Tesco Living Service Programme

 

Situation

In 2003 research at Tesco revealed that customers were missing consistently warm and friendly service, and that staff morale was suffering as ambitious cost and efficiency targets increased.

Challenge

  • Ÿto transform the quality of Tesco’s customer service and thus develop customer loyalty through a rich experience of personal service
  • Ÿto create a work environment that made Tesco staff feel motivated and valued, store by store and person by person.

Solution

To meet these challenges, Interaction and two partner agencies developed the Living Service Programme, in order to change service from good to great through three service expressions: Know your stuff, Show you care, and Share a smile. Tesco staff were not so much ‘taught’ as empowered, in a 26-week programme across 660 stores. Focusing on brand alignment, Attitudinal Intelligence™, viral change and systemic consulting, the programme had 7 core components:

  • Leadership development workshops
  • In-store diagnoses of staff and customer needs
  • A Local Service Vision based on the three unique Service Expressions
  • 80 dedicated Tesco coaches, trained to be internal change agents
  • 20,000 shop-floor ‘firelighters’ embodying great personal service
  • Whole-store Energizer events for all employees
  • Learning teams to sustain the momentum after the 26-week roll-out programme.

Results

This project won the MCA Gold Award for Best Change Management Programme 2005. KPIs tracked for the first 30 trial stores showed that on average they outperformed other stores by 20 per cent in all the key categories. Tesco was so impressed by the results halfway through the roll-out that it increased investment in the project. Further results were that absenteeism decreased, staff retention improved, and there was a marked improvement in willingness to embrace other change initiatives while focusing faithfully on the needs of customers. The quality of dialogue and communication was enhanced, and staff reported that the ‘them and us’ culture had all but disappeared. Internal staff surveys also noted improvements in morale, feeling listened to, helpful management, being first for customers, enjoying work and celebrating success.