Competitive advantage and UBER culture

Culture is often seen as the soft, 'touchy-feely' side of business. My experience suggests it's actually one of the hardest things to deal with. Why? Because it deals with attitudes and behaviours which all seem a bit vague and hard to manage. It's much easier to talk about territories, product life cycles, sales targets, margins and advertising budgets – things that are a bit more tangible.

In fact, in reality, culture is very tangible. As customers we often experience the 'culture' of a business simply by talking to and interacting with employees, whether it's by email, on the telephone or face to face. In real customer-focused businesses, 'culture' is an integral part of the competitive advantage and gives us reasons to come back and to tell others.

My very simple definition of 'culture' in a business is 'the way we do things around here' and an UBER customer-focussed culture is one that creates real competitive advantage by focussing everyone on delivering great customer experiences.

My research suggests that the key ingredients of an UBER culture are:

• Everyone Understands what's expected of them and behaves accordingly and consistently as a result
• Systems and processes are Built to create consistently great customer experiences and reinforce that culture
• People are Engaged, Empowered and Encouraged to deliver them
• People are Rewarded and Recognised for doing it!

'Encouragement and empowerment' are part of an UBER culture and here's a great example that hopefully illustrates the point. It comes from one of my favourite companies in the UK, First Direct Bank.

I was with clients recently and we were discussing customer service. One of the them explained that she had left her office in Leeds to go to London for a couple of days, and having got there, discovered that she had lost her purse (or it had been stolen).

Understandably, she quickly got on the phone to the various banks to cancel her cards and explained that it all went very well – details taken, courteous staff and cards cancelled – no problem.

She then called First Direct, and was asked "How are you feeling?" which was a nice start, and then the card cancellation process got underway – very similar to all the other card providers.

Except that at the end of the process, the First Direct lady asked her: "What are you going to do for money in the next couple of days if you have no purse or cards?"

"I'm not really sure" came the reply.

"Well, would you like for me to arrange £200 to be collected from a nearby HSBC bank? I've worked out where the nearest branch to your hotel is – If you tell me what you'll be wearing, I'll get them to look out for you and you can collect your money!"

I'm sure that there isn't a rule book at First Direct that says 'in the event of a client losing their card and being stuck in a hotel with no money, please follow this procedure'. First Direct has created a customer focused culture that encourages and empowers its people to use their initiative and delight their customers. No wonder they are the UK's 'most recommended' bank.

An UBER culture doesn't happen by chance - it needs driving, managing and consistently reinforcing. Here's a great quote from Simon F Cooper, the president of Ritz Carlton Hotels that illustrates this:

"We entrust every single Ritz-Carlton staff member, without approval from their general manager, to spend up to $2,000 on a guest. And that's not per year. it's per incident"

Now, THAT'S Empowerment!

Here's another quote from a business leader who really has created and sustained an UBER culture – Tony Hsieh, CEO of online shoe and clothes retailer, Zappos:

"We interview people for culture fit. We want people who are passionate about what Zappos is about–service. I don't care if they're passionate about shoes."

It's clear that this stuff doesn't happen by chance. Successful businesses proactively take steps that help develop an UBER culture which mean that they truly value their values. They clarify what these values really mean to their people – the result is clear definitions of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours.

They then use these values in the day to day management, recruitment and rewarding of their people. Their leaders talk about and refer to them regularly and use them consistently. They act as role models and actively promote the behaviours they want to see in others. Those that don't simply put up posters and talk a good story.

UBER cultures result in the customers talking the stories, just like I've done with First Direct!

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• Thanks for that Richard!

  I completely agree - it's all about 'people'. 'People' buy from 'people' they like and trust. More importantly, they tend to come back for more.... and tell others too!

  Cheers

  Andy

  Andy Hanselman, Sheffield, UK

• Andy Hanselman's blog on his UBER philosophy provides great insight on culture. The person at First Direct did not see Andy's client as just another customer who needed assistance, but instead as a person first; a person with feelings and emotions. One of the most important ways to insure that an organization's culture provides them with a competitive advantage is to ensure that the people they hire make every customer feel welcomed, important and appreciated and treat them as a person first. In so many cases, a company only has one opportunity to make a memorable first impression that will clearly differentiate them from their competition. Richard Shapiro, The Center For Client Retention

  Richard Shapiro, New York, New York