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Why did you choose
to work with Stop At Nothing?
I think in my organization, and it’s probably
true of a lot of others, we don’t always have
the competencies necessary to develop the dynamics
within the organization on the interpersonal or intrapersonal
level. I turned to Stop At Nothing, as opposed to some
other organizations, because I saw outcomes as a result
of attending the courses and of utilizing the processes
and tools. I saw the return on my investment.
What pushed Stop At Nothing to the forefront?
We very much believe in the model of the Service Profit
Chain where creating the right kind of environment
and having highly satisfied employees leads to higher
customer satisfaction, which leads to higher shareholder
satisfaction.
The work we did with Stop At Nothing was the cornerstone
of our efforts to improve the working environment and
increase employee satisfaction. We had dramatic improvement
over the course of two years.
Now that you are head of the Latin American division
of American Express Operations, what made you decide
to use Stop At Nothing?
I walked into my current role in Latin America with
a very high degree of confidence because I have had
two multi-year experiences, domestic and international,
where I have been able to drive that key barometer
of effectiveness within my organization to a dramatic
degree. I think the work that was performed by Stop
At Nothing was absolutely elemental to that effort
and that success.
What were your initial concerns?
I think the initial reservation was that I was going
to make an investment in something and have difficulty
quantifying the payback with the same precision as
I would putting in a voice response unit or other similar
investment I might make.
In what areas did you see a quantifiable difference?
On the particular satisfaction tool we use, there are
about 13 dimensions, the primary one being overall
satisfaction. Through the course of about 18 months,
drawing heavily on the work with Stop At Nothing, we
moved from 62 percent overall satisfaction to about
80 percent overall satisfaction.
What other results did you realize?
There was a very strong correlation between those things
that we were seeing on the employee side and the impact
that we were having on customers, and most importantly,
on shareholders. We were able to surpass our loss provision
targets by something on the order of $20 million in
one year. I credit the improvement we made on the employee
and leadership side as being one of the key drivers
to that success.
How would you describe the process of working with
Stop At Nothing?
It is non-threatening, and that’s critically
important. I think Stop At Nothing is very aware of
where people and groups are, so they introduce the
concepts and move the process at a rate that is palatable
for the individuals and the groups they are working
with. They know how to take people along at a rate
that they can handle, because if you lose them, that
tremendous opportunity beneath the surface is never
going to be explored.
What advice would you give to others who find themselves
in similar situations?
If you’re a good businessperson, you’re
going to want to know what the payback is on any investment
that you may be contemplating and this [interpersonal
work] is an investment just like any other. Probably
more critical than most, because it’s an investment
in your human resources. If you’re in a service
business like I am, you are talking about doing something
to your most precious resource, the one that costs
you the most, the one that has the greatest impact
on your business, so you had better be convinced that
the payback is there. As a consequence, the process
needs to start with you.
What is the importance of personal commitment?
As with everything else, leadership has to come from
the top, so this is not one you can delegate. If you’re
going to go this route, you need to be the first one
to attend. Then you need to be committed to leading
your organization through what will be an exciting
but sometimes anxiety-ridden process. If you do those
two things, it’s going to be time and money well
spent.
Would you recommend Stop At Nothing?
Absolutely. I see a thousand people in some of our
operations and, more often than not, we're probably
getting some fraction of each person’s human
potential focused on the task. If you get 10 percent
more out of yourself, that’s nice, but get two
percent out of each of all those people who work for
you and now you’re making money. That’s
going to really move the needle. And that is what Stop
At Nothing helps us and other companies do. |
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Interview with Mark Gamble, Fortune 100 Credit Card Company. |
