BY LINDSEY QUICK

Creating and providing the right experience is essential to the success of your business — it determines whether customers will return and what they’ll share about your services with their networks. In the past, many businesses focused on creating the right customer experience above anything else.

Today, organizations have learned that the first experience they need to perfect is that of their employees — the people who welcome your customers, provide your service and leave the last impression.

Isaac Lee, SVP of Operations at Soapy Joe’s Car Wash in San Diego, Calif., and Anne Mauler, Vice President of Marketing at Soapy Joe’s, understand this concept well.

“We believe there is a direct correlation between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction,” said Mauler. “Because employees are driving the daily experience, smart businesses are investing in employees, development and leadership.”

Lee feels the same. “I 100% believe there is a direct link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction,” he said. “I always focus first on the internal customers — our employees — and then the external customers. We want to build community. I believe customers will love a company only when your employees love the company.”

To get started on a journey that includes a positive, strong employee experience, here are five steps a car wash owner/operator should take:

1) CREATE A FOUNDATION

Creating a solid foundation starts with the culture and employee experience, but cannot happen without buy-in and support from the company’s highest levels of leadership. This support and investment are important for building a strong foundation and imperative if considering changes to a company’s basic framework. For example, Soapy Joe’s implemented a new mission, vision and values framework to serve as a reference point in the employee experience — and they made sure everyone was part of the process. “Everything we have done as a company, including crafting our vision and mission, was done using employee surveys, focus groups and interviews with people at all levels of the organization,” Mauler said.

2) FOCUS ON YOUR HIRING

In order to create that solid foundation, Mauler believes a company’s approach to hiring is important. “For employees, culture has become a critical component in deciding where to work,” she said. Mauler points to the rise in “Best Places to Work” awards as a sign of increased choice for employees. “We spend as much time or more with our work families as we do our personal families, so employees are increasingly selective,” said Mauler. For Soapy Joe’s, creating the right employee experience starts at the top. “You need to ensure that you’re hiring the kind of organizational leaders who will further the experience you want your employees to have,” Mauler said.

She also noted that focusing on diverse hiring helps the organization reinforce the atmosphere of inclusion they’re striving to build. “From hourly associates to executives, we’re focused on hiring those who will be excellent keepers of our culture and add to it,” she said.

3) MAKE EMPLOYEES FEEL HEARD

After you’ve brought staff on-board, it’s important they know that when you ask for their opinion, you’re actually listening. “The best thing you can do is listen, seek feedback and make the time to talk to your people,” said Lee, pointing out that this isn’t a one-time effort and that organizations have to make it their business to know what they can do for employees. “Time is the new currency,” he said. “Engage with your people, because it really shows how much you value what they do. As a leadership team, we really try to ensure that we spend a lot of time engaging with the team.”

He also suggests that through these conversations, you often find ways to reduce friction points that are an obstacle to their performance. “That’s a bonus,” he said. It might have been an unexpected consequence, but it’s one more step toward improving the experience while bettering the business.

4) DIFFERENTIATE YOUR COMPANY AS AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

As Mauler mentioned, employees today often are in the driver’s seat when it comes to selecting where to work. Understanding what your top candidates and existing employees want and expect provides insights into what can differentiate you as an employer, both for existing and future talent. “With Millennials and Zoomers in the workforce, we’re conscious that they value the opportunity to advance, and it is a reason to stay with a company versus seeking advancement elsewhere,” said Mauler. Consider creating learning opportunities, career paths and other avenues for advancement. Also, ramp up your employee communications to ensure employees receive information in real time, which is something many have come to expect from sources outside of the workplace.

5) ALWAYS BE CONNECTING

There is a saying in sales: Always be closing. “We at Soapy Joe’s believe it should be this: Always be connecting,” Lee said. Building a community is incredibly important and creates opportunity for connection.

“When we coach our employees beyond the basics, we’re focused on connection and understanding why people visit Soapy Joe’s for a car wash,” Lee said. From his perspective, a lack of connection leads to short-term transactions versus long-term customers. “We do more than just wash their car — we provide an experience,” he said. “Ignoring the employee experience means you’re in danger of staying transactional.”

Work on understanding your communities and customers as well. Soapy Joe’s practices this and uses that information to help them shape their charitable giving program. “When we’re investing in the community, we want to ensure we’re representing the interests and values of our employees, leadership and customers,” Lee said. One example implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic has been to use promotions like free washes to health care workers and first responders, as well as giveaways that support local businesses. This meant a lot to the community, and instilled pride in the employees, creating connections between the business and the community, as well as the business and the employees.

USING CONNECTIONS TO INFLUENCE THE EXPERIENCE

With this focus on connection and improving the employee experience first, your car wash will be able to successfully influence the customer experience. Creating an environment where employees feel heard, with a clear path for career development and growth will enable employees to create connections with customers that translate to repeat-visit fans. “When you hear positive comments coming from those outside your organization and you see your employees rising to their potential, you know it’s working,” said Mauler.