Mr. Heller

Human Resources, Recruitment & Training

Consistency and Communication: Give employees the tools, information, and feedback they need to get

By Jed Heller, President, The Providence Group

Have you read reviews of your property on the Internet? If you haven't, the experience may be a real eye-opener. At even the finest resorts and hotels, reviewers (past guests) often complain about rude or inefficient service from hotel staff. But at resorts where staff is friendly and welcoming, reviewers will often dismiss dated furnishings or other concerns to rave about the people who made their stay special.

What does this mean to you? It means that your staff members really are your most important asset. And if that's true, shouldn't that be where you're investing your time and energy? Developing and maintaining an effective employee communication and training protocol may be the highest yielding management effort you can make. You just need to give employees the tools, information, and feedback they need to get the job done.

As a consultant, it's easy to see where employee communication has been ineffective when I make resort visits. In these cases, employees frequently demonstrate frustration with their inability to perform their work. They're not following policies and proper procedures. In speaking to employees, I hear the same concerns over and over again. Resolving the situation requires making employee communication a constant priority.

Tools and Information

Employees need the proper tools to be effective in their jobs. Yes, maintenance staff members need screwdrivers and housekeepers need cleaning solutions, but all employees need information. Your orientation program is your chance to provide that information, showing employees the expectations for their specific job and also for your organization. A recent survey by the International Association of Business Communicators revealed that almost half of the companies surveyed had failed to effectively explain to employees the purpose of their jobs and the mission and strategy of their businesses. Those companies are missing a vital opportunity to engage employees.

Beginning with orientation, explain exactly what the job responsibilities are to each employee, including the standards that will be used to assess their performance. In addition, explain what the mission and goals are for your organization and how you assess if your organization is reaching those goals. If your resort is periodically reviewed by your franchiser, show new employees how your resort will be rated and explain how their work fits into the big picture.

Orientation, however, is just one of many opportunities you must use to communicate your expectations to employees. On-going training and other communications efforts must be used to share necessary information with all employees.

It's also true that in today's hospitality industry, many employees speak English only as a second language. If this is the case at your resort, I advise you learn (or brush up on) the language most spoken by your staffers. They'll definitely appreciate your efforts. At the same time, seek out English as a Second Language classes or English in the Workplace classes in your area and make them available to your staff. Often, school districts offer adult ESL classes for free or at a nominal fee. If you have enough employees to make it worthwhile, consider offering classes at your facility either during or after business hours. Some employers have even arranged for assistance with childcare for employees who attend such classes.

How and Where

When communicating with employees, the best way to communicate is face to face. Research has shown that on issues related to their jobs, employees prefer to get the information from their immediate supervisors.

Information must be clear. For example, when discussing hospitality, don't just tell employees to be friendly. Instead, ask them to look guests in the face, smile, and use names when appropriate. Share your goal, such as earning a five-star rating for hospitality on your next evaluation or guest comment cards.

Feedback is critical to your communication efforts. Nothing worse than being surprised on a job review when you thought you were doing a good job. All supervisors should consistently monitor the performance of all their employees, letting them know exactly how they're doing.

On a daily basis, or at least a weekly basis, walk the property and at least say hello to every employee. Make mental notes and pass that feedback on to the appropriate supervisor.

Property managers should make it a practice to occasionally perform impromptu inspections. Grab the head housekeeper and have her come along while you check a few rooms that were just cleaned. This is not just an opportunity to catch someone messing up, it's also an opportunity to reward employees who are doing a good job. It's wonderful when you know someone has seen that you're doing a great job.

Walk the grounds with your maintenance staff or groundskeepers. This is your opportunity to provide instantaneous feedback based on concrete examples. If something is not right, take the opportunity to educate the employees on your expectations. Start with a couple positive observations before explaining the opportunities for improvement, and then finish on a positive note, such as, "I know you're capable of doing this right." If problems continue, it's time for a written warning to be followed up with monitoring and possible dismissal. Good general managers will wear out their shoe leather walking the property.

Because your resort is a 24-hour operation, you need to make your inspections at all times. When I was a general manager, if I woke up at night, I'd make a trip over to the hotel to see what was happening. It was a good opportunity to visit with the night staff and, at times, a chance to catch someone who wasn't living up to his responsibilities.

Staff Meetings

Personally, I feel that fewer is better when it comes to staff meetings. Of course, this varies with the size of the resort. For a large property, a weekly meeting of department heads is needed. There should be a specific agenda and the meeting shouldn't last more than an hour. Following that meeting, there could be meetings for specific departments. At smaller resorts, once a month is probably sufficient.

The exception to this rule is when there is an issue to be explained that will affect the entire staff. For example, if your resort has been sold to a new owner, calling the entire staff together to discuss the news is a sound move. A "town hall" type meeting gives everyone a chance to air concerns. It also ensures that everyone is getting the same story.

Taking the time to improve employee communication is an investment that's well worth making. Good communication gives everyone-and your company-the opportunity to be successful.

Four Rules for Better Communication

1. Stop the Rumor Mill

Every organization has one. If your employees aren't getting the information they need from you, they'll find it somewhere else. With the Internet, employees have access to any public statements made by company officials, the opinions of stock analysts, and, often, "blogs" or other unofficial sources of information. If management promptly shares reliable information, employees won't need to go elsewhere.

1. Listen to Your Employees

There's a saying that God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we speak. Managers who remember this are much more effective in their roles. Ask questions before giving your opinions, and you'll learn much more about your employees and their concerns.

1. Be There for Your Employees

Employees become frustrated when their questions aren't answered. Don't let emails or notes pile up. If you can't immediately answer a question, let the employee know why and give an estimate on when you'll have the answer. Then follow up.

1. Be Consistent

Have the same standards for all your employees. Ignoring inadequate performance from some employees leads to poor morale for everyone.

Jed C. Heller is CEO of The Providence Group LLC, which provides management services to hotels and timeshare resorts. Heller has managed all phases of three start-up ventures, two as the operating partner. He was the president of Goodmanagement, vice-president of The March Company Inc., and president of Premier Hotel Corp., He began his career with Winegardner and Hammons in Cincinnati, Ohio. Heller serves on the editorial board of Hotelexecutive.com and the Resort Management Committee of the American Resort Development Association. Mr. Heller can be contacted at 781-582-8785 or jcheller@providencegrp.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.