Transforming an organization that services luxury consumers, yet does so through contract labor, and a mobile place of business, presents unique challenges.
But that’s exactly what one of our clients is working through, and what I was thinking about during my recent flight to one of their ports.
They are a heritage brand in the large yacht industry, and they are transforming their legendary culture to ensure that they keep pace with modern luxury consumers. The brief is simple enough (never confuse simple with easy), but the stakes are high when you provide a commodity product (a seaborne vacation with a wide array of potential providers) and you have a clientele that has significantly evolved their preferences in the last 24 months.
What makes the challenges of this project unique:
💥 Their workforce is all contract labor. Each crew member has signed a limited time contract, and those contracts are always starting and expiring, creating an on-going culture and service & experience challenge!
💥 The training infrastructure for a workforce at sea is challenging on many levels; sustaining a cultural footprint and teaching a team to deliver exquisite experiences to discerning guests requires ingenuity and operational excellence.
💥 Designing and delivering Signature Hallmark Experiences is critical, and the design of these must reflect the brand promise and Wow guests - beyond their expectations!
💥 Empowering the crew with the confidence, aptitude, and creativity to deliver individual Wows throughout the voyage is critical to earning referrals and loyalty of the guest.
We are through the culture phase of this project and have laid down the foundation for the successful transformation of their guest experiences. The talent retention, guest experience scores, and the early leading indicators of experience excellence (internal and external) are already in place. Now, it is about execution. Our client has amazing drive, passion and determination to, once again, lead their industry. We are excited to join them on that journey and help them fulfill that vision.