"It's the economy, stupid" all over again. It's one of the big "E" words in this big election year. Let me offer three "E" words that are essential to help us through these harsh economic times.

Empower: Doing business as we've always done it before won't work now. You need your people coming up with creative solutions for added revenue. Better decisions have to be made faster. To accomplish this, employees have to be given the information needed and permission to make those decisions on the spot. That brings us to another word we're hearing in used in this election: transparency. It's not a secret that things are tough. This fact puts fear in the hearts of your employees. Level with them and let them know you need their input to keep above the fray and to stay ahead of the competition. Then really listen to their ideas! They may give you great suggestions for keeping current customers plus attracting a share of those staying at the competitors' place. Empowerment is an essential key to achieving operational excellence.

Experience: There are a couple of ways to think about this. Leading companies are investing in support and training to deliver a better customer "experience", translating into customer loyalty and reoccurring revenue. What has the single biggest impact on customer experience? Your employees. Therefore, it's essential for managers to be effective in skills for interviewing and selecting guest-centric employees, communicating with and coaching a diverse employee population, and empowering the talent they manage.

I work with the management of a convention center that recognizes that one way to combat a business down-turn is to enhance the service skills of every employee who has customer contact. It's seen as part of their Sales Action Plan. They know that there is no sense in working hard to get the customer in the door if the event "experience" is poor. They also recognize that this is a multi-level activity, so projects are underway to enhance their internal customer service (AKA employee experience) as well as external. They are providing tools to both management and line-level staff to communicate and support each other. That will ensure a great customer and employee experience.

The second way to think about experience is to realize that, as managers, we must build and retain an experienced staff. This doesn't mean letting them have one year's experience ten times over. Make sure your staff has opportunities to grow, try and fail. Enhance their work experience so that they will stay put and not switch jobs.

Elevate: A great manager creates enthusiasm and loyalty. Those two qualities elevate employee experience.

Eight simple questions you can ask of your staff to ensure if you are creating loyalty.

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
3. In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
4. Does my manager care about me as a person?
5. Is there someone at work who Encourages my development?
6. At work, do my opinions count?
7. Do I have a best friend at work?
8. In the last 6 months, has someone at work openly talked to me about my progress?
9. Do I feel like part of the team?