The Overview
Background
Google’s gTech organisation is a technology group based in at Silicon Valley and dedicated to developing and managing the company’s largest and most strategic partnerships. The gTech team also serves as the primary point of contact supporting their sales organisation across all products, providing tools that allow sales teams to generate revenue, and partnering with them in multi-solution selling.
The Brief
What The Client Asked For
gTech wanted to create an experience where the senior leadership team of a division could come together to discuss and get clarity on one of their key business drivers – providing outstanding customer service. They not only needed to be able to return to the business knowing exactly what outstanding customer service meant, but also needed to be able to articulate this to the wider business in a consistent manner.
The event also needed to help the leadership team come together, gaining a mutual understanding of each other’s strengths and values, as well as facilitating closer, more collaborative, working relationships.
The Solution
What We Delivered
In order to meet these needs, Primeast researched numerous global locations for the immersion experience, with gTech settling on New Orleans as a city with a rich mix of leadership stories to tell, as well as being renowned for its “Southern welcome” and standards of customer service and care.
Over 5 days, the immersion experience combined visits to community projects, charities, businesses and entrepreneurs. Participants heard inspiring stories of leadership, and how these organisations have impacted the lives of others and the communities in which they operate.
Throughout the experience, customer service and the concept of providing “care” was examined from many different perspectives. Each day concluded with individual and group reflection and challenge – during which time the leaders had to consider what they had learned and how this would inform their own leadership journey.
The Results
What We Achieved
The immediate outcome of the programme was a very cohesive team of senior leaders who had a clear and compelling ‘customer service story’ to take back to the business. They also had a thorough understanding of how to bring the concept of service and care to life, and had experienced a personal shift in their own leadership. Many talked of the transformation they felt in moving from leading “with the head” to leading “from the heart”.