THE RINKSA Case Study

This Case Study was conducted by Sharon Bailly of TWP Marketing & Technical Communications Visit kshift.com to learn how you can make a KSHIFT

A power play in ice hockey begins when a team has a temporary one-player advantage. That one player allows for specialized, innovative strategies and tactics.

Art Trottier, Vice President of The Rinks in Southern California and a life-long hockey player, knows exactly how valuable an extra team member can be for opening new possibilities—which is why he contracted with Kathleen O’Sullivan, CEO of KSHIFT.

Since then, The Rinks has grown over 67%. KSHIFT has helped transform The Rinks from seven independent businesses to one cohesive organization with a shared vision, values, goals and priorities. That commitment continues to reap tremendous rewards.

The Rinks offers learn-to-skate, ice and inline hockey, figure skating, public skating, street hockey and inline skating. The parent company is H&S Ventures, which is also the parent company of a professional ice hockey team, the Anaheim Ducks. The mission of The Rinks is “A skate on every foot, a hockey jersey on every back.” It’s a mission that Trottier firmly believes in.

KSHIFT is dedicated to helping companies gain a fresh perspective, discover new possibilities and experience profitable growth. As a trusted advisor, business consultant and staff training and development expert, O’Sullivan says, “I feel like a partner in the company and am proud of our contribution to their continued growth.”

Fresh Perspective Over the years, seven locations in any company can develop independent cultures, processes and goals that may take the company in unforeseen directions and may create tension between different groups of employees. Trottier says, “KSHIFT brought a different, fresh set of eyes to our business, our operations, and how everyone on the staff interacts with each other and with customers. I like being part of a team and I wanted everyone at The Rinks to work together.”

For any company, sustainable change has to begin with a unified management perspective on the company’s mission, values and goals. Working with the management team at The Rinks, KSHIFT facilitated a process that resulted in INSPiiRE, a mission statement that creates a clear vision for the future.

O’Sullivan explains, “INSPiiRE reflects the management team’s goal to Innovate, Nurture staff, Strengthen the business, Promote the organization, with a focus on both Ice and Inline skating, and position themselves to Replicate their unique model and Educate everyone

along the way. Every company is unique and will have its own vision. For The Rinks, this new perspective motivated leadership, increased their willingness to take initiative and affirmed the company’s commitment to both customer service and employee development.”

The Rinks Revenue Soars 67% in 3 Years

Since working with KSHIFT, The Rinks has grown over 67% and experienced a 100% increase in their employee engagement. The partnership with KSHIFT continues to yield sustainable growth. Recent results include:

12% growth in annual revenue

15% growth in sponsorship revenue

36% increase in public skating revenue

Consistent improvement in secret shopper ratingsSu

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New Possibilities Once the management team was aligned in all seven locations, KSHIFT recommended instituting monthly sessions where every employee could participate, problems could be aired and solutions welcomed from any source. “These were not designed as staff meetings,” O’Sullivan explains, “but as a way to engage the employees in strategic priorities established by the management team. They were also designed to be facilitated by select staff from The Rinks, trained and coached by KSHIFT.”

Trottier stated, “When we introduced the idea of these sessions, we went to our employees and said, ‘We don’t think you realize how important you are to our success.’” The employees were enthusiastic about this opportunity and came up with the idea of calling them PowerPlay sessions.

Each rink hosts monthly PowerPlay sessions. The general managers share the goal of the month and facilitators develop activities that give staff an opportunity to improve their customer service skills and practice more productive ways to get things done as a team and through delegation. Participants also have the opportunity to share what’s working well, explore the obstacles they face and brainstorm creative solutions.

Although he has long held an open door policy, Trottier is still astounded at the ideas and suggestions that come out of the PowerPlay sessions. He said, “The PowerPlay sessions give our employees a voice, improve conflict resolution and have brought staff closer together. They continue to build our capacity and provide employees with new opportunities to grow.”

KSHIFT recently designed and implemented an on-line survey of all staff to help inform priorities for organizational development going forward. They also conducted subsequent one-to-one interviews with a cross-section of staff to gain further insights. Among the recommendations were requests for improved onboarding and training. “We used to just throw people on the fire,” says Trottier. “That’s not good.” With KSHIFT’s help, The Rinks is now developing a team that will travel to different facilities to offer consistent onboarding and training, including cross-training and clear communications about the paths for advancement.

One of KSHIFT’s signature efforts is to develop strengths-based leadership to enhance strategic thinking, relationship building, influencing and execution. Managers are continuing to develop those strengths as they focus on delegation and even greater teamwork. They are building the skills and attitudes needed to continually improve customer service and meet the needs of sponsors. As a result, customers and sponsors are rewarding that service by helping The Rinks thrive.

As Trottier puts it, “We’re getting the customers more engaged so we know who we’re advertising to and then attracting more sponsors for our buildings. When our staff is happy and our customers and sponsors are happy, our revenue increases. We build for the future.”

Greater Profitability For The Rinks, greater profitability has come in many forms: consistent growth and an ongoing increase in revenue, significantly enhanced employee engagement and ongoing capacity building — all of which is creating a sustainable and replicable model. Their success has not gone unnoticed nationwide. A 2014 article by The New York Times highlighted their innovative approach to growing the sport of hockey.

Through all these changes and challenges, KSHIFT has remained a valuable strategic partner.“Talk about a positive person!” Trottier exclaims. “Kathleen continues to lead us in the right direction. Our business continues to increase and KSHIFT is a big part of it. We’re extremely happy with the outcomes and the goals for the future. We’ve made leaps and bounds with KSHIFT and the return on our investment has exceeded our expectations.”

kshift.com kat@kshift.com 323.697.1166

Among other major results, The Rinks has experienced a 100% increase in employee

engagement and has been able to fill new leadership roles in-house.