FBO Tip of the Week: Four Steps to Discover Your FBO’s Natural Rhythm!
/By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals, Aviation Business Strategies Group
In our previous blog we discussed how every employee and department in an FBO needs to pull together like sections of a well-tuned orchestra in order to create a harmonious customer service environment.
Because every department touches a customer in some way, customers can sense when there is discord. Instead of one sound coming from one orchestra, they begin to hear many drums and many instruments playing haphazardly.
So how can FBOs pull the orchestra together, make many departments and teams move and sound as one and create an operating environment for delivering the ultimate customer service experience?
Here are four steps to creating departmental team harmony and discovering your own FBO’s natural rhythm.
- Step 1: Develop and share the big picture. All employees should know the heritage of the company, where it is headed and the defining role they play.
- Step 2: Lead by example, and empower management and supervisors to lead with enthusiasm, exhibiting encouraging behavior for employees to follow and do the jobs they've been hired to do with professionalism.
- Step 3: Encourage and permit employees at all levels to have a voice in the process and be an instrument in the orchestra. Recongnize everyone contributes to the success of the FBO and is a valued stakeholder in the company.
- Step 4: Follow through, and act with integrity. Everyone is watching, including the customers. Employee's actions reflect the company culture. Share company values, and include them in the performance reviews.
By preparing to meet the requirements of each of these steps, the FBO owner, operator or manager can create an operating environment for the team that is fun to work in and becomes a comfortable space for the customer.
About the bloggers:
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.