Here’s the latest video post in the A-Z of hospitality leadership.
Recorded in St Peter Port on Guernsey; please excuse my squinting!
Posts Tagged ‘hospitality management’
H for Honesty
Monday, October 3rd, 2011Hanging onto Talent ~ Part 5
Friday, July 8th, 2011Keep talking
Give constructive feedback -what have they done well and how it has contributed; where they have fallen short and how this can be improved.
Communication is a two-way process, not only do people need to know what’s going on, they want to be heard. Daily briefings need to include what’s happening that could affect the operation or the customer experience in any way (e.g. maintenance, staff shortages, unavailable products or services), as well as any feedback from staff on their observations or ideas. Let your team know how the business is performing, and what this means to them.
Having a happy and motivated team will not only help you retain your talent and reduce staff turnover, but will lead to better productivity and customer service, maintaining sales and controlling costs.
If you want to retain your best people you need to give them what they want.
Hanging onto Talent ~ Part 4
Thursday, July 7th, 2011What if you are the problem?
We may not want to admit it, but you or your management team may be the reason that people leave. Rather than hide your head in the sand, reflect on what you need to do to change. Find out what are the things that people find difficult or frustrating about working for you or with you, and then figure out a way to change your approach before others decide to jump ship.
How much direction do you provide? Do people know exactly what’s expected of them, and have the tools, time and resources to deliver? Lead by example so there are no mixed messages.
Ensure that you and your management team are approachable. Provide support when it’s needed, and be receptive to when this is required. Not everyone will be confident enough to ask for help. Consult staff and listen to their ideas; they may be able to offer better ways of doing things.
Take time to talk to staff to build relationships and show an interest in them as individuals. Listen to and act quickly on any concerns. Identify what’s important to them recognising that with the varied cultures and backgrounds of your staff that their values and priorities may sometimes be different to your own.
In the final part tomorrow will discuss the impact good communication with your team.
Hanging onto Talent ~ Part 3
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011Insecurity
I’ve worked with a number of businesses recently who have had to make cuts and changes. This makes people uncomfortable, and so when another opportunity comes along, they jump at the chance if they feel it has better long term security.
Communicate any changes that are happening in the business before they happen, and how this might affect them.
Set standards so that people know what’s expected of them, and can measure their own performance, and not left in doubt about their contribution. Be consistent, ensuring the same ‘rules’ apply to everyone. Focus on telling people what you want to achieve, i.e. the end result, rather than dictating how to do it. This gives people flexibility to adopt their own style (you’ll be surprised how often they end up improving the process) rather than living in fear of not being able to comply with strict processes. And make sure you provide the appropriate tools, resources and training to do the job effectively.
Training your staff in the mechanics of the business operation puts them in a better position to contribute to cost control and income generation. If people understand how the business makes its money they are then in a position to contribute to this and put forward their own ideas. A win-win for both.
Tomorrow we’ll look at whether you or your management team may be the reason that people leave your hotel.
Hanging onto Talent ~ Part 2
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011Recognition and reward
When staff leave, if the reason they give is more money look to see how your rates compare with the competition (bearing in mind for some roles your competitor for staff may be in totally different industries). But also look at what benefits your staff are getting that they may not be getting elsewhere and ensure people are aware of everything that makes up their package.
What about the less tangible aspects of their package. Recognise and reward performance and achievements. Celebrate and share successes; identify and utilise people strengths, training, delegating and giving them control and ownership where appropriate. Be sure to recognise all departments, including back of house staff, e.g. housekeeping is often the most undervalued department, but is commonly the most profitable aspect of a hotel.
Encourage and reward loyalty by conducting regular pay/benefits reviews. Think about incentives that are within reach of any member of staff who performs well. This might mean focusing on a different theme each month so that everyone has an opportunity to be recognised for their particular skills or strengths.
Career and prospects
If they’re moving for career progression, is this something that you could have given them but just didn’t make them aware of the opportunities? What can you do in future to ensure that all your team get the recognition and development they need for their career progression?
Grow from within where possible, and give people the opportunity for career progression as well is enhancing the skills to do their existing job. Think also about life skills; for example offering English lessons. And make use of the training grants available through the tourist organisations, colleges, and government-funded schemes.
You won’t be able to accommodate everyone’s aspirations particularly if you’re a small hotel, but having some kind of succession plan in place does give people something to work towards. However, be careful you don’t make promises that you are unable to keep.
Make training a part of day-to-day management, so it’s not seen as something that is additional or optional. This goes for both staff and supervisors/managers. Identify those who have an interest in developing their CV and are willing to take on training responsibilities as part of their own development.
Tomorrow will look at the impact of changes in your hotel business and how to minimise the disruption this brings.
Hanging onto Talent ~ Part 1
Monday, July 4th, 2011We already know that there is a lack of new talent entering the industry so it’s important that we hang on to our best people. The hospitality industry has always had one of the highest labour turnover rates in all sectors of the economy, so are we just deluding ourselves if we think we can beat that trend? Well maybe there are a few things we can all be doing to tip the balance in our favour.
Each day this week I’ll be posting steps you can take to hang on to your hotel’s talent.
Why do they quit?
Staff turnover can be infectious, the more people come and go, the easier it is for others to make the decision to leave. Unless we understand why staff leave it’s unlikely we’ll reverse the trend.
In an ideal world some kind of confidential exit interview should be conducted and wherever possible this is best done by someone other than a line manager. Let’s face it, if the reason is it’s poor management or leadership that has prompted the move, it’s unlikely that you’re going to learn the whole truth if the line manager is asking the question! The saying goes people don’t quit jobs they quit bosses. But even if your staff structure doesn’t allow for this it is important to find out as much as possible about people’s motives for leaving.
Tomorrow we look at how we can use recognition and reward, and career prospects to help retain our best people.
Are you letting hotel bookings slip through your fingers?
Friday, March 4th, 2011The other day I was stood in the reception of the top Glasgow hotel. While I waited to check in the sole receptionist took a phone call.
What I heard was
“I’m sorry our wedding coordinator isn’t here at the moment. Can you call back in the morning?“
Mmm, now I wonder if I would bother to phone back. The chances are that this potential wedding booking has been lost forever.
But how many other hotels are guilty of similar scenarios, of letting potential room, conference or wedding bookings slip through their fingers?
Now I’m not suggesting that the meetings or wedding coordinators need to be on hand 24/7, but at the very least ensure that there are some procedures in place for anyone to take an enquiry and give the potential customer confidence in the hotel’s ability to handle the potential booking.
Ensure that all of your staff who are customer facing (not just reception) fully understand the facilities on offer. It should be part of their induction to see the facilities, the layouts and get a general understanding of the types of events you’re able to host at the hotel. Even if someone is new the very minimum is to have a handy fact sheet to hand for any enquiries to include this top ten:
- Number of meeting/function rooms
- Optional layouts for each room
- Capacity of each room for each layout
- Equipment available
- Basic charges and what these rates include
- Breakout areas
- Catering options
- Wedding licence?
- Anywhere for indoor photos?
- Any other frequently asked questions about your venue
Don’t just assume that because you have a list that everyone treats enquiries in the same way. Ask a friend or colleague to act as a mystery shopper and find out how your staff deal with these enquiries.
And as an absolute last resort, even if you can’t manage this, make sure that your front of house team have a system in place to capture details of the prospective customer and are able to make a commitment to them that their enquiry will be followed up, by whom and by when.
And of course that you deliver on this promise and follow up promptly….
Hear it from the experts. Join me on my regular FREE interviews when I talk to hospitality experts and specialists and ask them to share their insights, strategies and secrets that can help to give your hotel a competitive edge. Find out more and register here.
What a difference a day makes
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010I discovered a new hotel last week, perfect for my visit. And my stay there was great; a warm welcome, spotlessly clean room, free use of Mac, delicious breakfast. So when I had to travel to the same city again this week I naturally booked in again.
But what a difference a week makes. Or was it just the day of the week. Either way, I was disappointed.
There wasn’t any one major problem, just lots of little things that made the whole experience a let down after last week.
There was a stain on the carpet, the carpet was fraying as it met the bathroom tiles, the bathroom floor felt slightly tacky under bare feet, the start of that build up of yellowing limescale around the plug hole in the basin and in the corners of the shower, a small tear in the bedroom curtains.
Was I just oblivious to these on my previous stay? I don’t think so, as I remember noting how clean and fresh everything was. So how come there could be so many niggling problems this time? Was it down to the room maid, housekeeping audits, maintenance schedules, poor systems?
I don’t know for sure, but one clue was that when I gave some feedback to reception of all these points, she went through the motions of caring, and was very apologetic. But the clue was she never asked for my room number, or even what floor I was on; so how on earth do they hope to rectify the problem?
The morale of this tale? What systems do you have in place to ensure consistent and exceptional customer service, so your guests know what to expect every time they visit?
Find resources and free downloads to help keep consistency for your hotel here.
Setting Goals
Monday, November 29th, 2010In the A – Z of hospitality leadership G is for setting goals.
Do your team know what you expect and how you’ll measure this?
In the article on Communication I talked about the need to let people know what is expected of them, and how their contribution fits into the bigger picture.
So how does this translate into day to day leadership?
It means communicating your longer term goals; what do you want to achieve over the next 5 – 10 years? Then break this down into goals or objectives for the year ahead, for the business as a whole, for the departments, and on an individual level.
This enables your team to know what they are each responsible for. And when everyone achieves all their goals the department as a whole should achieve their goals. This seems obvious, but it’s surprising how many businesses don’t make this connection!
These goals need to include some KPIs or metrics. Most of us are familiar with SMART goals, which are a good starting point.
Here SMART goals are explained; however I’ve added in a few more criteria to make goals that bit more robust and more likely to be achieved.
S
Be as SPECIFIC as possible. What will they see, hear or feel when the goal is achieved. The more vivid the image the more powerful it will be. Can you easily explain it to someone else? I want you to increase sales is not specific; how much more sales, in areas, at what profit margin, by what date……?
As well as being specific, the goals you set must be STRETCHING. Is the goal something that will get the business further forward, but still provide an element of challenge?
M
Goals must be MEASUREABLE so you can all quantify their progress and track it. What MILESTONES will you set?
Any goal you set must be MOTIVATIONAL too – What will achieving their goal get them? How well does it fit in with their values and what’s important to them? Does it inspire them? Will it give them a sense of accomplishment on achievement? If not, then the chances of them achieving it are slim!
A
Getting a balance between being stretching and motivational and at the same time being ACHIEVABLE is key. Unobtainable goals will have a negative impact. But it is important that they are ACTIONABLE by them, not dependent on others’ actions out of their control.
It is also important that the goals you set are AGREED with the individual. If they don’t agree with the goal, maybe because they think it’s unachievable, or not part of their job you will get reluctance and the goal will be put to the bottom of their priority list.
R
How RELEVANT are the goals to them, their role and the business as a whole? A goal that is incompatible will mean inevitably that something will have to give.
Once you are both happy with their goals ensure you RECORD them. Then keep the goals as a focus of your review process. If they are working on things which do not contribute to their goals ask why.
T
When wording your goals specify what you are moving TOWARDS rather than what you want to avoid. Our brains find it difficult to process negatives, so by concentrating too much on what you want to avoid actually focuses the brain on this rather than what you want instead. So, for example, if a goal is to reduce complaints, focus on the reaction you want to get from your guests instead.
Finally, goals must be TRACKABLE (including TIMESCALES) so you can review at any time how well your team are on track. We all know the results of leaving everything to the last minute, so set some specific timescales when you’ll review progress, and schedule these into your diaries.
Join me on my recent tele seminar where I share the answers to the questions I’m asked most often by my leadership coaching clients.
E is for Empathy
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010In the A- Z of leadership E is Empathy. Putting yourself in another’s shoes.
Empathy is really understanding the other person’s perspective, position and feelings. It is the ability to ‘step back’, and achieve a detachment from our own emotions, and is essential for building trust, rapport and effective relationships.
It involves listening and understanding – not necessarily agreeing (which is different) – to the other person. Listening without judging.
As a minimum a good leader asks open questions to encourage and understand the views, feelings and attitudes of others, and reflects back to show they understand or to clarify. But a good leader will do this without being judgemental of others’ views even if these conflict with their own, and will be open to differences in opinions and perspectives.
Empathy goes beyond what is said, it is also demonstrated via your tone and body language. A critical or sarcastic tone will not encourage someone to share their views; neither will raised eyebrows, scowling or defensive body language.
Active listening is key, show your interest, ask probing questions (in a non-judgemental way) to ensure understanding. Aim to understand how the other person feels, why they see things as they see things as they do (so bring out any underlying assumptions) and to discover what they want to achieve.
‘Seek first to understand’ is one of the seven habits described by Stephen Covey in ‘The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People’
Ask for feedback on your own behaviour so you can use this information to strengthen your relationships with your team. Be open with your own feelings and views too to enable your team to see things from your perspective, and by sharing your views you will encourage others to do the same.
Aim to develop a culture of trust and openness where your team can speak out knowing they will be heard and without fear of criticism.
Why is empathy important?
- When you understand others’ perspectives it can help in the way you sell ideas to them and gain buy in (as well as the way you sell to customers and suppliers).
- If people know they are listen to it helps to build trust between you and your team
- It creates a more open and honest environment where you will get to hear of issues and concerns before they become a problem
- Your team feel able to state their true ideas, feelings and beliefs maximising their contribution.
- Empathy is also important in dealing with guests and customers, so demonstrating the skill with our teams will act as a role model
Building relationships with your team is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will is covered in detail in my new Leading for Peak Performance programme,