---

Average STILL not good enough. What do you think about being "Extra" ordinary?

by Frank Price, President FL Price

Thanks, Frank, for letting us reprint this informative article from your enewsletter.

Culture is the start

Create a company culture that encourages the pursuit of employee satisfaction, as well as guest satisfaction. It's as simple as hiring people who like people. If you immediately thought of how difficult it is to get and keep anyone, then take a look in the mirror as to why. Probably the reason is continuing to use outdated or irrelevant recruiting, hiring, training, or retaining tactics.

Treat your employees as you would treat your most valued guests. Human nature dictates employees will treat guests as well as their company treats them. Company cultures putting employees first and then guests, understand their biggest competitive advantage is not their product or service (attractions), but the authentic meaning behind their business and the way they treat the people who interact with other people, day in and day out.

These company cultures are people-centric. While the size, or number of attractions is a secondary focus. Structure, procedures, rules, poor leadership, and lip service is a business without a heart.

Count how many times I said "People."

Businesses need to have the confidence to be less similar and more "extra" ordinary. Maybe you just need a life kickstart. Check it out. How to be extraordinary according to Rafael Eliassen: Be Extraordinary.

Recruiting … or is it?

Once you have defined the personality persona of each employee role, it is more effective to search for prospective employees where they "hang out. "For example, if you are looking for party hosts who are comfortable interacting and entertaining in front of others, then drama or public speaking clubs would be a good place to look. If you are searching for more mature supervisors who can and will work weekends, then local community colleges or universities without the typical college life are the place. More mature "Mom" types for your call center, try daycares, libraries, and or grocery stores.

Recruiting Data Base (ongoing) … Do you have one?

Build long-term relationships with high past performers, those you would like to hire but are not at a good time in their life, those not chosen in your auditions but could have referrals from your recruiting network or high performers. Keeping detailed contact information allows you to continually follow up and stay top of mind with them when they are ready. These contacts can also be a great source of referrals as long you nurture the relationships.

Recruiting Data Base Management.

Collect and record names, significant dates, cell phones, and emails for direct communication for future employees:

• Past high performers
• Current high-performer ambassadors
• Audition - quality performances but not hired
• Open house event attendees
• Network contacts
• Referrals

The Performance Agreement

Empowerment is defined as "the process of increasing the capacity of individuals to make their own behavior choices. Understanding your organization's expectations up front transforms those choices into the specific actions and the outcomes you desire. When employees misunderstand what is expected of them; they become frustrated with the lack of clarity around guidelines or expectations. This causes a depletion of trust and fuels the negative energy that zaps productivity. When employees are unsure or reprimanded without clarity or understanding why, they get frustrated and shut down or stop making positive choices.

A performance agreement is a written document that describes exactly what good performance means in a clear and concise manner. It defines the desired performance between owners/management and the employee team in an open-ended win-win agreement format. It holds everyone accountable for achieving the business purpose/vision and the desired results.

The following items make up a performance agreement.

• Culture overview, vision/purpose statement, values, beliefs
• Appearance / uniform standards
• Standards of operation - minimum standards of your service delivery.
• "No - No's" - clear communication regarding what to stay away from.
• Consequences - positive and negative results of behaviors and actions.
• Systems and support - where to look for help when needed.
• Service recovery parameters - front-line permissions when something goes wrong.

The optimal time to deliver your performance agreement is at the performance audition. Give each applicant the performance agreement or a link to access it, along with a return visit gift. Instruct them to read and highlight anything they do not understand or have questions about. These questions will be addressed and answered in a conversation before a job is offered. Before taking the job offer, they must understand and accept all conditions of the performance agreement.

Why distribute the performance agreement at the audition before the offer?

The applicant learns what is expected up front before they accept a position.

They can ask questions and get a clear understanding of what's expected, which creates better buy-in or the choice not to take the job.

It prevents miss-communication from the beginning. "No downstream surprises"

Applicants will accept or reject the position offer with an understanding of whether they feel they will fit in.

The performance agreement gets read. At this point, applicants have not been offered a job. They are more motivated to read it because they feel its contents are important to getting the job.

All of the above aid in elevating your overall guest experience delivery. More business is not always good business. Being busy is not always a sustainable success. A unique business that's personalized, engaging, and builds relationships is the not-so-secret ingredient.

Frank Price is the owner of FL Price. Frank loves inspiring people by getting them from a starting point to a better endpoint. FL Price specializes in building employee teams with personality, designing and customizing key revenue center parties/group events, and sales systems. Frank is the founder of Birthday University and the Experience Academy, teaching the business of remarkable parties and groups and guest experience destinations for the past 22 years. frank@fl-price.com

Subscribe to monthly Leisure eNewsletter

---