very different answer…

how do you engage staff and customers alike to build a culture of pride and self-leadership and make those who are often working unsociable hours feel seen and valued? Lisa MacQueen, CEO of Cleancorp, knows the answer to that question better than anyone.

We often talk about culture as the way things are done at work – the behaviors and outcomes that are expected from employees…but what about how those same people feel about their work and why? 

At the Frontline Experience Summit Laurie Reuttimann's key note dug into the relationship between happy and engaged frontline employees, and the output of an organization.

In his Frontline Summit Keynote Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of the Ogilvy & Mather Group warns against undervaluing the human element in any business, especially the service industry.

In an exclusive presentation from the AskNicely Frontline Experience Summit, Horst reveals his key to success: his frontline employees.