I have just returned from a trip to freezing Melbourne. I stayed at the Alto Hotel in Bourke Street. This place never ceases to amaze me. I have stayed there three times previous and already the staff know me by name and call me by name. Not only that their teamwork is exceptional. I checked in and went to my room to drop my bags. By the time I made it up to my room and back down to the restaurant the front desk had alerted the restaurant staff that I had arrived and Francis the Head waiter greeted me at the door and made me welcome, again greeting me by name.

This extra effort will keep me going back for more, the rooms are well priced,clean and I feel welcome. The thing I admire most though is their teamwork and customer service focus. They work hard at making each other look good and in turn the customers (that would be me) keep coming back. Well done Alto Hotel staff, I salute you!

Continue to Be Remarkable!
Lindsay
Team Transformer

Labels: Customer Service, Lindsay, Teamwork

I just spent three hours today with a client reviewing their years progress and making plans for the coming months. The business owner was very happy with the efforts of his team and the profit the company had made. Sitting back with a smug look on his face I said "OK, what's next?" His reply, "get back to work". "Not so fast" was my response. I want you to now go and say thanks to each and every member of the team for their part in making this such a successful year.

He pondered this for a while before figuring out how he would do that in a way that was appropriate for each of his eleven staff. Saying thanks for a job well done is crucial if you want your team to back up and do it all over again and again.

As the financial year has just closed, make the effort now to go congratulate your team for their efforts and renew their enthusiasm for the coming year.

Be remarkable
Lindsya Adams
Team Transformer

Labels: Celebrating Success, Lindsay, Teamwork

I flew home to Brisbane from Sydney last Saturday night on Qantas. I went to the front of the airplane to go to the toilet just after take off. Unfortunately for me, someone had just beaten me to the facilities. So I began chatting to the flight attendant. I was lamenting the fact that I had been away from home all week and would be getting home just in time to repack my bags and leave again the next day for another week away.The flight attendant made a stunning decision and offered me a glass of wine while I was waiting. I was impressed, she understood my situation and gave me something which is not normally available to travellers for free on a saturday evening flight. Not only that after I had used the facilities she sent me back to my seat with my wine and two chocolates, one for me and one for my travelling companion.When I left the flight in Brisbane she wished me a safe trip to Singapore the following day. This person made a decision about giving me service outside the norm. OK it was only a glass of wine , BUT it was a magnificent gesture and was given with pure intent. Are your staff empowered to make the right decisions every day? Do you make the right decisions every day? Give it a go, customers new and old appreciate it!

Be Remarkable
Lindsay
Team Transformer

Labels: Decision Making, Lindsay, Teamwork

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Stanthorpe Chamber of Commerce this morning. It was a cold crisp morning with the local temperature being just 3 degrees (centigrade). This didn't deter thirty six local business people showing up to learn how to build their business by referral. Inside the room I received a warm reception and met many people with a thirst for knowledge.The most significant learning for the day for the group and I was you can never have too many business people in your network.

Be Remarkable
Lindsay
Team Transformer

Labels: Lindsay, Networking, Stanthorpe

I got a call from a mate of mine today to tell me some good news. His ogre boss had finally resigned from his job and left the company to move on to "greener pastures". You see this guy was not a popular boss, loved the sound of his own voice, listened to no ones ideas except his own and argued continually with his management Board.

The Management Board instead of taking the time to give this guy some truthful feedback elected to sit back and grumble about their choice in appointing this General Manager. They argued with him constantly and finally exerted enough pressure that he left.

Imagine now if they had taken the time to sit with the guy they chose for the most important job in the company and gave him some honest, constructive feedback. Imagine if they had followed up this feedback with a structured plan of attack that was clear for both parties. Imagine the difference this could have made to their relationship and to the finances and morale of their company. Instead they chose to sit on their hands and grumble.

Regular feedback is essential for the successful performance of any team. Take every opportunity you get to give everyone in your team feedback. Schedule a regular meeting with each and every member of your team to find out what they have been doing over the last month and what they plan to do in the coming month. Use these regular meetings as a positive reinforcement of outcomes. Believe it or not your staff will actually look forward to meeting with you to report their successes.

If you like I can give you more information on a structure and process for these meetings, drop me an email for more lindsay.adams@remacue.com

Be Remarkable
Lindsay
Teamocractist

Labels: Lindsay, Performance Feedback, Teams

In my last blog I wrote about receiving excellent service and witnessing superb teamwork at the Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumour. Well for every good experience I guess there is the opposite. We finished our business in Asia and returned to Australia via Perth and Sydney last Thursday. We flew into Perth at 1.30am and left again at 5.45am to fly to Sydney. Needless to say we were tired and a little jaded when we arrived at the Hotel we booked in Sydney, the Stamford Plaza at Double Bay.

We arrived about 12.30 in the afternoon well before the designated hotel check in time around the world of 2pm. When we checked in we were told in no uncertain terms by the (non) customer service person that our room was not ready and that check in was after all 2pm, so you are early. Now this was said with an "I'm sorry, but" beginning the sentence, but as an astute observer of human behaviour and having worked with thousands of people across 18 years in human resources I could tell there was absolutely no sincerity associated with the prefix "I'm sorry, BUT".

"OK,when will the room be ready?" I enquired. "I can't tell you that, was the curt response and check in time is 2pm." She went on "You will just have to go somewhere and come back after 2pm" Very helpful indeed. She did eventually offer to call my mobile when the room became ready. I'm still waiting for the call.

I won't bore you with the details of the check in fiasco and how we were greeted with two single beds rather than a King bed and how it took one hour to get the situation resolved, while we propped our eyes open with match sticks!

Suffice to say I learnt something as a result of my experience here. If you are in a front line position it's best to say what you mean and be honest and caring as well. If you say immediately, it means just that not 1 hour later. Finally I remembered that well researched Customer Management fact, a happy customer will tell 4 others, a dissatisfied customer will tell at least 12 others.

Labels: Customer Management, Lindsay, service

I am travelling and working with my wife Debby in Asia at present. We are staying at the Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur next to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Yesterday we went to breakfast and as we were being shown to our table Debby slipped and fell to the floor. She was embarrassed and a little flustered of course. The attending staff helped her to her feet and settled her in the chair. What happened next impressed and delighted me. The staff member of course asked if Debby was OK and could he assist in any way. She emphatically replied that she was OK and would just sit for a moment.This is where the team work began.

Moments later another team member arrived and asked if she could be of assistance, again Debby replied she was OK. Minutes later the Restaurant Manager, a Mr Wong arrived and enquired about her health. He offered to call a doctor if necessary or provide any other assistance. Again his offer was graciously acknowledged and refused.We sat and ate some breakfast toegther and as time wore on Debby's shoulder began to ache, it has not been the best of late with some ongoing pain present. It seemed the fall had aggravated the shoulder.

I left the table and asked Mr Wong if I could arrange for a massage for her shoulder to alleviate the pain. Minutes later, Mr Wong's boss arrived to check on Debby and informed us that a massage had been organised and it would be provided as a complimentary service for us by the hotel. The good news is that the massage had the desired affect and her shoulder is now fine, thankfully! The best news is that when we arrived for breakfast this morning most of the staff who approached our table including Mr Wong enquired about Debby's wellbeing and again offered any further assistance if necessary.

Some of you reading this may be thinking the hotel was simply fulfilling their duty of care and helping to avoid and legal ramifications, yes that may be true. Even if that were the case they still exhibited excellent team work when team work was most necessary. Each of the team members supported each other and reported the incident up the chain to resolve the issue at hand. All team members kept each other informed on progress and focussed on calmly solving the issue and creating the best outcome for the team and the customer. Not only that they have created a lasting impression as a caring and customer focussed team within a large organisation which can sometimes be a little impersonal. For anyone who has stayed in a large hotel with over 500 rooms you would understand it is easy to become lost among the relentless sea of guests that wash through such hotels.

So thank you to the staff at the Gobo Chit Chat Lounge at the Traders Hotel for making our stay pleasant under trying conditions and congratulations on your excellent team work.

Labels: Lindsay, service, Teamwork

I met recently with Paul Worroll from Reddog Architects (www.reddogarchitects.com ). Reddog Architects is a Brisbane based young professional design practice that specialises in architecture, interior design and project management. I met with Paul at 3pm and commented it sounded quiet in the office today. He said "Oh it's Reddog Architect's Public Holiday today". Well that got my attention, he went on to tell me that his team had been working so hard of late, keeping up with demand for their services, putting in long hours, working weekends and nights that he wanted to do something for them to say thanks. So he created a Public Holiday for his staff and gave them all the day off. Not only that he bought each of them a small thoughtful gift and left it on their desks so that when they returned to work after their "Public Holiday" they would be welcomed by a nice surprise.

What a way to keep the team together and working hard for the company. Often as managers or business owners we forget to say thank you or acknowledge our staff's performance. When was the last time you stopped and said thanks? You don't have to declare a Public Holiday, although declaring your appreciation is essential.

Labels: Lindsay, Recognising and rewarding effort

I have just finished speaking to a good friend of mine, Michael Hughes who lives in Ottawa, Canada. We didn't speak on the phone but rather used the great technology made available by Skype . The best part was that Michael is part of my virtual team and we were speaking to catch up and share ideas. Yes, I have a virtual team as well as the physical Remacue team that surrounds me in Australia. With the advent of technology today teams are not limited to physical workplaces anymore. You can build a team anywhere around the world and keep in touch, work on projects together and produce measurable outcomes.

The best way to make your virtual team work is to keep in touch, get clear about what you want to achieve,allocate tasks and responsibilities and regularly review your progress. Whats that you say, that's exactly what I do now with my physical team. CORRECT. There is little difference between a physical and a virtual team, with the minor difference that you aren't located in the same town or State, or even country.

Your team work today is limited only by your ability to manage technology. Now if you live in Canada or North America and you need assistance with networking and building your business, I suggest you check out Michael's website

Talk soon
Lindsay Adams CSP

Labels: Lindsay, Virtual Teams

I am posting this blog whilst sitting on the verandah of a magnificent house in the Bunya Mountains west of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia by about three hours. Since arriving I have managed to chop some fire wood, light a real fire to ward of the lovely chill in the fresh mountain air and best of all had some time for a little uncluttered free thinking.

This place is very quiet, the silence interrupted only by the sounds of the occassional bird calling. A perfect location to stop and take stock and do some thinking and planning. When was the last time you took a moment to stop and think? You don't have to find a mountain somewhere to do this! Take just ten or even fifteen minutes to find a quiet place and think. Try it you'll like it and like me you may even come up with some brilliant ideas.

Lindsay Adams

Labels: Lindsay, Thinking

Just as individuals are remarkable and unique so are teams. The thing with teams of course is that they are made up of individuals who bring with them a whole range of individual talents and skills, some are remarkable and some are less than remarkable. So how do you create a Remarkable Team? Start by recognising the strengths and talents of each team member. Take time to acknowledge those strengths and utilise them as a team. Next target the areas for improvement, how can you support your team colleagues to learn and grow?

Recognising that everyone has the capacity to learn and grow is the first step in creating remarkable teams.

Labels: Lindsay, Teams