by Dr.
John
Hogan, CHE CHA CMHS
May 23, 2011
As
the economy in
much of the world is beginning to show more optimistic results in
hospitality
and other industries, the need to identify, hire, train, and retain
quality
staff has resurfaced as a major issue.
Part 1 of Meeting
the Need for Talent included A Baker's Dozen of Questions that was created to provide feedback to reader
requests for specific ideas on this topic. This Baker's Dozen is comprehensive for some smaller facilities,
yet it was created to provide feedback to reader requests for specific
ideas on
the topic. Those inquiries came from hoteliers working in all sizes of
hotels,
with mixed market bases, with a range of brands as well as some
independent
properties and in multiple countries.
The questions were:
- Who will the person specifically report to and how often
will they interact?
- What is the specific accountability in attaining results?
- Are those results in line with the organization's “big”
picture?
- Are there strategic goals identified or in the process of
being refined for the organization?
- How much enterprise is preferred or expected? Is initiative
a positive or negative trait in the organization?
- What is the sense of competitive spirit? Is it
everyone for themselves?
- Markets and economies change – how do you expect the new
hire to stay focused?
- How are decision made? Are authority lines refined
and reasonable?
- What are your organization's performance expectations in
Key Result Areas? How many KRAs are there and are they consistent?
- How are results measured in associate engagement, in guest
service, in market penetration, in facility quality and of course,
profitability?
- Does the organization have clearly identified values that
support the mission and vision?
- How does communication really happen?
- How does change happen? Can it be fast paced or must
it go through a committee? Does one person overshadow all decisions or
is there reasonable flexibility that provides unbiased
professional opportunity for growth, recognition and reward for agreed
upon achievement of success?
Part 2 - Growing
Talent Does Not Happen Without Focused Effort includes
observations from several management
company executives
who kindly agreed to share some of their thoughts.
I was pleased to have responses from four
very different type of hospitality professionals who discussed some of
their
approaches in developing and retaining talent. With
turnover traditionally at very high numbers in many
companies,
these professionals offered some proven success strategies on how to
deal with
this issue, while delivering exceptional results.
From
Raman
(R.P.) Rama Executive Vice
President & CTO/CIO , JHM Hotels, Inc. www.jhmhotels.com 1
John
- Thanks
for thinking about me , but I really do not want to boast about our
retention rate.
- All I
can say is we grow our associates talents, based on their aspirations.
- Doing
the same work day in and day out becomes boring, hence cross training
is a very good way to expose the staff members to different skills and
helps them understand how what they do impacts other departments . That
makes them more conscious of what they do and how they perform their
duties and it also creates a feeling of teamwork.
- We
create compassion in them so that they do theory work with compassion
and care. We bring out theory hidden talents by getting them involved.
- The
staff members are trustees of their hotels hence success pays them with
sense of gratitude.
- I
hope this helps you write your article. Our associate satisfaction
scores speak for themselves and We have to address issues head on
instead of hiding them or ignoring them
From Fred Hirschovits, President,
Twenty/Twenty Worldwide Hospitality, LLC, www.twentytwentyworldwide.com
2
- Expect what you Inspect
- With responsibility goes consummarate authority
- ten smallest words - if it is to be, it is up to me
- truth is the safest lie
From
James E. Roos President at Ayres
Hotels of Southern California www.ayreshotels.com 3
- Ask
the newly hired or promoted employee for committment to their new
responsibilities in this way: "Can I count on you?"
- I
have learned when one person makes a face to face commitment to another
the probabilty of the desired result being achieved is far greater than
if the committment is only assumed.
From Curt
Baker, Director of Operations -
Consultant at Ivy Inns Inc. and PhD Student in Hospitality & Tourism
Management at Purdue University http://www.linkedin.com/in/curtpbaker
4
Hi Professor,
I had a chance to read your
article the other day, so I was happy to see this invitation.
I have used the following in
several different venues with solid returns.
- As a front office manager, I created a clear set of
standards for different levels of desk staff. It combined a combination
of training, performance, and extra duties.
- As a manager it gave me opportunity to view how my staff
handled different challenges and provided me with opportunities to
coach them and develop them further. Additionally, because the
different tiers had clear cut responsibilities and expectations, it
developed my next generation of leaders and provided us with a clear
understanding of their skills and abilities.
- It also allowed me to delegate more responsibilities and to
best engage my staff. I was pleasantly surprised by many of the staff
(especially those who were not looking for careers such as students)
that took on the challenges just for pride in themselves and their
work.
- The process takes time to work well, but for a very small
investment in money it makes everyone in the department from the FOM
down much more effective and efficient.
[1] JHM Hotels, Inc. is a
national multi-brand hotel company that has developed, acquired, owned,
and operated hotels throughout the United States for more than 36
years. These years of growth have earned the company rich and varied
experience in every facet of modern hotel development and
management. JHM Hotels has 40 properties with over 6,520
rooms and 1,500 associates with a concentration in key U.S.
destinations such as Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Charleston, SC and soon
Washington, DC, along with a five-star luxury hotel in Surat, India.
Operating under top performing franchise flags such as Hilton, Hyatt,
Marriott, and Starwood, JHM is committed to being a premier lodging
company. The company's mission statement shares this commitment with
guests, associates and ownership.
[2] Twenty/Twenty Worldwide
Hospitality, LLC specializes in creating a point of difference and a
strategic competitive advantage for hospitality and related
industries.
[3] Ayres Hotels, setting a
new standard in comfortable, inviting accommodations and warm,
personalized service for business and leisure travelers at an
affordable price. Choose from our 20 inspired European-style boutique
hotels artfully located just where you want to be in Southern
California.
[4] Ivy Inns Consulting is
available to customize this idea
Hospitality Tip of the
WeekTM:
Understanding The Role
of Talent Development
“My
main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and
other
nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some
weeds,
too.”
Jack
Welch
KEYS TO
SUCCESS is the
umbrella title for my 2011 programs, hospitality services and columns.
This
year’s writings focus on a variety of topics for hotel owners, managers
and
professionals including both my "HOW
TO" articles, HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS™, Lessons from the Field™, Hotel
Common Sense™ and Principles
for Success .
|
Don't forget the special values being
offered to industry professionals available on annual membership at www.HospitalityEducators.com.
Feel free to share an idea for a column at [email protected]
anytime or contact me
regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements … And
remember
– we all need a regular dose of common sense.
John Hogan is
a successful hospitality executive, educator,
author and consultant
and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many
hospitality industry events. He is
Co-Founder of a consortium ( www.HospitalityEducators.com)
of successful corporate and
academic professionals delivering focused and affordable counsel in
solving
specific challenges facing hospitality today.
www.HospitalityEducators.com
is a membership site offering a wide range of
information, forms, best practices and ideas designed to help
individual
hoteliers and hospitality businesses improve their market penetration,
deliver
service excellence and increase their profitability. Individuals
wishing to
contribute materials may send them [email protected].
Special pricing is in effect for a limited time that also includes a
complimentary copy of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD- A COMMON SENSE APPROACH
TO
EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES.
|