Broken promises can drive 78% of a company’s customers to consider defecting. (source) Advice from Alexandra Valentin, Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: Organizations need to be careful about setting and fulfilling customer expectations. When your organization advertises the benefits of a product, then your product needs to live up to consumers’ expectations. Likewise, if your organization has made claims about your superior service, then every employee in your organization should be committed to fulfilling that promise of superior service. "Always" is the most important word in customer service. You are building a relationship with your customers. If your service is erratic or if your organization has made promises that it can’t fulfill, then customers will lose confidence in your organization and will look for another company to meet their needs. By providing consistent customer service, your customers will begin to trust you and will turn into loyal customers. However, even your loyal customers will still consider defecting if the quality of your service declines. The Credo of The Ritz-Carlton states: "the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission." All of our employees—known as our Ladies and Gentlemen—are committed to fulfilling this mission every day. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development.  The Blog Post Significant Stat: Defecting Customers appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Each month, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center (RCLC) features an interview with an employee — also known as Lady or Gentleman of The Ritz-Carlton — in order to share an insider’s view of the organization. This month’s interview is with Laura Troy, Social Media Manager for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. RCLC: Please share a little about your background and role within The Ritz-Carlton organization. Ms. Troy: I began my Ritz-Carlton career eight years ago as a sales and marketing assistant. I transitioned into public relations just as social media was beginning to rise outside of college campuses. Over time, my work became focused more on social media and less on public relations and my role evolved into social media manager. I am currently responsible for creating and executing our social media strategy and online community management. I also work with our hotels and ensure that all social media efforts are cohesive, customer-centric and aligned. RCLC: How did The Ritz-Carlton first become involved with social media? Ms. Troy: Initially, we launched on two channels; Facebook and Twitter. Allison Sitch, Vice President of Global Public Relations, managed our Twitter channel and I managed our Facebook presence. When we started, we weren’t sure if luxury consumers would participate in social media conversations or want to engage on our platforms. We knew our focus should be on adding value to the digital time spent with us and to create engaging communities in which our guests could connect with our brand, become inspired and share their travel memories with us. Today, we see high levels of engagement on our social media channels with our consumers participating in conversations across multiple channels. For the second year in a row, Engagement Labs, an independent social media auditor, has recognized The Ritz-Carlton as the most engaged hotel brand in the space. RCLC: How many channels does The Ritz-Carlton have now? Ms. Troy: We currently have 13 channels including social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, Foursquare and Sina Weibo in China. Our two newest channels are an Instagram account dedicated to The Ritz-Carlton Reserve and an Instagram account dedicated to Food and Beverage at The Ritz-Carlton. RCLC: How do you decide to launch a new channel? Ms. Troy: Before we create a new channel, we take a thorough look at what our consumers are using. For example, we know that people love taking photos of their dining experiences on Instagram. With amazing chefs, mixologists and bartenders all over the world it made a lot of sense for us to highlight our culinary expertise on Instagram. Each social media channel needs to have its own objective, purpose and content strategy. We don’t want to add additional channels that replicate the same content and messages over and over and over again. RCLC: How many people does it take to manage 13 social media channels? Ms. Troy: We partner with Pandemic Labs, based out of Boston. They have been our partner in the space from the very beginning. Three people from Pandemic work on our account full time with me—so it’s really a team of five people including our Vice President of Global Public Relations who oversees our social media strategy and heavy contribution from 90 Ritz-Carlton Communications professionals around the globe. RCLC: How do you produce all the content needed for 13 social media channels? Ms. Troy: Fortunately we have 91 highly engaged hotel properties around the world, and each month they submit content for the brand channels. We provide them with different types of content prompts every month that can be based on popular topics, themes, destinations and cultural trends. We want to make sure we are creating content and conversations that our consumers want to participate in whether it be on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. RCLC: Do you use content generated by guests? Ms. Troy: Yes, we use user-generated content through our #RCMemories campaign. We search that hashtag every day and select posts to re-gram and create captions with a credit to the user. We also share a collection of user-generated content through #RCMemories on our website. RCLC: Do guests reach out over social media? Ms. Troy: For us, social media is a constant conversation with a very large group of people who are extremely important to us. We want to be present on whatever channel our guests/audience choose to converse with us. For example, a couple of weeks ago a guest Tweeted us, "I am with my 12 year old son, what other fun stuff should we do while we are with you." We Tweeted back "If you have a sweet tooth, we suggest Marshmology. Learn the history of marshmallows from our marshmologist while enjoying s’mores around the firepit!" This happens every evening at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe. They did, and they Tweeted back how much fun it was. Often a social media channel is the first point of interaction with a guest. It is essential that the experience is as meaningful and professional as possible. The Ritz-Carlton on social media is a natural extension of the service being provided at our hotels. We are connecting and engaging with guests in similar ways to how our Ladies and Gentlemen do every single day—but in a digital environment. RCLC: How often do guests reach out over social media with customer service issues? Ms. Troy: Our Ladies and Gentlemen do a fantastic job resolving any issues real-time and in-person so it rarely escalates to social media. When customer service is requested over social media, we engage. We have a designated team that sits in our customer relations department who work to handle any opportunity. RCLC: The Ritz-Carlton has won awards for social media. What differentiates The Ritz-Carlton approach to social media from other organizations? Ms. Troy: We have always stayed true to our goals from the very beginning, extending customer engagement digitally in the social arena. As social media channels evolve, we adapt our strategy, but our core mission is always engagement. We strive to share content that ties back to our company vision to "inspire life’s most meaningful journeys." Success is participating and reacting to 11,000 interactions every 24 hours. We love to hear about travel experiences and precious memories — if they happen to be at one of our hotels, that’s a bonus. It is extremely rewarding to know that our channels and content do indeed provide inspiration for others to travel and experience a rich world of cultural experiences. RCLC: Since The Ritz-Carlton is a global brand, how do you approach social media around the world? Do you have to alter your content based on geography? Ms. Troy: The goal around the world is to inspire and to use social media as a means of developing meaningful relationships with our audience. Channels that have global appeal take preference and then regionally specific ones too, such as Sina Weibo in China. We do need to be culturally aware, sensitive and respectful with messages, because not everything translates in every market. Research drives the topics we engage in. RCLC: What do you value the most about the culture of The Ritz-Carlton? Ms. Troy: One of my favorite aspects of The Ritz-Carlton culture is that our Ladies and Gentlemen are empowered to create amazing experiences for our guests every day. Many of the wonderful stories and memories that our consumers are sharing over social media are a result of our Ladies and Gentlemen being empowered to create an assortment of memorable experiences for our guests. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development.  The Blog Post Our Ladies and Gentlemen: Laura Troy appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Imagine if every person acted like a lady or gentleman….. Etiquette Tip: Ladies and gentlemen have an attitude of gratitude. No matter what is going on in your personal life or your workday, a lady or gentleman can always find a way to express gratitude. Expressing gratitude to your customers is particularly important. At The Ritz-Carlton, we dedicate a full week, known as Global Customer Appreciation Week, to recognizing our key accounts, top customers and global partners. In 2014, our global sales staff reached out to thousands of customers, hosted them at special events and attended thousands of in-person meetings. Events included luncheons, evening receptions and several exceptional experiences. For example, in Hong Kong, the team hosted a private viewing party of a documentary about Hong Kong. Their top clients not only had the privilege of attending the film’s first showing in Asia, but also had the opportunity to meet the film’s director during an exclusive viewing party and cocktail reception. In-person meetings were also opportunities to make meaningful connections. In past years a small team that set up a meeting with a client in Kansas City decided to turn the upcoming meeting into a "Happy Hour." They recreated the famed guacamologist presentation from The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas and spent the meeting time getting to know their client better. Setting aside dedicated time to express gratitude to clients is valuable, but when you combine that with getting to know your customers better, you’re able to express personalized appreciation throughout the year. ∞ The motto of The Ritz-Carlton is "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This motto sets a tone of goodwill and grace for all. The Blog Post Etiquette & Engagement: Gratitude appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

93% of employees who volunteer with their company also report being happy with their employer. (source) Advice from Jennifer Blackmon, Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: There is nothing more powerful than an engaged employee who offers his or her best every day. As leaders, we need to understand what truly motivates our staff; and not just from a day-to-day, "get the work done" perspective—but understanding what motivates them in their hearts. What creates passion and pride? One of those key motivators is giving back. Many of us have a desire to contribute to the greater good in some way and when the organization that we are a part of not only supports those efforts, but creates the opportunities to make them happen—the result is a binding tie. At The Ritz-Carlton, our Community Footprints efforts span the globe and give every Ritz-Carlton employee—known as our Ladies and Gentlemen—the opportunity to contribute to their own communities in a meaningful way and as a team. We come together to make a difference and depart smiling, fulfilled and unified. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development. We also guide organizations through a multi-step process in order to achieve sustainable culture transformation. The Blog Post Significant Stat: Employees Who Volunteer appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

The employees of The Ritz-Carlton—known as our Ladies and Gentlemen—aim to craft unique, memorable and personal experiences that cultivate guests for life. This guest story illustrates how memories create powerful emotional ties. It was the particular pleasure of the Ladies and Gentlemen at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel to celebrate 30-year-old memories while creating new ones with a long-time guest. A Message from Afar The marketing team at Al Bustan Palace received a private message via Facebook from the daughter of a long-time guest. She explained that her mother was on her way to Oman for a visit that would coincide with her parents’ wedding anniversary. Her mother had chosen to stay at another property in town because the memory of her late father would be too difficult to handle at Al Bustan Palace. However, her mother could not imagine spending her wedding anniversary in any other place than the palace. Unfortunately, the daughter could not make it to Oman on that day, so she enlisted the help of the Ladies and Gentlemen to ensure a special and meaningful day for her mother. With the call to action to create a memorable day at the hotel, the team at Al Bustan Palace immediately answered with enthusiasm. The Ladies and Gentlemen in marketing teamed up with the Assistant to the Executive Assistant Manager Rooms and Operations, known for her brilliant ideas and creativity, to surprise our guests. Together they reached out to the restaurant and spa teams and worked out a schedule for the mother’s visit to Al Bustan Palace. A Meaningful Commemoration On the date of her visit, a chauffeur, with a bouquet of flowers in hand, picked up the mother from her hotel and brought her to Al Bustan Palace. The Ladies and Gentlemen of the hotel lined the lobby and gave her a warm welcome. Among the employees in attendance was the Director of Conference Services, who has served at Al Bustan Palace for more than 30 years. The guest of honor paused when she saw him, and in a very emotional gesture, approached him with a large smile having recognized him from her many visits in the 1980s. The Director also recognized her and the two exchanged a few words, both touched by the emotional re-encounter. The mother was then escorted to the newly opened Six Senses Spa, where she was given a tour and offered a facial. She spent the morning lounging and relaxing in the facilities overlooking the glittering Sea of Oman. After her spa experience, the guest was taken to Al Khiran restaurant for lunch, where the entire team greeted her. The restaurant supervisor then joined other Ladies and Gentlemen in escorting her to her table. The guest remained speechless when she discovered her table, facing the Infinity pool and the sea, dressed with rose petals with a framed picture of her husband and herself at their wedding. She began to shed happy tears and the guest thanked the Ladies and Gentlemen profusely. Everyone was so happy to meet the long-time guest and be part of her special day. The restaurant supervisor uncorked a bottle of champagne to celebrate the moment, and the guest enjoyed it along with her lunch and sharing memories of her husband, their wedding and their children. The General Manager then joined the guest at her table with a cake as well as a "Welcome back to Oman" note. Making New Memories At the end of her special day, the guest, who now felt truly part of the Al Bustan Palace family, mentioned she intended to spend the next few days with an old friend of hers. Her friend had lived in Oman for many years as an expat, and sadly, her husband passed on a few months earlier. The two ladies were invited to come and enjoy dinner at Al Bustan Palace before leaving the country. A few days later, the guest returned to Al Bustan Palace with her friend for dinner on the beachfront at Beach Pavilion restaurant. The ladies were offered flowers and invited to dine in one of the restaurant’s private cabanas, where they spent the evening sharing memories of their years spent in Muscat, their husbands and families. Both expressed how much they enjoyed returning to Al Bustan Palace. Before leaving, the guest’s friend requested to make a reservation for herself for a date in December. After hearing her friend’s wonderful wedding anniversary celebration, she decided she wanted to live the same moments and wished to be at Al Bustan Palace on her anniversary day as well. The daughter who had originally reached out to Al Bustan Palace heard about the memorable visit and expressed her deep gratitude to the Ladies and Gentlemen for making her mother feel truly taken care of on this special day. As a result, she decided she would take her whole family to stay at Al Bustan Palace next summer, including her mother. Everyone at Al Bustan Palace was happy to hear the news and is looking very much forward to the family’s visit. Genuine Connections One of the Service Values at The Ritz-Carlton states "I build strong relationships and create Ritz-Carlton guests for life." You can’t build strong relationships if your employees are on auto-pilot. Your employees need to be listening and engaging with your customers. The guest in the above story felt a genuine connection that lasted from her wedding day to her wedding anniversaries—creating a lifetime of cherished memories. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development. We also guide organizations through a multi-step process in order to achieve sustainable culture transformation. The Blog Post Guest Story: Celebrating Guests for Life appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Imagine if every person acted like a lady or gentleman….. Etiquette Tip: Ladies and gentlemen are patient when out in public. The holiday season is a time of giving, goodwill and cheer. However, it is also a time of searching desperately for parking spaces, working your way through crowds while hunting for that perfect present, standing in long lines while you wait for service and racing to social functions while trying to fit in all the obligations of work, family and friends. Often the joy of the season can be eclipsed by feelings of fatigue and frustration, but a true lady or gentleman practices patience. When you express patience, you can view a long line as an opportunity to smile at others, text an old friend to let them know you care or spend the time thinking about your gratitude list. Rather than succumbing to a "bah humbug" mentality, you can help preserve holiday cheer by being patient and kind. Patience is particularly important for anyone who works in customer service. Keeping your composure as you help frustrated or upset customers is critical. Without patience, the employees of The Ritz-Carlton—known as our Ladies and Gentlemen—would be unable to provide the "warm, relaxed, yet refined ambiance," which our Credo requires. Expressing patience is also a great way to show your customers that you genuinely care about them and that you appreciate their business. ∞ The motto of The Ritz-Carlton is "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This motto sets a tone of goodwill and grace for all. The Blog Post Etiquette & Engagement: Patient appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

The first 90 days of one’s employment are pivotal to building rapport with the company, management and coworkers. (source) Advice from John Cashion, Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: In the first three months, new employees will learn all about an organization’s culture, build relationships with co-workers and begin to earn the trust of leaders. The first 90 days is a critical time because new hires will be forming their first impressions about their place of work and the people, and likewise, colleagues and managers will be forming first impressions of the new employee. Dr. Jack Schafer, a retired FBI special agent and behavioral analyst, notes that "once a first impression is formed, people are less likely to change their mind. This is based on the psychological principle of consistency: When people articulate an idea, they are less likely to change their minds because they would first have to admit that they were initially wrong. Maintaining an erroneous notion, such as a first impression, actually causes less anxiety than admitting an error and adopting another position." If new hires have a favorable impression of their co-workers, managers and work environment, they will begin to settle in and show their commitment to the organization. At The Ritz-Carton, new employees—known as our Ladies and Gentlemen—begin by going through a two-day onboarding process where they learn about the culture of The Ritz-Carlton. New staff members are then assigned learning coaches who train and mentor them. Starting on day one, new Ladies and Gentlemen must work on building rapport with everyone because delivering world-class service is a team effort. ∞ The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offers advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. Your organization can learn about The Ritz-Carlton methodology for customer service, employee engagement and leadership development. We also guide organizations through a multi-step process in order to achieve sustainable culture transformation. The Blog Post Significant Stat: Building Rapport appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Enspire designs and develops courses for adult learners and as a result their preferences are at the center of what we do. I was recently asked whether user-driven exploration is more effective than linear instruction. Here’s the question and how I responded. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Q: Is user-driven exploration more effective for adult learners than a forced linear path? A: It depends on the target users and the instructional content. Andragogy, Knowles’ theory of adult learning, emphasizes the importance of considering the learner’s prior knowledge on the topic and whether they are self-motivated to proceed on their own. As learners progress and mature in skills so does their approach to learning. Veteran learners tend to go more in-depth with their learning. Self-determination theory focuses on motivation and how people learn. Adults want to be able to apply what they learn to help solve a problem or to improve their performance. Most of the courses Enspire develops encourage user-driven exploration. A try and then learn approach is often incorporated, enabling learners to see for themselves how much or how little they know about a topic. Then, a differentiated learning experience is provided based on this information. A linear path is used to describe a specific process or procedure. User-driven exploration, linear pathing, and a combination of both can be effective with adult learners.  Related Reading 9 Tips to Apply Adult Learning Theory to eLearning Non-Linear eLearning Design Misconceptions Self-Determination Theory The post Linear or Exploratory Learning? appeared first on Enspire.

AUSTIN, TX  - Global learning solutions  provider Enspire Learning announced today that it has been named one of the 2015 Top 20 Gamification Companies by Training Industry, Inc. "Our second annual Top 20 Gamification Companies List showcases the companies who best integrate gaming into learning and development programs," said Ken Taylor, president, Training Industry, Inc. "The top companies provide some of the most innovative forms of gamification in learning, whether we are discussing serious games, training simulations, or any other form of structured training program." Selection to this year’s Top 20 Gamification Companies List was based on the following criteria: Features and capabilities of the gamification of products/services Company size and growth potential Quality and number of clients/users Geographic reach Awards, recognition, and competitive differentiation "Incorporating gamification into your corporate training remains a strong trend across the industry," said Doug Harward, chief executive officer, Training Industry, Inc. "Those selected are incredibly in tune with their clients’ needs and goals, and provide them with solutions that enhance the training experience and the employees’ retention of the new skills." "We are incredibly proud to be honored by Training Industry as a Top 20 Gamification Company for a second year," said Enspire CEO Mary Maltbie. "Everything we do, we do for our wonderful clients, whether that’s develop cutting-edge custom learning games or deploy Enspire Challenge leadership development simulations to corporations worldwide." Founded in 2001, Enspire creates learning designed to educate, delight, and change learner behavior through corporate, consumer-facing, and higher-education solutions. Enspire’s wholly-owned Houndstooth subsidiary develops  world-class media, exhibits, and interactive experiences. The post Enspire named Top 20 Gamification Company appeared first on Enspire.

That’s a wrap! Last day (of four!) on set at Brackenridge Hospital with our friends from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Thanks to our client, the great crew from Revelator, and the Enspire / Houndstooth team for a fantastic shoot. The post Lights, Camera… Done! appeared first on Enspire.