Mr. Kelleher

Human Resources, Recruitment & Training

10 Steps of Hotel Employee Engagement to Achieve Customer Satisfaction

By Bob Kelleher , CEO, The Employee Engagement Group

After many years working for both small businesses and large Fortune 500 companies, and after having an up-close view of all aspects of how organizations function, I’ve concluded that there is one common trait successful businesses share: the firm’s leaders understand that employee engagement is intricately linked to customer satisfaction.

You might also be surprised to learn that these companies implicitly understand that their customers and clients are not their #1 priority. Their employees have to be. There is no industry where this is more true than the hospitality industry --- an industry in which the customer’s experience is almost entirely dependent on how engaged a particular hotel’s workforce happens to be.

Successful hotels and hotel chains know that their employees are #1. Certainly customers need to be are "1b," so to speak. But, hotels that “get it” understand that their employees drive customer satisfaction and that without engaged and motivated employees as "1a," their customers will never achieve the optimum customer experience. I've heard gasps and observed surprised expressions exchanged across boardrooms when I've made this assertion – after all, it's customers who pay the bills, and no one doubts the importance of maintaining their satisfaction and enticing them to return to your establishment. I've also seen eyes roll in the heads of employees who have heard this sort of thing stated disingenuously too many times by insincere leaders.

You might be surprised to hear that customers, after hearing me make a statement that seems to relegate them to a back seat, have often approached me after a meeting or presentation to tell me, "I wish this was how our management team felt about us!" After all, your customers usually work for companies, too. They want to know that their own company feels the same way about them. Employees' dedication speaks volumes to customers. And to earn and benefit from that dedication, every business’s actions need to remind their employees of their importance.

It’s About People, But Not Satisfaction

Peter Drucker, the late management guru, concluded after many years of research that the most important five letter word in business begins with the letter P. It is not Profit, claimed Drucker, but rather People. Notwithstanding this observation, there is a common misperception that employee engagement means employee satisfaction. The last thing any company wants is an underperforming but satisfied employee. Engagement is not an end in and of itself – it's not about having things (the best of benefit programs or the highest bonus checks), or even about instituting a training program or a flexible work week. Successful engagement is about sustaining:

• a learning culture
• transparent and frequent communication
• the pursuit of high performance; and
• alignment with company and individual goals.

The Paper Trail

I’d like to share a story which reinforces alignment – in this example alignment with engagement (or lack of) and customer experience. Not too long ago, I was in Portland, OR staying at a mid- priced downtown hotel and experienced firsthand this connection. While heading down to breakfast, I entered an elevator already occupied by two hotel employees. As we made our way to the lobby, I noticed a large piece of paper on the floor of the elevator (so large it looked like a small snow ball!). Almost intuitively, I went to pick up the paper….but decided to wait to see if one of the employees would pick it up first. Well, as we reached the lobby, I exited the elevator (the employees at least had the sense to let the customer exit first), but noticed the employees did not pick up the paper as they exited. I held the elevator door open and reached down to pick up the piece of paper. I then followed them and asked “I’m curious, why didn’t you pick this up?” Well, one employee sheepishly replied, “I didn’t see it sir”, slightly embarrassed that I picked it up and he didn’t. The second employee boldly announced, “They don’t pay me enough to pick up trash”. Ummm, a clear lack of engagement.

I decided to continue my little social experiment a short while later while visiting another hotel in Philadelphia, PA. This particular hotel seemed to be a potential contrarian case study compared to my earlier “disengaged” example as I had noticed an incredibly high level of customer focus when I checked in. After a good night’s sleep, I went out for a morning run, and upon return, the doorman was there to greet me with a towel, a bottle of water, and a big smile (notice where we’re going here?). After showering, I was excited to head into the nearest elevator with my prop - a crumbled up piece of paper. Depositing the paper on the elevator floor, I casually rode the elevator several times up and down to finally encounter a hotel employee. I was instantly rewarded! Upon entering the elevator, the employee said, “Good morning Sir,” and bent down to pick up the paper all in one motion. When I asked him why he picked up the paper, he exclaimed enthusiastically, “Sir, at Hotel XYZ, it is all about the customer experience.”

This comparison highlights the obvious: the latter example has engaged employees while the first example had employees who were obviously disengaged [note: although not highlighted, I had experienced a number of related poor customer examples at this hotel.

Fly Me To The Moon – with a Frown

Let’s switch industry focus for a moment. Over the past 10 years, it has been plain to me (and just about everyone else who flies frequently) that employee engagement within the large U.S. airlines is remarkably low, resulting in extremely low customer satisfaction! The connection with low employee engagement levels and diminished customer experience is quite vivid every time we travel. It doesn’t help that they now charge customers for pretzels, carry-ons, aisle seats, etc. [Imagine going up to the hotel concierge and asking for directions and hearing, “That will be $2.00 sir”]. Well, why do I feel differently when I travel on Southwest airlines? Why is it different with international carriers? I continue to be amazed that some companies can figure out the connection between engaged employees and the customer experience while others struggle to make the connection.

Where to Begin?

Often, companies don’t know where to begin, or what to do. For starters, before one can connect employee engagement to customer satisfaction, they need to understand what is employee engagement. Hotels need to define employee engagement for their culture – what it means within their business, and what would resonate with their employees. I define employee engagement as the “mutual commitment between employer and employee”, and best sustained when the employer focuses on unlocking the potential of their employees, and the employees are focused on helping the business reach high performance.” This key theme of mutual commitment by employer and employee is also reinforced in the following engagement statements used my some of my clients:

• One team, one goal
• Employees who go the extra mile in loyalty and ambassadorship
• Intellectual understanding and emotional commitment
• Employees who get their hearts and minds in the business
• Employees who say, stay, and strive
• Employees who think and act as business people

In closing, I believe organizations that figure out how to best engage their employees, we realize that it truly is the secret sauce of customer satisfaction. How to engage your employees is at issue, perhaps, and needs focus, investment, and effort. Whether to engage them is decidedly not.

Bob Kelleher is a noted speaker, thought leader, and author of the critically acclaimed LOUDER THAN WORDS: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results, which has climbed to the #3 Workplace book, #5 HR book, and #12 Management book on Amazon. A sought-after consultant, Mr. Kelleher travels the globe sharing his insights on employee engagement, leadership, and workforce trends. As CEO of The Employee Engagement Group, he also helps leadership teams better engage their employees and drive profitable growth. Mr. Kelleher can be contacted at 508-935-8070 or rkelleher@employeeengagement.com Extended Bio...

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