Putting the pieces of quality together.

I first met the team at Provident Trust Group five years ago, and while they were proud of the service they offered their clients in the financial services industry, they knew it could be better.  They had grown from a team of six to sixty, and the passion and intensity that had radiated from the owner was not as well known and practiced in the growing organization. 

Together we embarked on building a service culture program called Designing Business Cultures. The team took on every suggestion and phase of work with zealous passion and were hungry to learn.  I worked with the leadership team to create big goals and a powerful service Culture Statement that has driven the service culture to ever growing heights. We could also say with great conviction that the commitment to service had dramatically improved throughout the organization.  

I recently had the chance to spend the afternoon with the team as their keynote speaker for their 2020 Kick Off event. Years ago, we had discussed the importance of treating the team like VIPs — in the same manner they should treat their clients.  In true form they selected a brilliantly creative offsite event with senior management involved, some learning (from me!), some great fun with a scavenger hunt, and social time together at the end of the day.  

The topic they asked me to talk about was the theme of Quality, Accuracy and Detail — their focus for the year. My biggest takeaway from the experience was the power of the work done five years ago. The Service Culture Statement that we created together was alive and kicking.  They were able to talk about examples of each of the elements and how it still drives them today. I was proud of their commitment to service and keeping that momentum going, even having gone through a change of ownership two years ago.  

It was clear that the investment made in building a strong culture for service was not just ‘another one of those programs’, or a ‘flavor of the month”. When done right with a plan and commitment, it can last for years.