Ask hoteliers how many guests they can afford to leave dissatisfied and the answer seems to be a no-brainer: none. But ask a hotel�s inside customers�its employees�the same question and it changes to how many staff members can a hotelier afford who are dissatisfied or display poor attitude. Most executives would again say none, mainly because little data is available to measure dissatisfaction or identify and gauge the critical areas of communications, teamwork, morale and, crucially, executive leadership.

In the past, leadership might have been defined as the ability to get people to do what you want them to do. Nowadays, it might be defined more accurately as the ability to make the most of available resources in pursuit of well-defined goals. Leaders are expected to meet objectives and direct, monitor and develop people who report to them, while increasing performance and productivity and enhancing human relations.

Comments we have received at The Center for Survey Research include the following:

" The executive committee should be more of a team and help one another.  They need to be role models. Most of them dictate to us, resulting in a big waste of time when we want to solve a problem. "

Employees look to executive panels and planning committees for vision and as role models for relationship management, peak performance, and directives for change. Not only must executive committees talk the talk, they have to walk the walk. 

Another comment:

" The executive committee works, for the most part, for their own profits and incentives. Comforts for the guests, unfortunately, are not a priority. Only the bottom line counts for them, while good performance by the employees is not appreciated. The basics should be remembered: Without the guest, there would be no jobs."

Let�s consider the problem of employee dissatisfaction in light of internal surveys. While marketing studies provide us with information about guests, internal surveys provide us information about employee satisfaction. Over time, results of such surveys show comparative improvements and failings, as well as trends in departmental performance.

Why does one hotel experience an overall 7% increase in employee satisfaction, while in some departments of that same hotel, employee satisfaction levels drop? The answer is leadership�or its lack�at the executive or department levels. Employee surveys can be management tools, establishing quantitative track records so responses to questions of employee satisfaction are nuanced and measurable, generating strategic thinking at all levels, crucially the executive one. 

Consider this comment:

" Our team is very happy to work for our supervisory management. But when it comes to the executive committee, we are unwilling to work for them.  They do not listen to our problems. We can�t go to them if there is something the matter, because if we do, absolutely nothing gets done about the problem and we are stuck in the same situation. "

The key is to connect:

The executive committee seems to have little idea of the practical, day-to-day running of our departments and often make decisions, which are vastly impractical. Until a commitment is made from them to get in touch and the front line staff see this, the executive committee will not be respected.

One way to change this situation is to set goals. Here are our recommendations for achieving service excellence and team peak performance:

• Excellence: 86%-100% 
• Above Average: 79%-85.9% 
• Average: 73%-78.9% 
• Below Average: 66%-72.9% 
• Poor: 65.9% and less

At The Center for Survey Research, a variety of commentaries points up this gap, such as the following:

" The executive committee is far from approachable. Several of them do not answer when you greet them in the hall. You get the feeling they don�t want to speak with you or that you are a second-class citizen. This produces a �them and us� syndrome."

" We have become very disappointed about the unprofessional way the executive committee handles complaints and suggestions made by members of the staff. At no time are situations thoroughly examined with a neutral frame of mind. Rather, sides are taken straightaway, resulting in territorial issues and hard feelings."

" Management does not care much about employees. When you make a mistake, they humiliate you. They never praise you for good work. I think leadership here is very self-centered. People here feel very uncomfortable when it comes to attending meetings because they know it is simply a waste of time. "

We suggest executives view all employees in the hotel as volunteers, there because they want to be, not because they have to be. With nearly 26% of employees registering some degree of dissatisfaction with executive committee leadership, it is clear such committees cannot capture the true potential of their employees by adhering to the rules of the past.