First Service: growth, profits and customer loyalty

The First Service simulation provides an opportunity for executive teams to explore a variety of organizational, market and financial issues essential to leading dynamic, service-based companies.

How It Works

Participants are organized into competing company management teams. Teams discuss and analyze a provided industry scenario and submit decisions for a given “period” (financial quarter) to guide their company’s actions. Results are generated after which participants learn and reflect through a teaching module designed to interpret the output while illuminating key concepts. The process repeats as teams set their next period’s decisions.

Industry Dynamics

Each company promotes, sells and delivers solutions across three markets representing mature, niche and emerging opportunities. Within each, the leadership team has the ability to deliver three services: a high-end relational service, a mid-continuum fulfillment service and a low-end transactional service. The resulting matrix creates nine distinct offerings.

Teams may choose to invest in any combination of offerings available. Regardless of the strategy chosen, each team must learn to direct their company within the context of a dynamic competitive landscape, shifting market needs and rising customer expectations.

Strategic Decision Making

Teams will be faced with numerous strategic decisions including:

  • Staffing (from Associate to Executive levels) to optimize spans of control
  • Investments in training and tech to develop employees and service quality
  • Financing to support organizational growth
  • Pricing & Promotion to establish and position company brand

Challenges

The First Service simulation is action-orientated learning designed to challenge leaders to develop innovative approaches to seizing opportunities and overcoming obstacles faced in results-driven organizations. Key skills participants will hone include:

Collaborative Learning

Teamwork is a critical component of the First Service experience with key lessons reinforced by team and instructor interaction.

Data Driven Decisioning

Real-time feedback of financial, organizational and competitive implications can readily be seen with each reporting period.

Customer Centricity

A customer-centric perspective is essential to success in the First Service world – including employee loyalty and development.

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