Question

uisng the video transcript “Branson Up Close by Eric Schurenberg” on Richard Branson and his philosophy for managing people (https://www.inc.com/eric-schurenberg/sir-richard-branson-put-your-staff-first-customers-second-and-shareholders-third.html.)

00:12 Eric Schurenberg: Not just customer service matters to the Virgin brand. Virgin is one of the few companies, I'd include Southwest Airlines and Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, as a place that puts employees first. Why does that matter to you and why does that tend to result in better customer service?

00:34 Richard Branson: It sort of should go without saying -- and it's surprising that it still doesn't go without saying at some companies -- if the person who works at your company is 100% proud of the job they're doing, if you give them the tools to do a good job, they're proud of the brand, if they were looked after, if they're treated well, then they're gonna be smiling, they're gonna be happy and therefore the customer will have a nice experience. If the person who's working for your company is not given the right tools, is not looked after, is not appreciated, they're not gonna do things with a smile and therefore the customer will be treated in a way where often they won't want to come back for more. So, my philosophy has always been, if you can put staff first, your customer second and shareholders third, effectively, in the end, the shareholders do well, the customers do better, and yourself are happy.

02:02 Schurenberg: You talk a lot about a management technique that you practice called, "The Walkabout", or in the US, "Managing by walking around." Tell me how that works.

02:11 Branson: Well, look, I think that in this day and age, I like to think I practiced it all my life, but I think in this day and age, it is very easy to be out and about and not stuck behind a desk. And you're going to learn so much more. I mean, if I'm on one of our airlines, I will make a point of getting out and talking to a lot of staff, talking to as many of the customers as possible, having a notebook in my back pocket, listening. And I think, one of the key attributes to a good leader is listening, making sure that you write down the feedback that you get. And very importantly, make sure you act on that feedback when you get back to base. An exceptional company is the one that gets all the little details right. And the people out on the front line, they know when things are not going right and they know when things need to be improved. And if you listen to them you can soon improve all those niggly things which turns an average company into an exceptional company.

Q1:Describe his philosophy on people management, using this and other sources.

Answer 1

Q1) Richard Branson's philosophy on people management focuses on two most important points/practices -

1. Employees are the key stakeholders for a successful business -

Branson puts employees before all the other stakeholders. The key logic behind prioritising employees is that by keeping employees happy, providing them the working conditions to perform better in the firm, providing them good salary and benefits etc., the employees will be proud to work for the firm which results in customer satisfaction leading to higher revenues for the firm. Hence, happy employees are key for a productive organization.

2. Management By Walking Around practice - By walking around the facilities of the firm and talking to the employees on any issues that they face, talking to the customers on any improvements required in the processes, customer service etc., the management can work on the feedback and development areas to improve and make the operations better. Feedback is critical to the development of the firm and increase in the efficiency of operations.