I had the pleasure this week of attending one the training workshops that we’ve been running for Gatwick Airport for the past 5 months.

Gatwicks business objective is straightforward. To differentiate themselves through delivering ‘unforgettable’ customer service. To make this happen, the aim is to embed the company values and a new service proposition, and use them to facilitate a transformation of the culture.

The workshop objective was to get frontline employees to recognise the importance of customer service, to understand the impact they can have and what they can do to make it a reality. It’s the beginning of a long journey for them and this is step 1.

Gatwick know that a traditional ‘chalk and talk’ approach wont work on their employees, and so asked us to design a more effective approach that is interactive and involving. It’s a ½ day training workshop for about 40 attendees, which is bing rolled out to all frontline employees. From baggage handlers to passenger assistants, police officers to bar staff, everyone gets involved in exercises and activities that are linked to service, which are balance of work and fun.

Activities included:

Navigation challenge – Teams of 20 were challenged to make it across a digital mine field, 1 by 1, without being allowed to talk. The activity forced them to work together and understand the impact of their actions in a high pressure situations.

The Bigger Picture – Small teams worked together to paint 2 canvases each, both of which were used to make up a larger picture that conveyed the airports service ambition. Teams were urged to constantly communicate and monitor each other’s actions and progress, so that they could each see the impact they were having on the Bigger Picture.

Call My Bluff – Using the aforementioned game show format, teams took it in turn to present 2 Gatwick service related stories – one was true and one that was false. Teams voted and awarded points for either guessing correctly or bluffing the competition. This exercise allowed teams to share good news stories and got them thinking about ways they could improve the current service levels, delivered in a fun and engaging way.

Great to see people from very differnt parts of the business realising that they all have a role to play, why this change is needed, what needs to change, and collectively pulling together to try and make a diffference.

Heathrow, you’ve been warned!