There’s a time to hunker down and a time to paddle.  When you raft the white water of the Ocoee River, you learn this principle quickly.  Most likely, those who prevail through this turbulent economy will know this principle, as well.

With bloated fuel prices discouraging vacations and no paper to fuel sales, our first reaction may be to throw everything overboard to stay afloat and hunker down to survive.  There may be a time for that, but if we are to prevail, we’d better be rowing, always moving forward.

But we know that.  We know, historically, that companies and leaders who view economic hardship as an opportunity for growth do not merely endure, they prevail.  These companies respond, but from a different perspective.  They do not cut expenses and resources for survival, they prune for growth.  They do not settle for less, they innovate for more.  And, as the economy recovers, they emerge lean and revitalized…and sometimes reinvented.

In the vacation ownership industry, we are intrinsically tied together.  The one thing we must all protect from collateral damage is the guest experience; it is the Siren that draws our customers to us; it perpetuates our industry.  With fewer resources, we must innovate to improve the guest experience.

Case Study

For decades, as a provider of resort housekeeping services across the country, MasterCorp has adopted the service culture of each resort and management company being served.  This approach created an anomaly; while training and quality assurance inspections could drive standards for cleanliness that were consistent at every location, the service culture varied in order to mirror each resort.  These varying service levels revealed that guest satisfaction scores for housekeeping tend to be higher at resorts where housekeeping reflects a higher standard of guest service.

In 2008, the company set out to create for housekeeping an exceptional level of guest service that could be branded as uniquely as their “passion for cleanliness” and still blend with the service cultures at every resort they serve.  While cultural mirroring would always be a part of the service the company tailors for resort customers, the new initiative was needed to drive a consistent level of service that would set the company apart.  To provide enhanced service without impacting cost, it had to be inexpensive to execute and maintain, and uncomplicated enough to communicate to thousands of housekeepers on turn day.

Rather than a comprehensive customer service program that covers every detail, the Concept and Development team searched for one simple principle that could truly change the guest experience.  Eventually, the team erased all the brainstorming scribbles on the dry-erase board except one word: CARING. 

Caring is certainly not a novel concept: it’s the “stuff” of relationships; the essence of hospitality.  Every customer service program mentions “caring.”  MasterCorp’s idea was to strip away the “program” and focus on the essence.  Sometimes the best idea is the simplest.

David Goff, COO, quickly saw the potential in the concept, “Caring speaks of who we are, and who we are impacts everything we do from cleaning rooms to greeting guests to respecting each other…everything.”

For MasterCorp to create a culture of caring, everyone had to be “touched” with sustained, genuine, consistent messaging that permeated all areas of experience. Each person had to perceive the concept of caring in the housekeeping environment as beneficial to them and attainable.
MasterCorp developed 6 avenues of proliferation:

1. Leadership
2. Branding
3. Training
4. Communication
5. Accountability
6. Fulfillment

Leadership

Cultural change has to begin at the top and flow through every level of the organization. The Executive Leadership Team was brought into the concept and development team before the ink dried on the concept board.  Management from every discipline within the company was involved in development at some stage, which built ownership and provided valuable perspective.

“Propagating a service culture builds on the service principles of our company,” observed CEO/President Alan Grindstaff, who for years had inspired his managers to ‘lead with a servant’s heart.’  “To demonstrate the importance of our culture of caring and our level of commitment to it, we changed one of our values statements; something that had not occurred since they were first penned many years ago.” 

Enthusiasm is viral; it cannot be mandated.  To avoid “cold spots” that could cool enthusiasm, the message of “caring” was taken to everyone.  For instance, the people at corporate who provide daily support to our housekeeping managers–and even those who never talk to customers–were considered important conduits of caring.

Branding

The best marketing is built into the product or service.  Significantly, Marketing and Employee Development & Training were involved in concept and development from the beginning.  Branding, internal marketing, communication, and training were organic in the development, rather than afterthoughts retrofitted for execution.

Branding provides the tools that perpetuate a message, which is critical in affecting cultural change.  To provide a name for what would be MasterCorp’s unique form of customer care, the MasterC.A.R.E. service brand was created.

C.A.R.E.–an acronym for Care About and Respect Everyone– internally brands individual acts of caring within the MasterC.A.R.E. culture.

Rather than a poster with all the steps of service, a simple phrase was developed that could be communicated passionately to housekeeping staff in the heat of battle on turn day: “Show You C.A.R.E.”

Show You C.A.R.E. pins were designed and distributed to every manager to be worn as part of the uniform.  Wearing the pin serves as a continual, personal statement of the MasterC.A.R.E. commitment to housekeeping staff, to guests, to resort management, and to each other.

Corporate managers and support staff wear the pins, as well, to reflect their commitment and desire to serve as an example.  Housekeeping managers award pins to housekeeping staff who consistently model C.A.R.E.ing or who have provided exceptional service to a guest.

At check in, on the ETA screen, each employee receives a Daily C.A.R.E. Dare, a single, simple action to help less gregarious staff step outside their comfort zone and show they C.A.R.E., and attached to each set of housekeeping keys is a new card with enhanced values reflecting the culture of caring.

Training

A concept passionately promoted only becomes a source of frustration if the tools for execution are not provided, as well.  Training was the vehicle MasterCorp used to provide those tools and to assure consistency and perpetuation.  Using a cascade method, flowing through each level of management and service, every MasterCorp employee was trained to reflect the MasterC.A.R.E. model.  To perpetuate the momentum, every manager communicates the C.A.R.E. message daily. 

Instructors at MasterCorp University teach “Five steps of MasterC.A.R.E. Customer Service” on-campus and have created a required, online course for managers.
A “Show You C.A.R.E.” video was developed, not just to show the housekeeping staff how to properly greet guests, but to show the positive effect “caring” can have on guests personally.  The video is shown to all new hires.

Communication

The team created an internal communication strategy for reaching all levels of the organization with best practices, success stories, and exceptional acts of C.A.R.E.ing, which was essential for maintaining momentum.  MasterCorp’s internal newsletter publishes “Look Who C.A.R.E.s” articles, almost weekly, fueled by daily finalization comments from Executive Housekeepers, emails from resort managers, and letters from guests.  The communication objective is to assure that everyone in the company knows they are individually responsible to C.A.R.E. and that each act of caring is appreciated.

Accountability

MasterCorp protects its reputation for cleanliness and timeliness, in part, through a process of inspection and accountability.  Although “caring” does not easily lend itself to the metrics of evaluation, a MasterC.A.R.E. section was added to the corporate quality assurance inspections with a separate Resort Manager Satisfaction Rating focused on MasterC.A.R.E. service to the customer.

Fulfillment

Where there are no sustainable benefits, the culture withers.  The most powerful motivator and sustainer of MasterCorp’s culture of C.A.R.E. has been the feedback from guests, resort management, and fellow workers.
David Maier, Sr. Vice President of Operations at MasterCorp, recently received a letter from a resort manager praising the executive housekeeper and housekeeping staff at a resort in one of his regions for their C.A.R.E.-ing service.

“I would like to commend you and your team on the MasterC.A.R.E. program. The values and attributes you strive for are very evident in the team you have created.  I wanted to share with you one of the many successes of your team.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I was!  On a Friday afternoon, [after the construction crew returned a building to service for guests arriving that day] Sandy and her team turned an additional 6 three bedroom and 12 two bedroom units for us.  Unbelievable!  When I tried to thank her, she simply passed it off as a normal day.

“This leadership and customer care is certainly what has brought your company to the forefront of your industry and what will continue to ensure your placement there.  Congratulations, David Maier, on a job well done. My sincere thanks, Sandy, and all of the [housekeeping] staff!”

MasterCorp’s new standard service to the customer quickly began to drive a more meaningful level of service.  Many of MasterCorp’s resort partners noticed the change right away.   The work environment was vitalized by the positive energy, and employee retention has improved.  The investment in caring is providing exceptional returns without adding cost, which is especially important in a resort climate with tight budgets and high guest expectations.

Perhaps, the success of MasterC.A.R.E. has come from it’s simplicity: to build a culture of caring, only one rule is needed: with all you do and everyone you see....

Caring changes everything.

.....
Russ Hale, Vice President of Marketing, directs internal and external branding, advertising, communication, and marketing for MasterCorp, serves as the editor of The Clean Advantage, and participated in the concept and development of MasterC.A.R.E.  He may be contacted at r.hale@mastercorpinc.com.