How To Create A First-Rate Stadium Experience

A great stadium experience, whether it's a football match, concert or charity event, means giving fans and attendees a warm, friendly and professional service the minute they arrive at the stadium until the minute they leave. However, this is hugely dependent on the level of engagement and attitude of the staff, and with many of the workforce being from agencies and/or frontline workers, how can you influence such a disparate workforce to do a great job? The answer lies in improving the organisational culture so that every single employee feels valued and a part of something special.

Here, Robert Ordever, European MD of workplace culture expert, O.C. Tanner (and former People Director at Fulham F.C), explains how to create a successful stadium experience so that guests - including fans, spectators and sponsors - want to return again and again.

Employees Aren’t “Grateful” For The Work!

A common myth football clubs hold in particular, is that employees working for the club feel grateful for the opportunity, and so actively engaging with them just isn't necessary. This is a huge oversight. After all, feeling “grateful” for the work will only last so long, and if employees are consistently made to feel like workers rather than individuals whose efforts and results go unappreciated, this will quickly lead to a disengaged workforce who are unlikely to deliver quality customer service.

Creating a first-rate stadium experience requires a focus on improving the culture so that all employees, whether in-house or from a third party agency, feel a valued part of a special community.

The Power Of A Great Culture

So what exactly is ‘organisational culture’ and why is it so important? A workplace culture is the beating heart of an organisation. It’s the shared values, attitudes and beliefs, influencing what is important, how people work, and how the organisation interacts with its clientele and extended community. And although they are highly complex and changing, strong workplace cultures act and respond in predictable ways, attracting and keeping talent and encouraging ‘great work’. In fact, organisations with healthy cultures are 16 times’ more likely to retain their employees.

Key Elements That Improve Culture

Nurturing a great organisational culture doesn’t, of course, happen overnight. It’s a long-term investment that starts with a new mindset – a mindset that understands the importance of building a community of individuals who have a shared vision, a sense of belonging and who feel valued and appreciated by leaders and managers.

This all starts with ‘purpose’. Everyone – from the caterers and cleaners through to the security and audio‑visual staff – need to understand and be motivated by an overriding organisational purpose. People can get behind an inspiring purpose and rally, as a shared community, to deliver it.

If the organisational purpose is ‘To make every experience an experience of a lifetime’ with every single employee made to feel as though they’re contributing to each guest’s memorable experience, they’re far more likely to be inspired to deliver excellence. However, if staff are given the impression that the stadium’s sole purpose is ‘to make as much money as possible’, how will they be driven to ‘go above and beyond’ in their service delivery?

Leadership is also key to a thriving organisational culture. Traditional leaders are authoritative and controlling, giving orders and not welcoming feedback. However, times have changed and employees are responding far more positively to modern leaders who empower their teams, show appreciation and get to know their people as individuals, while looking to connect them to company purpose, their accomplishments and each other. By nurturing modern leadership, the impacts are significant with an 81 percent greater chance of increasing revenue and a 40 percent increase in employee engagement. If modern leadership is not encouraged and nurtured, achieving an attractive culture in which a first-rate stadium experience becomes standard, will remain a constant challenge.

Plus, the creation of a close-knit and supportive workplace community is what all stadium managers should aspire to. A potent sense of community exists when employees feel they belong in the organisation and contribute to shared goals in meaningful ways. Being part of a community also means employees care about one another, and they work and grow together, with organisations that have a strong community 13 times’ more likely to have a thriving culture. To achieve a strong sense of belonging and ‘community’ requires a modern leadership approach where managers care for their people, seek their feedback and regularly recognise their efforts and results.

However, recognition can’t simply be a generic “thank you for your hard work”. For recognition to be impactful and meaningful, it must be an everyday part of the culture, regularly given and seen throughout the organisation. Peers must also be encouraged to give recognition as well as leaders, acknowledging both the large and small efforts of employees in personalised and sincere ways. When recognition happens regularly, the odds of having a strong community increase by 508 percent.

The power of recognition is further amplified by the use of symbolic awards, with employees three times’ more likely to remember a recognition experience when it includes a symbolic award. In fact, symbols that take the form of an award are extremely valuable for numerous reasons: they communicate the company’s purpose and values; reflect the significance of employee contributions; and help to build that all-important sense of community by increasing employees’ emotional connections to each other. With symbolic awards improving individual performance by as much as 12 percent, incorporating these into everyday recognition moments is a worthwhile, long-term investment that will encourage employees to ‘go above and beyond’.

Delivering Repeatable Success

With managing a stadium such a huge and complex responsibility involving a range of diverse teams, how can you possibly deliver event success, again and again? Some things will remain outside the management team’s power, such as the weather and match results. However, what can be nurtured to predictably deliver a first-rate stadium experience, is the organisational culture. By focusing on creating a culture where both full-time employees and agency staff have a sense of pride in working at the stadium, and are made to feel a valued part of the community, this will then be reflected in the quality of their work. Punctuality, friendliness and level of professionalism will become standard with the stadium consistently delivering experiences that fans, spectators and sponsors choose to return to time and time again.

*Research taken from O.C. Tanner’s Global Culture Report: www.octanner.com/global-culture-report.html