Sometimes stating the obvious reminds of something that obviously matters a great deal but that from time to time we may forget.
Forbes has a great article out that does just this. The Forbes article points out companies that provide the best service to the public tend to be the same ones that treat their employees well.
In the article, Micah Solomon, who has written a new book entitled The Heart of Hospitality, quotes an executive with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, which is at the top in the J. D. Power customer service rankings, talking about the company's employees.
Ritz-Carlton's VP of Global Marketing Lisa Holladay is quoted saying this:
I have watched our general managers stand up for Ladies and Gentlemen [this is what The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company calls its employees] over very high-profile, high-paying guests that were really not being appropriate. I watched them put our Ladies and Gentlemen first. I think that’s the true power of this company, because I don’t think you can have our Ladies and Gentlemen delivering the service level we want them to if we didn’t have the type of culture we have internally.
And the wow stories we’re so famous for delivering for our customers? We also have wow stories that happen for other Ladies and Gentlemen. We’re not famous for these because they’re internal, but I hear many times that “the reason I stay with the brand [as an employee] is the way that other Ladies and Gentlemen help me. When my wife was coming through surgery, my friends stocked my fridge and helped me with the driving; my work colleagues are some of the most hospitable people in my personal life as well.”
Yeah, it's just the Golden Rule, but, apparently, it is really golden for companies that treat employees with respect. Read the entire article.