Transforming the Lobby Experience for a Worldwide Computer Software & Hardware Company
Exela had been on-site managing the mail operations for this client for nearly two decades. We had designed scalable, comprehensive mail security, routing, and delivery solutions unique to the needs of the company and demonstrated our ability to help the company solve highly complex business problems.
For example, the company’s massive pivot from a software supplier to a hardware supplier left antiquated processes of mail distribution, shipping, and receiving open for optimization. For Exela, this meant transitioning our delivery strategy from a centrally managed operation with fixed routes and schedules to an agile model making specific accommodations for business-critical groups. In facilitating this change, Exela did extensive research with business groups to ensure we understood the company’s needs, recognized its opportunities, and aligned strongly with its process to minimize business impact with the changes in the operating model.
We tackled a number of logistical issues during this transition. Engineers and technicians who were spread across a large campus needed logistics support in real-time. In addition, the new strategy had to be implemented, for both exports and imports, in a secure and scalable way in compliance with applicable law. Our efficient pivot to a spoke delivery system—one with multiple delivery points, from a hub-based one, was able to meet all of these needs.
Our new strategy was implemented in such a successful way that the client asked us to furnish a long-term roadmap of how we could expand our services on-site. In collaboration with the company, we identified other areas within the business where there was room for improvement. We then agreed on the next initiative: to improve the lobby experience (also known as “reception”), with respect to which the client had been experiencing challenges in the form of inconsistencies across the campus environment. The company brought in a Hospitality Consulting team, with whom we worked to facilitate our discovery and solution recommendation processes.
To build our recommendations for successful improvement, we interviewed each of the 175 on-site receptionists to determine those factors that helped them to provide service excellence versus those factors that acted as obstacles. What we discovered is:
- The reception staff had no uniform dress code
- The reception staff lacked knowledge about company culture and events
- Inconsistent practices and operating procedures were being executed across the different 93 lobby environments
- Reception staff registered an average of 1,841 visitors per day
- Reception staff booked an average of 425 conference rooms per day
As a result of this exploration, we identified several opportunities for the client to improve their guests’ lobby experience. Among the first new initiatives we implemented was an apparel program that introduced high standards of dress, style guidelines, and a focus on the client brand – in order to make the reception staff easily recognizable to guests, while mirroring the client’s brand personality.
To address inconsistent guest experiences across campus buildings, we implemented a number of training and education programs for our employees, designed holistically around the culture, needs, and specific expectations of this particular client. We helped to educate employees on Customer Focus, Listening with Skill, Understanding Workplace Diversity, Communicating Across Cultures, Dealing with Angry Callers, and more.
Key to the success of our strategy was the creation of a Training and Developing Manager role. This individual was to be a leader who would create a stronger connection between our employees and our client’s brand through training programs aimed at skill, culture, and behavioral components. This included assessing developmental needs, implementing programs, measuring successes, and creating scalable training solutions for employees based on need.
Improvements yielded by these changes have been impressive. The results we achieved were not only subjectively positive, but objectively measurable through benchmarks set by company leadership. Our employees fit in better-than-ever with this client’s culture of continually challenging the status quo, and continuously improving. Specific results connected to our solutions include:
- 94% of newly surveyed guests report excellent service
- 100% of on-site survey commentary is now positive
- Check-in times have decreased from 00:01:53 to 00:01:23
- Turnover has dropped approximately 15%, from 63% to 48%
The client’s hospitality service now meets all the criteria they set for defining a successful lobby experience from the client, visitor, and employee perspectives.
To further evaluate the effectiveness of the new ‘Lobby Host Program’, we also deployed ‘mystery shoppers’. These shoppers visited the lobbies of our client sites and rated their experience regarding our ability to execute chosen standards of service, as well as provided subjective opinions on their engagement with our reception team.
Ultimately, after our discovery and implementation phases were completed, we can now report an above 87% favorability rating in terms of the solutions we have designed for this client – due almost entirely to the quality and dedication of the people we have placed with them.
The transformation of this client’s Lobby Host program has been so successful that we are now in a proof-of-concept phase for our global reception implementation initiative to the company’s other 300 international locations over the next 18 months.
Through our focused work for, and strong partnership with, this client, Exela was able to turn an operation challenge into true operational strength. We continue to do so for them and others today.
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