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The Smice method

A loop, not an audit.

Operational excellence doesn't come from a snapshot of the network taken twice a year. It comes from a continuous cycle where each link feeds the next. Smice equips and runs all six.

Magali Cyr, Sales Director at Smice
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Hello, I'm Magali, and I'd love to show you this truly innovative approach we have built with our clients.

Magali CyrSales Director

Book a meeting with MagaliWrite to them →
The Smice cycle

Six steps. One thread.

Click on a step to see who acts, and with which tool.

Operational
excellence
Step 01Smice HorizonSmice Consulting

Define and communicate standards

We co-build your standards and turn them into concrete actions: the right behaviour, the mistake to avoid, what customers say about it. Horizon delivers the right version to the right place and keeps it up to date.

WhoHead office, quality, operations
OutcomeA clear, prioritised, up-to-date set of standards, shared with every store.

Why nobody else does it.

The right standards

Co-built with you, prioritised, updated from what the field reports. A living set of standards, not a frozen one.

At the right time

Training on arrival, reminders before the rush, regular self-assessment, random external checks. The standard is there when it matters.

By the right people

Head office defines, the manager coaches, the employee applies, the auditor and the mystery shopper check. Everyone has their role, on the same data.

The cycle, step by step

Each step, in detail.

For each step of the cycle: what it must deliver, what you track in Smice Horizon, the mistake we see most often, and what Smice puts at your service.

01

Define and communicate standards

Moving from general promises to observable behaviours.

Who acts · Head office, quality, operations

What it delivers

A short, prioritised and versioned set of standards, rolled out by banner, format or country.

Tracked in Smice Horizon
  • Active standards and standards to review
  • Reading rate per site
  • Standards flagged by the field
The common mistake

Writing two hundred standards in one go: nobody remembers them. Better to have a few clear, prioritised standards.

With Smice

Smice Horizon · Smice Consulting

Smice Horizon →Talk to us →
02

Train the teams

Every employee knowing what is expected of them, from day one.

Who acts · Frontline staff, new joiners

What it delivers

Standards read, understood and confirmed, employee by employee.

Tracked in Smice Horizon
  • Reading and confirmation rate
  • Employees still to be trained
  • New joiner training
The common mistake

Confusing distribution with learning: a PDF sent out is not a behaviour learned.

With Smice

Smice Pulse

Smice Pulse →
03

Anticipate with operations

Doing on time what shapes the experience: openings, seasons, set-ups.

Who acts · Store managers and teams

What it delivers

Operations scheduled, carried out and proven, site by site.

Tracked in Smice Horizon
  • Operations done on time
  • Sites running late
  • Proof uploaded
The common mistake

Discovering on D-day that something was forgotten, through a customer's remark.

With Smice

Smice Pulse · Smice Horizon

Smice Horizon →Smice Pulse →
04

Self-assess and report back

Knowing what isn't holding, and why, even before measuring it.

Who acts · The people who do the job

What it delivers

A map of fragile standards and their causes: staffing, equipment, process, training.

Tracked in Smice Horizon
  • Participation in self-assessments
  • Standards declared fragile
  • Most frequently cited causes
The common mistake

Turning self-assessment into an inspection: teams stop being honest.

05

Measure: audits and visits

Getting a reliable score, comparable between sites and from one wave to the next.

Who acts · Managers and regional managers · Smice auditors · Smicers

What it delivers

Results on the same scorecard: internal audits, operational audits and mystery visits.

Tracked in Smice Horizon
  • QX™ Score for the network and each site
  • Gap between declared and measured
  • Sites below threshold
The common mistake

Changing the scorecard at every wave: nothing can be compared any more.

With Smice

Smice Horizon · Auditors · Mystery shoppers

Mystery shopping →Operational audit →Internal audit →
06

Correct and steer

Every gap leading to a visible change in the field.

Who acts · Head office, regional managers, store managers

What it delivers

Actions assigned, followed up and closed with proof, and standards adjusted.

Tracked in Smice Horizon
  • Open and overdue actions
  • Average time to close
  • Standards revised after the results
The common mistake

A report that ends up in a drawer: without tracked actions, measurement changes nothing.

With Smice

Smice Horizon · Smice AI

Smice Horizon →
What changes

A one-off audit or a loop.

The traditional approachThe Smice cycle
The paceOne or two snapshots of the network a yearA continuous cycle, all year round
What is measuredThe result, on the day of the visitThe result, and what explains it: training, operations, team declarations
The role of teamsThey are on the receiving end of inspectionsThey learn, assess themselves and report what is getting in the way
After the reportAn action plan in a file, rarely followed upEvery gap opens an action followed up until proof
The standardsFrozen until the next reviewAdjusted based on what the field reports
The toolsOne provider and one file per type of measurementThe same data, from Smice Horizon to Smice Pulse
Where to start

Enter the cycle wherever you like.

No need to roll everything out at once. Each entry point plugs into the same data: the other steps are added on, without redoing anything.

Through measurement

A wave of mystery visits or audits gives an objective picture and shows where the cycle breaks. The results then prioritise your standards and training.

Mystery shopping →

Through standards

A workshop to write or rewrite your standards as concrete behaviours, then roll them out and get every team to learn them.

Smice Horizon →

Through the field

Your teams learn and self-assess in Smice Pulse; measurement then confirms what they declare.

Smice Pulse →

A typical rollout

  1. 01Scoping

    A workshop with your quality and operations teams: your customer promises, your priorities, your constraints on the ground.

  2. 02Standards

    Your standards written as concrete behaviours and configured in Smice Horizon, with the measurement scorecards.

  3. 03Launch

    Rollout in Smice Pulse, first self-assessments, first wave of audits or mystery visits.

  4. 04Steering

    Regular reviews of results, actions followed up, standards adjusted: the cycle is running.

The pace depends on the size of your network and the entry point you choose: we set it together during scoping.

Self-diagnostic · 3 minutes

Where do your standards stand on the Smice cycle?

12 questions to place your network on the six steps of the cycle, find your weak link and get concrete recommendations.

Take the diagnostic →

Frequently asked questions about the method

Do we have to roll out the whole cycle at once?

No. You can start with a single step, a wave of mystery visits or a set of standards for example, then plug in the others. Everything relies on the same data: nothing needs redoing.

Can we start with mystery shopping?

Yes, it's a common entry point. Measurement gives an objective picture and shows where the cycle breaks; its results are then used to prioritise your standards and your teams' training.

How long does it take to get started?

It depends on the size of your network and the entry point you choose. A first measurement can be launched quickly; the full cycle is put in place step by step, at a pace we set together during scoping.

Do our teams have to change tools?

Smice Pulse works on employees' phones. Your results remain usable in your own tools, Power BI for example.

Who carries out the audits and mystery visits?

Operational audits are carried out by Smice auditors trained in your standards, mystery visits by our community of 15,000 Smicers in 32 countries. Your managers can also carry out their own internal audits on the same scorecard.

Does the method adapt to our sector?

The cycle is the same everywhere; what changes are your standards, the moments of the customer journey and the indicators tracked. Restaurants, hospitality, retail, transport, leisure or brands: each sector has its own use cases.

Talk to an expert →See our sectors →