HR Corner Bringing out the best in everyone by Carmen To Comprehensive programme ensures high-quality customer service In 1946, Estée Lauder had two things which were to help make her company an international success story — a jar of skin cream developed by a chemist uncle and the desire to bring out the beauty in every woman. By the time the fragrance Youth Dew was launched in 1953, the company had already won a reputation for innovation, research and quality. That still remains, and today's range of skincare products, makeup and fragrances is a demonstration of what a combination of art and science can achieve. In order to spread the corporate philosophy of bringing the best to everyone the company touches, Estée Lauder Hong Kong put in place a special programme in July 2004 to train, evaluate and fairly reward their employees. According to training manager Bobo Chu, this "Best of the Best" scheme has helped beauty advisers to discover their own strengths and weaknesses and perform to a higher standard. Each year, two or three of them are recognised with an award and get the chance to take part in an overseas exchange. Ms Chu notes that it is a matter of company policy to treat every beauty adviser as a student and to encourage continuous learning. They must take examinations which test product knowledge, as well as their ability to give customers appropriate advice and recommendations about skin treatments and the choice of cosmetics. Our frontline staff can now give more professional advice to customers and are able to enhance the corporate image Savvy customers "It is very important to provide high-quality service," says Ms Chu. "Competition in Hong Kong is intense and customers can now get a lot more information about different products and brands from the Internet. Therefore, we have to keep alert, update our services, and listen to what customers say about other companies. These are all ways to help us improve." The "Best of the Best" programme also evaluates beauty advisers on their work performance and against various sales targets. It is split into three semesters, each lasting for three months, and there is a clearly defined grading system. "With this, 80 per cent of the marks are for day-to-day operations and performance in a store," Ms Chu explains. "Grooming also plays a part, since this is crucial to portraying the image of the company as pleasant and elegant," she adds. In addition, there is a "mystery shopper" programme to provide an objective second opinion about the abilities of individual beauty advisers. Ms Chu emphasises the importance of knowing as much as possible about a customer's views on being served in a certain way. "If it turns out they are not satisfied in some areas, we can tell our beauty advisers how to deal with the situation more professionally in future," she says. "This also helps us to plan ahead for other training sessions and to equip staff with the skills needed to perform better." Correcting problems Each beauty adviser can expect to receive four visits a year from different mystery shoppers. The feedback collected makes it easier to identify any weaknesses and then work with the staff involved to overcome these. The subsequent training may include role-plays, case studies of different scenarios, and instruction in, for example, dealing with customer complaints. "Our ongoing training programmes also focus on improving language abilities in English and Mandarin," says Ms Chu. "Another area is personal development to help people fit in with the team and achieve their full potential." Having now run the programme for two years, the company believes it has contributed to increased professionalism and higher morale. "We are glad to see that our frontline staff can now give more professional advice to customers and are able to enhance the corporate image," Ms Chu says. "At the end of the day, the reputation we build will benefit sales and be what determines the rate of future business expansion." Salient points - Training programme for frontline beauty advisers to enhance service standards - Focus on product knowledge, how to advise customers and soft skills - Examinations to assess progress and identify areas of weakness - Mystery shopper programme to get an objective view of sales performance Taken from Career Times 24 November 2006, p. A18 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]