There are so many catchphrases out there in “tips” articles, it can have your head spinning by the time you get done reading them all. One of my favorites is don’t manage, communicate, which is complete nonsense. Communicating is part of being a manager, but not the entire picture. There is one catchphrase that does hold true, though… you can never train enough.
The trick, though, is in how you train. Holding boring training sessions, at least in my opinion, are a waste of time if that is the only way a manager plans on training his or her employees. Training sessions are necessary, but they should also be fun as well as a way for the manager to become “human” to the staff. In reality, though, every shift presents training opportunities.
Training Sessions
Put “training meeting” on a schedule and watch the eyes roll of every employee that reads it. SOP for this is a subtle reaming by the manager about what everyone is doing wrong and how we are going to fix it. Then, the staff is subject to an hour or so of drilling. If they learned anything, it is more than likely forgotten the moment they walk out the door.
Make the training meetings more fun by turning them into rally-type meetings. Rather than address what you are doing wrong, talk about things you are doing right but can do better. Turn the actual training into a competition for the staff, complete with prizes, so they can actually enjoy what they are doing.
Positive reinforcement in this type of atmosphere is far more effective than just hammering away at the staff and breaking them down. It is not the Marine Corps. Yes, it is work, but it is meant to be a fun environment. Hospitality staff members need to have smiles on their faces, not scowls.
Shift Training
This is probably the area where most managers just get it wrong. Every shift has challenges, but they need to be looked at as opportunities to correct mistakes that are happening on a daily basis. However, this is also the best way to get the staff to see things through the eyes of the manager and/or guest and to better understand what it is he or she wants to see from the staff on a daily basis.
Let’s go back to something I covered in a prior article… coffee breaks. The manager walks up to the break and everything looks great, but he or she notices the cups are under an AC vent rather than in a heating cabinet. You know the cups are freezing cold and will immediately make the coffee or tea cold, which is going to create a negative experience for the guest.
In most cases, the manager would grab the coffee break server and rip them a new one over forgetting to bring up the warmer. A more effective approach would be to praise the setup, then reward them with a cup of coffee from the break itself. Watch their face when they taste a cup of coffee that is going to be room temperature at best. Point being, work them to the point they realize what the problem is and allow them to fix it.
Now, there are obviously going to be times when the correction needs to be pointed out ASAP in order to make sure the function goes off properly. But, when the opportunity presents itself, work with the staff to allow them to experience what the guest would in order to really drive home the point.
A funny story…
After having been hired at the Hilton Cherry Hill as a banquet manager, I noticed a problem with in-shift cleanliness in banquets. Food was falling on the floor and not always being picked up by the staff. I had addressed the issue several times during pre-shift meetings, but the point was just not hitting home.
Typically, after a meal function, the banquet staff would have their shift meal and go home. After one meal service, though, a server asked me if I wanted her to make me a plate for lunch. I told her no, I would make my own. I grabbed a plate off the buffet, then proceeded to walk around the room and make a sandwich with everything I found on the floor.
Roll, lettuce, tomato, lunch meat, and even a few drops of mayo. The staff watched me in amazement as I made my way throughout the room, picking up things they had not noticed in the heat of the moment. Now, I obviously did not eat the sandwich, but the point was made in rather entertaining fashion. It was a lesson they would not soon forget, and my banquet rooms were kept much cleaner during a function from that point forward.
Experience Training
As was just mentioned, there is nothing better than having the staff experience something through the eyes of the guest. In some cases, we are asking staff to do something they have never experienced on their own. You can train them as much as you want, but until they see the experience through the eyes of a guest, it may not hit home.
In my case, I was asking banquet servers to elevate their level of service to a fine dining experience. The problem was several of them had never actually been to a fine dining restaurant. The answer was simple… take the captains out to dinner and let them enjoy the experience. They could then take that experience back to the hotel to ensure our servers were living up to my expectations.
The same can be said of the housekeeping department or the front desk. Create an employee of the month contest and give them a night at another property so they can experience the check-in, room service, the room amenities, etc., on their own. They will come back to the property rejuvenated and ideally, striving to deliver that same level of service to your hotel guests.
Do you need better managers at your hotel property or hospitality organization? Joseph David International has been placing hospitality managers successfully for more than a decade. We focus on not only finding a manager but the RIGHT manager for your property. For more information about our hospitality recruiting services, click here.
Photo By monkeybusiness