This means nothing to me

It was my wife’s birthday this month – and there were so many business lessons from our weekend away.

We went away for a long weekend to celebrate.  We drove down to London (via Bicester Village for a shopping trip to get her a gift) to stay in the Hilton Hotel at Heathrow before an early morning flight to the beautiful city of Vienna.

MY WIFE IS ALWAYS RIGHT

A few years ago, my wife bought me a lovely (and expensive) watch. I love it and wear it as often as I can. One such occasion was the day we left for London, or so I thought.

We had an early-morning start and quickly packed everything before heading to the airport.  I wear an Apple smart watch day-to-day and wear the other watch on special occasions, so I'm sure I put the latter in mybag.
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Once we got to Vienna, I rummaged around in my bags but couldn’t find it. But then my wife said:
“I know you and I know what you’re like - it must be at home, so don’t worry about it”.
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As she is usually right about things, I didn’t give it another thought.  We did some sightseeing, checked into the hotel, and then did some more sightseeing - and, in the evening, we had the obligatory visit to the Hard Rock Café.

NOT FOR A SHEFFIELD BOY

I wrote a post on LinkedIn that Vienna isn’t really a place for a Sheffield boy like me, because it’s very expensive.  However, it was totally worth it.
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We visited a number of monuments such as the Beethoven and Mozart statues (the original rockstars) and the Obelisk fountain. We also went to the Schönbrunn Palace which was beautiful, as well as the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.
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We later visited Albertina Modern Museum to see the Damien Hirst exhibition, which was varied and fascinating.
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All of the above were interspersed with plenty of wonderful food and drink.  We had to queue (!) at Café Sperl; and we had traditional Austrian food at Heunisch & Erben (where they didn’t serve chips, which is agony for a northerner - but I got my fix at the Hard Rock Café).
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The ‘official’ birthday dinner was at a fabulous restaurant called Motto Am Fluss where we were overlooking the water.
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We had a wonderful trip and, most importantly, my wife enjoyed her birthday. 

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HILTON HOTELS SAVED MY MARRIAGE

Upon our return home, one of the first things I did was check for my watch - and it was nowhere to be found.
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I called the hotel at Heathrow on the off-chance that they had found it and, thankfully, they had.  It had fallen out of my bag in my room, and housekeeping handed it in to the guest services team. I was so relieved.
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I contacted the director of operations for the Hilton Heathrow – Chris Darch – and asked how we go about getting it back, and that I was happy to pay any costs.  To paraphrase his reply, it said: “It’s on us. We’ll send it back to you. Thank you for your loyalty”.  Needless to say, I was blown away. I offered to pay again and that was rebutted again.
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There is a very positive brand story here. Once I find a brand I like, I often stay loyal to it. I know I talk about Hilton Hotels a lot, but the service is always exemplary and they’ve never let me down.  These acts may seem small, but they mean a lot to a customer, and positive experiences breed brand loyalty.

IT COMES FROM THE TOP

I often talk about workplace culture.  Being a positive place to work is good for your employees, because it makes them happy – and, as we know, a happy team is a productive team.

There are a number of ways to build a positive culture in the workplace, and it has to be a top-down strategy to come from the management and senior leadership team.  

These ways include trusting your team; making everyone feel included; having shared values; recognising good work; providing opportunities for growth; and supporting their work-life balance – amongst many others.

In the case of Hilton Hotels, one of the things that keeps them at the top of my ‘preferred hotels’ list is their exemplary customer service (such as the example of the watch used above).  

I genuinely believe that they have created a positive internal culture which leads their team to deliver great service, which means clients will keep coming back.  This is a great example of a circular economy.

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If it means something to you, then it will mean something to your team, and therefore it will mean something to your clients.

TRUST YOUR TEAM

I trust my team implicitly. I know they will always deliver a great job for our clients, and I never have any need to worry.

I am very grateful that I have a team around me that can support me to be away from the workplace. Being a HR consultant, I have to lead from the front by ensuring I have a positive culture.  In my team, this includes trusting them to work flexibly; maintaining good contact; and ensuring they have everything they need.

When I went to Vienna, I knew that my emails, queries, and clients will be dealt with accordingly. My team have autonomy to make decisions, but they also know that I am available to support them.

In return, they do a great job for our clients, ensuring they have all the knowledge and support they need.

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HOW IS YOUR WORKPLACE CULTURE?

Do you trust your team? More importantly, do they trust you?

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If you would like to discuss creating a positive workplace culture – which creates a positive environment for you, your employees, and your clients – then please get in touch to see how me and my team can support your business growth and long-term success.

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P.S. the title of this blog is a line from the song 'Vienna' by Ultravox.

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