Culture Starts with Love – A True Signet Jewelers Love Story
There are times in life when you meet a client that totally gets it. Signet Jewelers is that client. For them, employee experience is the top priority. Executive leadership models care and compassion for everyone. Meanwhile, the field executives are laser-focused on accountability while demonstrating empathy.
How do I know?
Recently, I was invited to spend two and half days with them in Dallas, Texas. Up until that time, we had only met via Zoom for two years. When I met a few of their executives—Bill, Nicole, Reggie, and Danielle—for the first time at Perry’s Steakhouse for dinner, I felt like I was meeting family members. That’s the first sign of a loving business culture. And a big plus was that the porkchop is Perry’s signature dish, and it was so good!
Anyway, as we worked together over the next couple of days, Signet demonstrated three behaviors that confirmed that culture starts with love.
Executive Leadership Spoke to the Heart First and Head Last – I noticed this immediately when Executive Vice President Bill acknowledged their hard work in their shift toward digital and how much he appreciated them. I noticed how he greeted everyone when he was off stage. He looked them in the eyes and listened intently as if no one else was in the room. He said, “thank you,” and meant it.
Transfer Psychological Ownership – I observed how executives empowered their teams to be accountable for their results while demonstrating empathy. The ability to say, “I am here and I care,” matters now more than ever. More importantly, people want to be involved with meaningfulness that is connected to a higher purpose. Anyone can punch a clock and collect a paycheck. Over time that becomes a bridge to nowhere. If a person believes that the organization believes in them, they will create innovation without being asked.
Employee Experience Is as Important as the Customer Experience
Signet, like most companies, knows that its competitive edge is talent. In a world where talent has a number of options, brands that demonstrate they care consistently over time will always win. In fact, according to Glassdoor, “There’s a strong statistical link between employee well-being and customer satisfaction among some of the biggest brands.” For example, a one-star improvement in a Glassdoor company’s rating predicted a 3.2-point increase in customer satisfaction.
Leaders love their team members, and team members love Signet. Their customers feel loved and want to tell everyone about the Signet difference.
This sums it up best as Signet describes its brand purpose. "Ours is a love story and a life story. It’s a story about invitation and inclusion; expression and validation; inspiration and celebration. It’s the story everyone can be a part of. And the more we tell this story and deliver this experience, the sooner it will be felt person to person, neighbor to neighbor, community to community, border to border – until the world is rotating just a little easier on an axis of love.”
