No Fish story. (Feature).

One way financial institutions can improve customer service is by encouraging employees to engage the public in a more spontaneous, lighthearted manner. The technique, known as the Fish! Philosophy, is based on an approach pioneered by a Seattle seafood market.

First Essex Bank of Lawrence, Mass., enjoys a solid reputation as a community bank with a loyal customer base. Its 32 branches serve the standard variety of borrowers-home owners and small businesses. The company is also the largest lender in the nation for the purchase of private aircraft-primarily single-engine airplanes. The organization has carved a reputation out of niche markets, sound strategies and responsive service for loyal customers.

But First Essex is trying to distinguish itself from competitors by making its customers' experiences not only satisfying, but exciting and engaging as well. Brian Thompson, president of the savings and loan, wanted the customer experience to go beyond the typical. "People want to be engaged," he says, and the wisdom that is helping First Essex accomplish that goal-while increasing productivity and retention-is coming from an unlikely source.

As Brian was preparing for his company's annual stmtegic planning meeting, he asked his daughter, who works in human resources for another company, if she had heard of anything that might help him. During a training session at her company, she had used a video that examines powerful work/life principles inspired by the fishmongers of Seattle's world famous Pike Place Fish Market. She suggested that the principles would fit well with Brian's management style.

He previewed the video and recognized that the concepts that the fishmongers engaged their customers with- known as the Fish! philosophy-would be just as valuable for First Essex. The key principles:

* Play with purpose. Work made fun gets done, especially when we choose to do serious tasks in a lighthearted, spontaneous way. "Play" is not just an activity; it's a state of mind that makes the day move quickly and sparks creative solutions,

* Look for ways to make the customers' day. 'When you make someone's day (or moment) through a small kindness or unexpected attention, you can lift someone else's spirit- as well as your own.

* Be present to the needs of customers and co-workers. Focus on the person or task with which you are engaged. Listen deeply. "Being there" fights burnout, for it is the half-hearted tasks we perform while juggling other thoughts that wear us out.

* Choose your attitude. There is an exhilarating freedom in taking responsibility for your choices. You can choose your attitude and, if you find yourself with an attitude you don't want, you can choose another.

The Fish! concept also provided a framework for Thompson's vision of an engaged and wholehearted workplace.

Convincing bankers to believe

At the strategic planning meeting, Brian showed the film to senior management for the bank's branches, and found they were not only open to the Fish! Philosophy--the principles the film outlines--but they were enthused. "I thought this was something we could give to managers and supervisors to disseminate throughout the company," he says.

Brian showed the video to Kathy Dunn, who serves as the bank's primary trainer, and asked her if she thought that the program would work if rolled Out companywide. Considering that she is now the Fish! program's biggest proponent at First Essex, you might be surprised to learn that she wasn't as excited as Thomspon. "I could see the concepts, but I wasn't completely sold," she says. "I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but I thought that it might not be right for a bank setting."

Brian told her his ideas about creating an engaging work-place where customers enjoyed an experience above and beyond the typical--something that would set First Essex apart from the competition--while maintaining reverence for the responsibilities of a financial institution Once she saw Brian's commitment, Kathy came around, but she knew that the 'top down" approach might not be the most effective way of getting Fish! rolling. She had to answer Brian's only nagging question: "How do we make this sustainable?"

Rolling it out

The Pike Place Fish Market had invited its workers to become. engaged in a wholehearted commitment to its vision, rather than mandating that they had to After seeing the benefits of working in a place that boosted their spirits, rather than draining and depleting them, the fish market employees each made a voluntary decision to enjoy their work, despite the cold and wet conditions that they worked in.

Kathy began to recognize that, in this case, the energy had to come from within the organization and from its font-line employees. Rather than a corporate mandate, there needed to be a groundswell of support. Kathy's answer was a group of people she calls "starfish."

She began searching the organization, asking around for employees who exemplified fun, engagement and energy. She asked each department to vote for one person who lived these ideas daily and came up with a wide cross section of employees--from tellers to managers. Kathy's potpourri of starfish would be introduced to the Fish! philosophy and then carry its ideas back into each department, with four half-day follow-up sessions and monthly meetings.

The starfish completed the introduction and returned to their branches to share what they had learned and how it could help the organization. They now had a language to describe the intangible "thing" that made the starfish such energetic employees. That "thing" was lightheartedness, and Kathy's Fish! presentation had explored what is behind it.

According to Kathy, "there were a few people who didn't think that this sort of thing (play) belonged in a bank, which is a serious place of business," she says. But Fish! shows that being accountable and engaged in your work can go hand-in-hand with having fun. The objectors eventually came around. They recognized that when play takes place within the context of the principles of the Fish! philosophy, play will be appropriate.

Suddenly, in a bank where, as Kathy says, "there's an old school of thought that bankers are supposed to be stodgy and professional," people were talking about "playing" in the workplace, "making each other's days," "choosing great attitudes," and "being there" for customers.

Keeping Fish! alive

Kathy and the starfish followed up with four training sessions, moving beyond the surface ideas and into the specific culture of First Essex. The program dealt with how the starfish and their co-workers could apply Fish! concepts to their workplace.

Each branch was invited--not mandated--to take the Fish! philosophy into its own culture, provided it created a more engaging experience for the customer. One of the branches had a "Tailgate Day," complete with an afternoon barbeque, where employees dressed in their favorite sports teams' uniforms. Customers were invited to tear into a burger or hot dog. They appreciated the change in atmosphere--and the chance to grab a quick bite between errands.

Another branch has, on the occasional slow afternoon, done a fishy version of the hokey pokey, playing music over the announcing system, and inviting everyone to "put their left fins in and shake them all about." Even customers who were being served at the time got into the act--proof that engaging customers in lightheartedness is good for business. "It's hard to quantify," says Brian, "but you just know it's working. It's something in the air."

Fish! is effective at First Essex because management took a step back and invited employees to participate, rather than mandating that they had to. By allowing each department to identify the starfish the company turned over the reigns of the program to its true leaders. When the employees shared a simple language, everyone had a common starting point from which to create the environment they wanted to work in.

The bottom line still drives the business--and the bottom line is doing great. Sculpting a fun, engaging culture might have seemed to be a risk for First Essex, but its employees have proven that they are accountable for their work, but when the organization gave them an opportunity to have fun at the same time, it became invigorating rather than draining.

The employees connected to the ideas of engagement and lightheartedness because they wanted to, not because they bad to. At the same time, they understood that they were accountable to the customers for the great service First Essex had always provided. Fish! has given them tools to transform that service into an engaging experience for the customers, and the folks at First Essex are having fun along the way.

RELATED ARTICLE: Is your Job Boring? Go Fish!

In January 2001, Firstar's Kansas City West Region, Composed of 19 bank branches in the Kansas City area, was one of the bank systems five lowest-producing regions. Just three months later, the region was one of Firstar's five highest producers.

What happened? A comprehensive quality initiative? Get-tough performance standards? An automated teller in every home?

Actually, employees started having fun at work--and sharing it with their customers.

The fun began when Pete Selenke, district manager of the Kansas City Region, rolled out the Fish! learning video. On the surface, the though of taking business advice from crazy fishmongers seems at odds with the ultra-serious, buttoned-down (dare we say "stuffy?") bank stereotypes.

Sure, there were questions about how Fish! applies to bankers." Selenke says. "We talked about how they thought they could use the Fish! philosophy and still be the 'professional "banker types we tell them they need to be."

Firstar discovered that behind all the fun were fundamentals that matched its vision of what customers should experience at a bank.

Firstar employees have brought the Fish! philosophy into, their workplaces in a variety of ways. There are fish hanging on the walls of the banks. There are nets behind the tellers saying, "Catch a great rate." We all have to work," Selenke says. "We might as well have fun doing it."

Since introducing the Fish philosophy, the region's customer service scores have risen dramatically. And by focusing more closely on customer needs; employees are uncovering new opportunities.

When Firstar's 119th Street office experienced staffing shortages, assistant manager Cindy Bridges stepped in to help as the drive-through teller. She saw a high number of customers regularly and began making investment referrals. Bridges' commitment to "be there," for her customers--and to help here team when they needed her--led to an investment appointment and a $15,000 sale for associate Jim Bailey.

Bridges' story was recently highlighted in Selenke's "Catch of the Day." Each day be e-mails the district's 175 employees examples of how employees are living the Fish! Philosophy and making a difference for other. Any employee can nominate any other co-worker for "Catch of the Day." Each branch has a wall of fame where they highlight their catches. The "Catch of the Month" winner gets a small check and a traveling Fish! trophy.

"Having fun at work is definitely making a difference at Firstar," Selenke says. "Teamwork and quality of service have increased, and we are creating an environment that is open, fun and positive."

Michael Wilson is a writer at ChartHouse Learning, Burnsville, Minn. and can be reached at [phone]. ChartHouse Learning offers a video on the Fish! philosophy.

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