Q. How do you treat employees as individuals and not just as employees?
It’s listening and paying attention. People will usually share with you far more if you listen, and that’s how you know the highlights of what’s happening in their world. And then periodically ask about those issues — be it the person who’s expecting their first grandbaby or somebody whose child is getting married or somebody who’s dealing with an ailing parent. Pay attention to those factors and ask about it.
Pay attention to one’s own words. Don’t apply a cookie-cutter approach to everybody in the company. They are, in our case, 35 different individuals, and just like no two people are alike, you just can’t communicate necessarily the exact same way with all of them. You need to recognize how best to communicate with them individually and what levels they need themselves. My most important clients are the staff — if I take care of the staff, they’ll take care of the customer.
Q. What is the benefit of keeping the lines of communication open?
Our most important asset is the employee. It’s the relationship they establish with the clientele, and that’s our best way of knowing what is of interest to the client, what we’re doing right for the client and where the trends may be in the marketplace.
Treating the employees as individuals is the way we want them to be treating our clients. If I’m not treating them as individuals, how would I expect them to treat our clients as individuals and to build that same relationship with the client individually on some level as I look to build with them.
How to reach: All-Travel, (310) 312-3368 or www.all-travel.com