Employee recognition is essential for motivating, retaining, and fully engaging employees. Customer Service Experts (CSE) has been helping clients recognize and reward employees who generate a guest-centric service culture for over 25 years. Recently, we partnered with Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to develop a customized Guest Experience Performance Management Services Program using relevant mystery shopping data and customized iCARE training workshops to educate and encourage employees to provide passengers with a seamless and “LAXceptional Xperience” from curbside to gateside.

How does LAX manage to motivate and encourage 50,000 employees to consistently and cohesively deliver their Gold Star Service?  By showing recognition and appreciation through a convenient, easy-to-use program that is directly tied to LAX’s iCARE service standards of being informative, courteous, approachable, responsive, efficient and effective.   All 50,000 badged employees (including those who wCSE_Blog_Saying Thank You_Photo 1ork for airlines, concessionaires, service providers, TSA, CBP, and LAWA itself) are now eligible to be recognized for providing exceptional service.  This month, in honor of National Employee Appreciation Day, LAX proudly launched their new Gold Star Rewards and Recognition Program.

Employee recognition and appreciation drives a culture of engagement and excitement and can be felt at every touchpoint throughout the passenger journey, and no one knows this better than Barbara Yamamoto, Chief Experience Officer at LAX. “We are extremely excited to launch our first ever airport-wide employee recognition program.  It’s the icing on the cake that brings to life our airport-wide training and mystery shopping program – all important parts of the LAX transformation that includes facilities improvements and people improvements.  Traveling and working in an airport can be extremely stressful, so it’s nice that we now have a tool that allows us to show our appreciation to those who are working hard to create exceptional experiences for our guests.  It’s a wonderful way to build airport culture and pride and showcase our true LAX Gold Stars who exemplify our iCARE behaviors and demonstrate that they care to be informative, courteous, approachable, responsive, and efficient and effective!”

With the help of Customer Service Experts, LAX has developed an unprecedented rewards and recognition program in terms of size and scope that provides over 50,000 employees with valuable guest and peer feedback.  Passengers and employees can nominate anyone who exemplifies LAX’s iCARE standards through a convenient electronic form, text, or by filling out a comment card located at customer service kiosks in each terminal. Employees who are recognized through the Gold Star Program receive certificates, appreciation from their supervisors and peers, and the opportunity to win prizes. This feedback in combination with mystery shopping data and training programs institutionalizes a service-based culture that maximizes the value of each passenger touch point throughout LAX.

For more information about the program and more information about how to nominate a "gold star" employee, check out the LAX's Guest Experience Team's short and informative video: https://www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport/videos/10155435130512825/?hc_ref=ARSH6X0d4d2YeFWRnClHZioPHPSQRRoQHMsXmi_j-7t6d5zXMYiUWfE800Aai-IF1Sw&fref=nf

Or visit: https://www.flylax.com/en/stars