facilitating creative thinking

7/29/2019 Facilitating Creative Thinking

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Facilitating the development of a Brand that fosters effective creative

CROSS-CULTURALCOMMUNICATION

Facilitating Creative Thinking | Spring 2013 | Professor Mariah HaySavannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Susan M. Bernard

A BOUTIQUE HOTEL, KINGSTON JAMAICA



purpose ¬ intro

¬ scope

¬ about

¬

evaluation ¬ culture

conceptdevelopment

¬ knowledge acquisition

¬ warm up activity

go to them, warm, perception, association and the mood board

¬ things I'd have done differently

brainstorming

¬ concept development¬ procedure

¬ intent and outcome

¬ value proposition

¬ things I'd have done differently

¬ framework for customer journey

summary ¬ conclusions

¬ infographics

index

3

2

1

4

5



pur



ose1



introWhat is creative thinking ?

Creative thinking reshapes how people aquire knowl-

edge by using hands on creative exercises thereby

applying Lateral thinking strategies.

This transforms material (facts and information) into

longterm memory through critique and powerful verbal,

visual associations that bring text, images and numbers

to life !



The hotel industry is vastly changing due to changing technology

and culture. An article by David McMillin dated April 29th 2013 on

the pcma.org website1 states that 3 trends will redene hotels:

¬ new markets

¬ guests

¬ properties

There were 3 key areas that determine the travellers choice of

where to visit:

¬ Technology

¬ Eco-friendliness

¬ Loyalty programs

With this study, one hotel was examined specically as it related to

the customer's experience when having a function at their facility.

1 http://pcma.org/be-in-the-know/pcma-central/pcma-news/news-landing/2013/04/29/3-trends-that-will-redene-hotels#.UZ6FAZUZfFx

scope



about

This hotel is a boutique hotel open to business travelers

and offers a Spanish styled exterior with contemporary in-

terior, a pool, gym, spa, restaurant and meeting facilities.

The hotel’s commitment to bring “exceptional guest ser-

vice in the tradition of true Jamaican hospitality” proves

to be most relaxing and comfortable to their guests and

the hotel has coined the phrase “Real Service”. Real

Style1

This Hotel has promised to make their guest's stay “as ef-

fortless, authentic and memorable as possible”. 2

1 www.spanishcourthotel.com/hotel/about 2 http://www.spanishcourthotel.com/hotel/events-meetings/



evalu



tion2



cultureunderstanding the culture of the hotel

In order to best understand the culture of the hotel two

months were spent observing the working relationship

between the employees and the other departments

as it related to the banqueting and events where I was

located.



cultural system

There were issues that most organizations have, how-

ever, the most consistent and evolving was poor and

delayed internal communication

work style

All the employees were extremely pleasant, and being

that they were brought together by various hospitality

channels, were knowledgeable based upon their pre-

vious experiences as opposed to this hotels promise to

their customer.

All members of staff were leaders in their own right and

as a result preferred to be involved in a decision based

upon their expertise or insight.

motivators

At this point it is most important to have manag-

ers and other executive staff provide support,be available for even the simplest questions,

give guidance and always be approachable

to ensure that the staff is comfortable in their

environment and trusts their employer.

This fosters a necessary bond,

understanding of the brand, interdepartmental

teamwork, creates a “no blame” environment

and a sense of accomplishment



concdevel



ptpment

3



7



knowledge aquisition

The cognitive process of perception, learning, communication,association and reasoning

In this activity, the Warm up, observations were made and information gathered.The following was excellent in translating the feelings and opinions of many thatparticipated as well as a thought for all to consider

¬ There needs to be effective facilitation and concept devel-opment as well as an allowance for "more accountibilityand less victimhood"1 This gives way to exploring inno-vative ways to solving issues.

¬ Value leadership. We all have moments that change some-one elses life and allows us to be leaders . It's up to us toimprove others lives2

1 Jim Bearden, Accountability (Paraphrased)2 Drew Dudley "Leading with Lollipos" (taken from)



In order to clear the group’s minds from frustrationsin

their work environment, prior to begining the warm up

exercise I requested that they write their thoughts and

concerns on paper and issue it to me to go with other

observations over the 8 week period

warm up activity

¬ 'Constant Crisis Management re

quired'

¬ 'Interdepartmental communicationinadquate for efciency'

¬ 'No Solid Structure'

¬ 'No Human Resources'

¬ 'No xed hours for some staff'

¬ 'No Standard of Procedures'

¬ 'Not enough training or cycles for training'

¬ 'Not enough attention to detail'

¬ 'Proactive Management lacking'

¬ 'Job Description not provided'

¬ 'Furniture insufcient for staff'

¬ 'Rules are not set and vary depen-

dent on the day'

¬ 'Staff members not aware of their

rights within the organization'

¬ 'No sense of brand awareness'

¬ 'No sense of accountability among

staff members'

¬ 'Employees don’t feel that the com

pany cares about their well being'

go to them



tools required

¬ Magazines

¬ Paint Swatches

¬ Textile samples (Mosaics,

Fabrics etc)

¬ Thumbtacks

¬ 1 Foam core board

¬ Stick glue, Scissors, Paper,Computer and Printer

participants

¬ 4 members of the Marketing/Sales Team

¬ 1 member of the Spa team

¬ 2 members of Food andBeverages

¬ 1 Member of IT

The Swatch Basket

warmth



perceptionintent outcome

to observe and improveteamwork the group worked together yet individually and without

conict

To facilitate a means for the

team to express themselves

through a visual channel

The group enjoyed the oppor-

tunity to express themselves

without having to worry about

making mistakes

relieve stress Overall the exercise was a

stress reliever

improve communication and

reasoning

One member in particular

was extremely attentive to thecomposition and use of mate-

rials, others, though interested

were not as detail oriented



warm up exercise in progress

procedure

1. I collected the notes of job related concerns .

2. I requested that using the word WARMTH they take the materials supplied, to create a mood board

3. After gathering the materials, the members were asked to pin the items to the board as they saw appropriate

¬ This activity was used due to it’s pace and use of senses that are not used by the members on an everyday

basis. This can indicate patterns and habits that may be reected in their work environment

¬ The concept of the mood board was ex-tremely welcome by the group. Many described the thirty minute

exercise as fun.

¬ Having the members write any frustrations anonomously related to their job, prior to particition eased some

frustration which provided a lighter environment for the activity

association



the mood board



things I would have done differently

I would have had the work-

shop in a less cluttered

environment

Having the exercise in this

environment did however,

create insight into how the

members have to interact

within the space normally

Provide the exercise in a less

rushed environment

The workshop (exercise) had

to be spontaneous due to the

schedule of the team and

their ofce duties



brains



rming4



concept development

TOOLS USED:



- Cartridge Paper - Markers, Sharpie pens

- Sticky notes- Thumb tacks

- Stick glue, Scissors,- Paper

- Camera, Video

- Stickers- Stickie Flags

- Tracing Paper

Members of the team for Visual Story Telling Activi-

ty and the Warm Up :

Harry (Left) Sales Professional

Sylvia (Center) Sales Professional

Janet (right) Sales Professional

The team was kind enough to allow me to take the

photo and interviews at the end of their workshift a

few days after the exercise had taken place.



The task was to prepare a customer journey diagram as well as to establish a possible

Value Proposition for the hotel.

By creating the customer journey map, we would be able to identify areas that needed

attention if needed.

Preparing a Value Proposition, establishes a constant, a promise that the employees

make to their guests.

For these purposes three charts were drawn and printed:

¬ Company Activity: Description of Touchpoints

¬ Framework for Customer Journey

¬ Insights with Qualitative graph

Each chart had guildelines for the participants to consider when working through them

(see appendix).

procedure



intent outcome

improve teamwork the group showed tremen-

dous teamwork and each

shifted responsibilities of teamleader. All provided signi-

cant input.

create a means to express

visually

They successfully created a

framework for the customer

journey map

to facilitate staff members by

examining one activity in the

department and analyse it to

see the possibility for improve-

ments

we were able to identify areas

that needed attention and

research was later done to

support that insight

activity that focuses on re-

sponsibility, teamwork, identi-

cation of stakeholdes and the

Clients experience, re-framing

a problem, identication of

important touch points as well

as identifying any additional

problems that may be evident

This activity successfully

identied and organized all

mentioned concerns

Contribute to possibly prepar-

ing an ofce manual

The preparation of a manual

would need further surveysand information, however, this

is an adequate start



The group got together and scanned through the sheets making clarications necessary beforeproceeding.

They went through a typical routine, identifying the touchpoints and began the clients journey.

Together they described each touchpoint and placed on the chart provided.



We then worked on the Value Proposition asking questions such as:

Describe what do you consider professionalism ?

If you were to visit a hotel such as this, how would you dene execellent service ?

How would you you like to be treated by the staff ?

What would identify your hotel, making it stand out, from all other boutique hotelscreating a unique brand ?

The answers to these questions assisted greatly in both the Value Proposition and the JourneyMap



OUTCOME:

√ Assists with addressing issues that

can be solved interdepartmentally √ Provides the participants with a

sense of accomplishment • Provides the means to create



The Value Proposition that evolved from the session was:

The SPANISH COURT HOTEL provides Banqueting and Events services for Corporate and private

clients thereby assisting with the growth of the Client's business as well as providing them witha "Home away from Home".

We provide guests with excellent service, exquisite dining, attractive rooms, and a moderncomfortable ambiance.

We do this by going above and beyond the expectations of our guests with our warmth, professionalism,attentiontodetailandefciency.ThisiswhatmakestheSPANISH

COURT HOTEL stand alone and has given us the pleasure to provide,"Real Style, Real Service" to our guests.

Having such a small group made it difcult for this portion of the exercise due to the time constraint.

There were no conicts nor did we go off track. Approaching this exercise using lateral thinking meth-

ods was new to them initially, however the team caught on quickly. The workshop was extremely laid

back and informal which eased the environment.

Based upon the requirements of the project I think my choice for this activity may have been a bit am-bitious being that I had hoped to produce a document that may have been used as a sales depart-ment manual using their input.

I felt this might address some of the issues staff members expressed, and present a way to be more

proactive without the need for certain approvals.

I also felt that (with the owners approval), the value statement, ideally created by a large group of staffmembers, would best create a consistent culture through out the hotel. Together they would havemade an agreement which would in turn be a promise to their guests.

The exercise with the team members took 2 hours and 30 minutes long.

things I would do differently

Unfortunately only 3 members were totally involved in this

workshop.

This exercise like the warm up exercise was rushed. Should we

have had a total of 6 to 8 hours of solid participation or more

team members present we would have achieved the results

intended



19



sum



ary 5



infographicThe organization uses a great deal of convergent thinking as opposed to divergent thinking .

Initially my idea for this workshop was far less time consuming, however, by using a simple warm up exercise,

gave me insight into what may be the best way to approach the group and at the same time be a new way

of approaching problems.

Due to the fact that the hotel hosts business meetings, an idea of the types of business travellers that the hotel

may associate with in general would be helpful. I referred to a survey done on the types of business travellers1

and their characteristics. This survey gives great insigt into how business people travel, and what they would

prefer for their convenience.

Key Personas such as "the Veteran" traveler, "the Road-Weary", "the Wide Eyed and Anxious", "the Passionate

High-tech", and "the recruits" were each described noting their prefences and habits when travelling. This

plays a great deal into the possibilities for points of interest identied in the brainstorming session.

I nd like many other organizations, there is a fear of doing something incorrectly, of making the wrong de-

cision. This approach I felt would best be served by using divergent thinking, brainstorming sessions with the

employees that allow for work to be accomplished in a more playful atmosphere.

Many I spoke with said they had numerous ideas that they were either nervous to put forward, didn't have the

opportunity to suggest, or were put down by supervisors as it was seen as not suitable.

It is understood that not all ideas are suitable, or will work, however, through reframing, non-judgement and

research, much can be taken from the inital idea and as a team something tangible created. This gives a

sense of accomplishment to everyone as well as motivation that will encourage further participation and

accountability.

Brainstorming will identify the source of the problem and place the side effects to one side which allows for a

solid solution and foundation from which to proceed.

Thinking outside of the box comes when all ideas are exhausted and the research begins.

The infographic poster takes note of the study by the BTNGroup showing the veteran traveler and the journey

that type of individual may take showing their experiences as they go along. It is not a solution merely a start-

ing point and considers some of the employees input as well as the team's efforts on the day of the workshop.

1 Understanding your Travel Population: Traveller Segmentation and Customization can lead to increased compliance and enhancedtraveler satisfaction produced by BTNGroup, Elizabeth West, Irene Kom, Mariza Moreira, Louis Magliaro and Tim Reid



appe



dix



The Manager's Guide to Fostering Innovation and Creative Teams: Prather, Charles; McGraw Hill Companies Inc.;

Copyright 2010; ISBN 978-0-07-171347-4; MHID: 0-07-171347-6

How reframing a Problem Unlocks Innovation: Fast Company; Seeling, Tina

Using a Customer Journey Map to improve your experience: Isaaccson, Dr Bruce; President of MMR Strategy Group

https://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/great_innovators_think_lateral.htmlutm_source=socialow&utm_medi

https://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/using_customer_journey_maps_to.html

reference



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