The key to the outstanding customer service at Chic-Fil-A can be summed up in a word. Accountability. However, it’s not a top down model of accountability that most businesses and organizations adopt where the executive suite is not accountable to middle management and middle management not being accountable to employees. What sets Chic-Fil-A apart is that leadership IS accountable to those they lead as well.
1. Measure and Measure Some More Two key performance indicators (KPIs) you should deploy today are quality escapes and quality captured. Determine which bucket quality mistakes fall into.
The first bucket is comprised of mistakes that were internally “captured” by your team so the client was never aware of them. Captured quality errors aren’t as bad because the client never knew — maybe they suffered a delayed delivery, but that’s it. Your client is not injured by the stumble.
The second bucket consists of quality issues that “escaped” your operation and were discovered by the client. These escaped quality defects are horrific. Your client is exposed to your firm’s failure, which undermines the long term vendor relationship. But measuring these mistakes transparently will bring your team’s attention to these issues and you’ll see improvement from the spotlight effect: The team will understand they are important.
2. Focus on Process, Not People
Every employee comes to work to do a good job. In most cases, the defect is the process, not the person you trust. Remember that and fix it by adding process steps or new checks to the system. Don’t make it a game of “who screwed this up?” That will deflate the team. Everyone will cower in fear and point fingers without ever getting to the root cause.
3. Meet Weekly
Initially the meetings will be long and tedious. You need to discuss with all the players each quality issue that occurred, and get to the root cause. Over time–less time than you think–the meetings will get shorter, as processes are strengthened and systems get more robust. Confidence will build as people see the systems are catching errors and eliminating heartburn.
4. Create a Quality Chart
Sort the biggest quality issues by category and focus in on the big issues. Work them till they get to be small issues. Don’t focus as much time on the unusual quality issues; spend your time in the places with the most frequent problems.
5. Make It Public
Place your quality results in your lunchroom. Everyone should see this is a company emphasis and you want to improve in a transparent way. The daily, visible reminder will demonstrate your commitment to quality to the people who impact it every day: your team.
Consider the following steps to be more transparent and therefore accountable in the workplace:
- Speak honestly. Speaking honestly to other employees means you explain how you feel and what you are thinking in a genuine manner. …
- Disclose information. …
- Ask questions. …
- Provide feedback. …
- Stay professional. …
- Be realistic. …
Share business performance.
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