Values often appear in organizations’ annual reports and may even be in a frame on the boardroom wall but how they are brought to life in day to day behaviour is less well understood.  This is just one comment from the fascinating discussion thread on LinkedIn at http://lnkd.in/pkVVSP

Organisations invest time and money in articulating their values so must consider that they are important yet very few individuals seem to do the same. Why is this?

This question was considered by over two hundred professionals and academics last month in a Harvard Business Review group discussion on LinkedIn which covered a multitude of surrounding issues and opinions.  Thank you to everybody that contributed and to Lucy Williams (http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/lucy-ann-williams/34/56a/62a) who produced this summary.

“If it weren’t for us, you’d be working in a feckin’ field” was comedian Dara O’Briain succinct definition at the industry body’s (BIFM) own annual dinner a couple of years ago.

“Proud” is Heather Small’s signature song with which she achieved international success and it was a thrill to meet somebody whose voice makes my spine tingle at this month’s UK Customer Experience and Customer Service training Awards www.uk-ce-awards.co.uk/.

The holiday season is a great time to take time to relax with family and enjoy new experiences.  From a work perspective it is a valuable time to recharge the batteries and refresh thinking to return to with a renewed sense of purpose and energy….but, personally, it is also a time to be tuned in to organisations and their SERVICEBRAND.

Although corporate offices and hotels are both built environments providing a very similar range of services to customers, there are some fundamental differences in the way in which the provision of this service is organised.

Cast your mind back to the summer and a holiday or trip you may have enjoyed.  Consider what stays with you in the way of a memory and you will probably realise that, rather than the sights or facilities, some of the strongest memories are of interactions with people.

Here is an article featuring a family weekend away to explore this area further.

“What gets measured gets managed” is an often quoted maxim in business. But it is a potentially dangerous approach in situations of complexity, subjectivity and perception. SERVICEBRANDs are a case in point where the people element and emotional engagement are such fundamental parts of the customer experience. The aspects that are easier to manage (eg did the employee say “Welcome to XYZ Hotel”) are less important than the elements that are more of a challenge to measure (eg did the employee make you feel welcomed and valued?). However, the easier to measure aspects are what some organisations focus their attention on…..almost of the mindset that the other elements will simply not exist because they are not being measured!

Last night at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Heather Small was singing one of her best known songs and the chorus is as follows:

“You’ve got to search for the hero inside yourself
Search for the secrets you hide
Search for the hero inside yourself
Until you find the key to your life”

This question Can we measure behaviour? asked by Aga Yamin received over 1000 responses which prompted a collaborative effort with Pat Keith to produce a summary of the comments.

We did this to help make the topic more accessible for everybody and inspire further discussion. What a wonderful connected world we live in.