The Happy Burro

Many companies create value by delivering an experience for their customers. Millions are spent each day at restaurants (think Culver’s), retail (think Nordstrom) or even coffee (think Starbucks) as much or more for the experience than the product.

Now Starbucks really isn’t about coffee, right? It is about community. Nobody in their right mind pulls off a freeway, parks in a strip mall, waits in line for several minutes - all just for the priviledge of paying $4.00 (or more) for their morning coffee. Sure, the coffee has to be good. The real draw? It IS worthwhile to many having that Starbucks barista remember their name each day and say ‘hi’. There IS elan in having that white cup with the green Starbucks logo on the cardboard sleeve. “I belong, see!”

How do companies create an experience for their employees?

Baristas at Starbucks work to get that coveted black apron - a Coffee Master. Medtronic invites people who have had their lives saved with Medtronic medical products to speak at all-employee meetings. Employees at Coca Cola headquarters in Atlanta, Ga, are some of the first to receive the newest company products - before customers. You should visit and see the memorbilia in everyone’s office. At TGIFriday’s Restaurants headquarters in Dallas, TX, every single employee turns out to send off new store managers after they complete training. These are some incredible experiences, all designed for employees.

When do we start this experience for our employees?

It begins when they are a customer, a job seeker, in school, wherever/whenever they may hear of our company; and before they every apply for a job.  It continues through: recruiting, on-boarding, performance management, career management, talent management.  Each area provides unique opportunities to connect employees to the company and the company to employees.  In its best form, it is almost a contracted relationship: “we provide, you bring”.

What does your company do by way of an Employee Value Proposition to create that ‘experience’ - the Cool Kids Effect?

Joe Raasch :: Jan.12.2007 :: Employee Engagement :: No Comments »

Top five buzzwords/phrases I would like to kill:

1.  “In terms of…”

2.  “Around…”

3.  “Granular…”

4.  “Calendarize”

5.  Acronyms, pretty much all of them.

I would love your help in building out this list!

Joe Raasch :: Jan.10.2007 :: Change Management :: 2 Comments »

Today is the birthday of Elvis Presley - he was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. He learned to play the guitar when he was 12, and he quickly learned to play almost anything by ear. He finished high school, started studying to be an electrician, and got a job as a truck driver for an electric company. It was his love for his mother that launched his recording career.

The Sun Record Company had a special recording studio where anyone could come in and pay a small fee to record personal records for themselves. In the summer of 1953, Elvis scraped together four dollars to record two songs, “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin,” as a present for his mother.

The recording engineer that day liked Elvis’s voice, and somehow those recordings made their way into the hands of producer Sam Phillips, and that was the beginning of Presley’s career. Elvis recorded 30 #1 hits.

The message is that we need to embrace our strengths. I expect Elvis would have made a fine electrician. What would the musical world have been like then, and today, without his contributions and influence? We need to follow some of those voices, in our heads and from our friends and peers, that guide us to our innate strengths. Take some time to explore today!

Joe Raasch :: Jan.08.2007 :: Personal :: No Comments »