Firing up the front line

For many organizations,achieving competitive advantage means eliciting supe rior performance from employees on the front line-the burger flippers, hote l room cleaners, and baggage handlers whose work has an enormous effect on customers: That's no; easy task. Frontline workers;are paid low wages; have scant hope of advancement, and - not surprisingly - often care - little ab out the company's performance. But then how do some companies succeed in engaging the emotional energy of rank-and-file workers? A team of researchers at McKinsey & Company and the Conference Board recently explored that question and discovered that one hi ghly effective route is demonstrated by the U.S. Marine Corps:. The Marines ' approach to motivation follows the "mission, values, and pride" path, whi ch researchers say is practical and relevant for the business world. More specifically, the authors say the Marines follow five practices: they over-invest in cultivating core value; prepare every person to lead, includ ing frontline supervisors; learn when to create teams and when to create si ngle-leader work groups; attend to all employees, not just the top half; an d encourage self-discipline as a way building pride. The authors admit there are critical differences between the Marines and mo st businesses. But using vivid examples from companies such as KFC and Marr iott International, the authors illustrate how the Marines' approach can be translated for corporate use. Sometimes, the authors maintain, minor changes ina-company's standard opera ting procedure-can have: a powerful effect on frontline pride and can resul t in substantial payoffs in company performance.