TMI trains BA (Events - Team/Motivational)
You
have to hand it to our flag carrier. On the one hand British Airways
has attracted widespread opprobrium over its proposal to invite staff
to work without pay for a limited time (although the pilots' union is
behind a pay cut-for-shares deal).
On the other, it resolutely insists on the highest staff quality which the airline has backed with innovative training methods - resulting in a rise in its premium class traffic. Sat Bal (22 Jun'09)
Enter TMI, the events, training and communications company which numbers Toyota, BT Global Services and M&S among its client list. British Airways' (BA) brief to TMI was to reinvigorate the service in BA's premium classes and the results of TMI's work was aired at the recent Creating Consumer Chemistry conference, organised by the Cello Group.
RedKarpet spoke to TMI's Gillian James about the airline's aims and got feedback from BA's Mark Hassell about the initiative.
The Client _______________________________________________________
Mark Hassell, Head of Customer Experience, British Airways
Background
"While
we obviously need to focus on short term survival we also need to be
mindful of long term competitiveness. Our long term strategy is to be
the leading global premium airline. Our ability to differentiate our
service for our customers, especially for our long haul premium
customers, is critical for our long term success
"About two years ago we embarked on a journey to redefine our long haul premium experience, initially in the air only but eventually to include the ground.
"After an extensive review with our customers we were able to draw 3 conclusions.
"1.
The new Club World product really worked. Our customers love the
privacy, their sense of space, and a general feeling of freedom. The
lounges at T5, when they were opened, were critically acclaimed by a
broad group.
2. Our First product was in need of an update. The last significant refit was in 1995.
3. Our customers felt that while our crew were good they could be brilliant.
"In
order to revamp First we worked with our customers to adapt the new
First experience. We have had a long history of co-creating with our
most important customers and this was no exception. Our First cabin
re-design is under way and truly exciting."
Objective
"The
critical final link has been to ensure our crew were not just among the
best in the airline industry but rather were the best possible across
the hospitality industry.
"We chose to work with TMI to help us develop this vital aspect of our onboard experience."
Client feedback
"Obviously after all programmes, we asked crew for their feedback. I can
safely say BA has never seen scores like this. Virtually 100% from
every single delegate who has attended – and this despite the obvious
turmoil that is going on in the industry.
"As part of our
business case for developing training for our premium classes, we
needed to submit how much we thought the likelihood to recommend would
increase to in First and Club. This is measured as part of our Global
Airline Performance tracking study that is carried out on board. To say
it surpassed our expectations is an understatement. To date, the
increase in likelihood to recommend in First is six times higher than we
anticipated in the business case. It Club it is 10 times higher than we
anticipated in our business case."
The Service Provider __________________________________________
Gillian James, Joint MD, TMI
Background
"TMI
works with organisations to help bring their brand to life through what
we call the “fingertips” of the organisation. Many organisations
underestimate the “fragility” of their brand – because they
underestimate the importance of the Moments of Truth – those never to
be repeated interactions between a member of staff and your customer
when a customer makes a fundamental decision about their brand."
Objective
"BA
recognised that their 8,000 strong crew were the embodiment, the
manifestation and, indeed, the guardians of their premium brands. Our
job was to engage them, to enable them and to excite them to deliver a
premium experience that would be second to none."
Challenges
"This
population is largely competent and very experienced - indeed the most
experienced members of BA’s crew population– some having worked for BA
for more than 20 years. They have – one might argue – been there, done
that. They had low tolerance for being 'taught' new skills but had
potentially not had any premium service training for a decade or more.
Without realising it, they needed to recalibrate what premium service
actually meant."
Execution
"One
of the first things we did was to reframe their role and so the
training that supported it. We were not here to enable them to become
better crew members. We were going to give them the skills that were
comparable to the best waiters at, for example, the Wolsey, the
bartender at Harry’s Bar, the housekeeper at Claridges and the Visual
Merchandiser at Prada. Their role encompassed skills from all these
different roles and that was what we were there to develop. Suddenly –
they were interested – an opportunity to develop way beyond the current
scope of their role.
"It
was important to create a learning environment that bridged the
'classroom' with the day-to-day environment. So often there is a
disconnect between the two.
"BA created a series of 'mock-ups' (see pics) in
the basement of their head office, Waterside, at Heathrow that
reflected the First and Club environment. This including a full working
galley (above). This meant that when we worked on improving the customer experience we could do this in real time."
Service Signatures
"We
also introduced the importance of Service Signatures. These are
critical 'Moments of Truth' that help to differentiate BA at certain
points in the journey. The wine service is a good example. BA’s wines
are chosen by experts such as Jancis Robinson through an exhaustive
tasting process. The wines that are served in Club, let alone First,
would retail in a restaurant for about £40 to £50 a bottle – certainly
not just any old red or white!
"Wine is a great example of an all-round experience because, of course, you can taste it and smell it. Can there be a sound that is quite as delightful as a bottle being uncorked and poured slowly into a glass with the sight of the ruby-redness swirling round the glass?
"By unpicking the elements of the wine ritual, crew were able to understand its importance as a service signature.
"Another
ingredient was to introduce specific skills such as memory skills; how
to remember key elements about a customer in the cabin and customer
profiling tools.
"We also created a real thirst for knowledge
by introducing MasterClasses, Best Practice Examples, Top Tips and
Clear Visual Guidelines.
"These were co-delivered by a hand-picked group of BA crew trainers who embodied premium service at its best."
_______________________________________________________________________
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