At Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), the key goal for employees every night is simple: create extraordinary moments for fans and for each other. But how do you connect employees on the ground, at the stadium or in the arena so they can make this magic happen?

Well... MLSE uses Workplace.

Improving the customer experience with real-time communication between front-line employees

MLSE's talented Fan Services team is on the front line each and every night to create extraordinary moments for its fans. That means being on hand to help customers celebrate special moments, facilitate seat upgrades, and enjoy their first game which takes a LOT of communication and coordination - often on the fly.

Previously, the team used walkie-talkies and WhatsApp to stay in sync. But with all employees on Workplace, there’s no more need to distribute phone numbers, emails or other contact info each night. The resources employees may need during their shift, like maps or ticket tiers, can be easily linked on Workplace to help teams continue to facilitate extraordinary moments.

Coordinating on the fly using Workplace Chat

Better tools, better results for the customer

MLSE now uses Workplace Chat to coordinate fan experience services. Prior to their shift each night, the team creates a Workplace Chat group. Now, all Fan Services team members for that shift – both full-time and hourly – can communicate and collaborate to help deliver stellar customer experiences.

Enabling a culture of coaching and 'in-the-moment' training for seasonal and hourly workers

As part of a larger “coaching culture,” MLSE uses Workplace as a hub for training material and valuable content that all employees can access. The Learning & Development team creates fun and interactive training videos, called 'coaching moments', that align with their fan experience and service standards.

A Live video 'coaching moment'

The team shares videos like 'How to greet a customer' or 'Starting a conversation with a customer' in MLSE's 'Hourly Communications' Workplace group so hourly and seasonal employees have all the resources they need to be great ambassadors and have an immediate impact.

More consistency, more savings

By creating and sharing these videos on Workplace instead of cascading this information down through their managers, MLSE can now deploy new information directly and instantly to every one of their 4,000 hourly employees. This gives total consistency for training and allows people to learn and develop anytime and anywhere.

Using Workplace enables L&D teams to track and monitor the reach of mandatory training by using view data. And the approach is also reducing printing costs and saving significant amounts of time by limiting the need for additional, in-person sessions.

Driving operational excellence with pre-shift briefings for front-line teams

MLSE use pre-shift briefings to ensure the team is in sync before any major event in the area. These briefings are in-person, and they cover lots of information in a short period of time.

The team now uses Workplace to amplify the briefing content and make it more easily accessible. This way, employees can connect from anywhere and don't need to be on-site stay in the loop.

Smarter briefings and streamlined shifts

For example, when MLSE wanted to train the Food & Beverage team on the right technique to pour the new beer on tap, they used Workplace Live video so employees could easily watch, comment and react without needing to be at the bar. And because MLSE can store the video in Workplace, other team members can reference it any time - reducing the need for multiple or repeat sessions.

The team has discovered additional operational enhancements in the form of streamlined scheduling. Operations managers in MLSE’s restaurants use Workplace Chat to share schedule changes or shift swaps in advance. Plus, using the Workplace mobile app has reduced the need to print physical copies of the weekly newsletters for briefings.

Enhancing employee recognition through Live video

A key part of MLSE's “coaching culture” is recognizing employees who are driving impact across the team and for fans. On a monthly basis, MLSE gives out 'Monthly All-Star Awards' that reward one full-time and one hourly employee who exemplifies the company’s common purpose.

Managers surprise award winners during their team meeting or gathering to host a small toast and speech and present the winner with a monetary reward.

With Workplace Live video, MLSE can broadcast these presentations so teams can share these stories with all everyone. This helps spread the love as employees can get involved and in the celebration by watching, commenting, and reacting to these live events.

With thanks to the MLSE Team.