Guest Room TVs Beyond Video by Adam Leposa
A good article that gives an overview of how televisions are moving to be more of an interface between guest content and hotel services with much of the content and services accessible via apps.
Hospitality
Australian hospitality – a new dialogue
I recently attended the Australian & New Zealand Hotel Investment (ANZPHIC) conference in Sydney. I had to be honest, I was expecting to hear the same thing as in previous years, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the dialogue had changed.
The striking moment for me was during a leaders forum featuring the CEOs of leading hotel companies in Australia, including the two biggest Accor and Mantra. In previous years I had perceived that the conference was often used as a forum to snipe and complain about outside forces and make statements about what others had to change to solve the industry’s problems.
This year, the industry leaders tone had changed and what I heard was that as leaders we have to look at ourselves and how we engage and communicate to get better outcomes for the industry. To me this was a statement of leadership and a real change in thinking and demonstrated that the leaders were operating above the line. I also heard a lot more about what was right about the industry as opposed to what was wrong.
An example of the results from this was the different and often conflicting industry groups successfully coming together and lobbying the government to drop the proposed indexing of increases in the departure tax for international travellers. For me this is a clear demonstration of how important thinking is in influencing behaviour and determining outcomes.
I talked to two people to check that I was not imagining things, an influential local industry insider and an overseas delegate who has attended most of these conferences over the years, both concurred with my view that yes the dialogue had changed and that it was for the better.
The other encouraging take away from this session was the general consensus that as an industry the way to create the competitive difference was to put more emphasis on people. It was acknowledged that whilst the systems and processes were in place, it was now about engaging and using those people differently that would make the difference. This certainly was music to my ears as I believe that there is great opportunity to develop leadership at all levels in an organisation.
Whilst there was a great deal of interesting statistics and trends discussed, the demonstration of new thinking left me feeling very excited about the future of the industry.
Why we should never be too old to learn new tricks
Getting out of the routine, seeking new knowledge and experiences to open our mind and refresh our thinking is a worthwhile investment and essential to keeping us at the top of our game.
I was talking with a young hotel manager the other day who had just spent a lot of his hard earned money on a very expensive degustation dinner. It was great to hear him speak about the experience and learn what he had taken from it. At an operational level I can see new and exciting ideas being implemented as a result of the investment being made in himself. He is certainly growing and adding value.
This reminded me of a study comparing capabilities of young doctors against older doctors that I read about. The results showed that the younger doctors produced better outcomes because having just completed their studies, they sought and were more open to taking on new ideas and applying them in their practice. The older doctors, on the other hand, were more set in their ways and less open to new techniques and practices which dimished their effectiveness.
So where are you in this? A young “doctor” seeking to learn and apply the most upto date practises or are you an older practitioner slowly but surely falling behind and becoming less effective?
When last did you open yourself to new learning?
When last did you encourage those around you to get out and see different things?
It is a reminder that we have to continually challenge application of skills and knowledge to ensure retention of capabilities and growth as opposed to encouraging entropy and loss of capacity.
Developing leadership at all levels
Problems with finding and keeping staff with the right level of skill occur throughout the industry, and particularly in regional areas. Could changing the way you approach learning and development set your business apart as an employer of choice, while also building a leadership culture in your business?
Like me, you’ve probably seen standout line people get promoted on the basis of their performance, only to discover that although they’re good workers, they struggle as managers. When faced with problems they tend to work harder and for longer hours, before ultimately burning out and going hunting for a job that’s less demanding and stressful. Meanwhile, the staff under them are poorly managed and not given proper development opportunities, and there’s an increased chance that they too will leave. And yet this whole vicious cycle started with the intention of giving a promising person an opportunity to take their skills and contribution to the business up to a new level.
This scenario is all too common, and highlights a learning and development void that, when filled, can result in more motivated people, happier teams, better customer service and improved bottom lines.
So, what can you do to ease these transitions, and along the way lose fewer people and create future leaders for your business?
At senior management level, most of us have been exposed to 360-degree feedback, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator profiling and other tools that give us insight into ourselves and equip us to use that information to become better managers and stronger leaders.
If you’re serious about developing the more junior managers and supervisors in your team, it makes sense to offer them similar opportunities. After all, as Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks International put it, “Leadership is about first leading yourself.”
Implementing such programs for teams is not necessarily as costly or as complex as it might sound. One tool that I have found to be very effective is the Everything DiSC tool, which fosters self awareness and helps people lead themselves better as a first step to becoming more effective with their employees and managers. DiSC also teaches you how to recognise other peoples’ styles and adapt your behaviour to manage others more effectively. It works for managers at every level.
Like the better-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DiSC identifies a person’s primary or preferred style, using four categories: Dominant, Influencing, Steadiness and Conscientious. I’ll go into more detail about the characteristics of each of these styles in a future article, but in summary, all styles are equally valuable, and people with any style can be effective managers.
Watching individuals and teams flourish and transform makes the effort and relatively low expense of implementing a program like DiSC extremely worthwhile.
Equally importantly, learning and development tools like these offer you a valuable opportunity to differentiate your business from other employers in the industry while enhancing the overall skill base of your organisation. At the same time you’ll be giving your brightest stars and the people around them a greater chance of success and a lifelong foundation for their personal and professional development, leading to a win-win situation for both management and staff.
If you want to know more about DiSC and how it can help develop your team, give me a call on (61) 407 262 475.
Thought #3 Are you speaking your customers language?
With the USA, Europe and Japan experiencing economic uncertainty, the markets Australian tourism has traditionally catered to are declining. In 2010-2011, our market share fell or was flat for eleven major markets and achieved growth in only one: China[1].
Thanks to its proximity to Australia and its rapid ascent to economic prominence, China has the potential to be an increasingly significant source of visitors for the Australian tourism industry in coming years. But how welcome do we make our Chinese visitors feel?
I pondered this question as I transited through Sydney Airport recently, and as an experiment, decided to imagine myself as a non-English speaking Chinese visitor.
The first thing that struck me was the distinct lack of multi-lingual signage and public address announcements. Even for a China Airlines flight, the only Chinese characters I saw seemed to be indicating what seating class the counters were checking in. None of the important safety messages were offered in Chinese at all (or any other language besides English for that matter) and nor were flight announcements or requests for individual passengers to go to the gates.
At customs there were no signs anywhere to explain to non-English speakers that they had to complete a departure card. Instead, a staff member barked loudly at all and sundry, seemingly impervious to the confusion and uncertainty this generated on many peoples’ faces. I found his manner intimidating and demeaning, and was embarrassed to realise that this was the farewell we were offering people who had just spent a lot of money in our country.
The security screening process was no better, with staff shouting instructions to everyone in the queue in English, regardless of their nationality. Unsurprisingly, many people turned up at the customs desks without their cards filled in, or approached the security screening without having removed their laptops or bottles of liquid from their bags. How frustrating for them, for the staff, and for the people stuck in the queue behind them!
Solutions to making Chinese and other international visitors feel more comfortable navigating the airport don’t seem terribly complex. At the very least we should have signs or videos with information in different languages strategically placed in highly visible locations to give people instructions about what to do and where to go. A downloadable app allowing you to choose a guide to the airport in your own language would be an elegantly simple solution too, and ideally, announcements regarding flights should be made in both English and the language of the destination of the flight.
The purpose of these observations is not to criticise Sydney Airport or its staff, but rather to point out that, as an industry, we haven’t as yet rolled out the red carpet for the very visitors we’ve identified as being most vital to our future.
As a hotelier, when did you last step into the shoes of your clients and really experience how it feels to be a guest in your property? For an unbiased and objective opinion, it can be very worthwhile to get someone external to perform an audit for you. Alternatively, get your staff involved, ask them for their honest feedback and commit to making changes based on the information they supply.
If you’re serious about attracting Chinese guests, you’ll start implementing initiatives designed to make them feel welcome. For example, below are just a few things that Accor and other international hotel chains have put in place – how many of them could you introduce in your hotel?
- Language: Consider supplying welcome letters, service directories, menus, registration cards and guest feedback forms in Mandarin, as well as hotel signage. Recruit Mandarin-speaking staff, or incentivise staff to develop their language skills. You could even offer a special service phone number staffed by a Chinese speaker.
- Menu items: Is your menu attractive to a Chinese visitor? At a minimum, you might want to add rice porridge to the breakfast menu and ensure your dinner menu includes good quality steak and seafood. (In my experience, it’s best not to offer Chinese meals unless prepared by a Chinese chef).
- In room amenities: What home comforts can you supply your Chinese guests? How about green tea? Chinese language newspapers and movies? Multi-point power adaptors?
- Cultural: Do your staff understand the etiquette of allocating seating and taking orders in the restaurant? Do they know which room numbers are considered most auspicious to the Chinese visitor and which are considered unlucky?
All of this has to be backed up with training and a genuine commitment
to taking care of clients. Lip service is not enough. For any changes you implement to be successful everyone in your business, from the top down, must wholeheartedly
embrace the Chinese market rather than taking it on board reluctantly and perceiving it as being difficult to service profitably. Staff must be aware of their role in making the experience memorable and enjoyable, and the whole hotel team needs to understand what is and is not seen as good service in the cultures of different guests.
China is a developing market, it’s growing and it will become more sophisticated. It’s a market that’s too big to miss out on, so get in early to grow your revenue from existing business and build a strong base for the future.
[1] BDA Marketing Planning, July 2011.
Published in the Accommodation Association of Australia newsletter 9 March 2012
Thought 2# – The embattled hotel managers dream
Head Offices commit to support and help their hotels
- In 2012, head offices around the country have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting their hotels and making it easier for them to do their job. With this bold new thinking the hotels provide one 4 page dashboard report at month end that highlights the business KPIs and trends. Head office staff are clear that if they want a report beyond this that it is up to them to source the data and pull the report together.
- Head office staff submit a monthly time sheet to the hotels they service showing how much time they have spent on a property and what they have done. If this falls below the minimum threshold set, then thehotel pays less in central fees. A bi-annual review of performance by the hotel manager makes sure that the head office team keep on track.
- As a result of this head office staff counts have dropped significantly and in turn central charges. The hotel manager only has 20 or so emails to answer a day and spends so much more time on the business and with the experts the business can now afford to employ, service levels and profitability have gone through the roof.
Too kind or grossly unfair? Depends which side you are on.
I hope it challenges your thinking – let us know!
New thinking – Thought #1 Staff really are our most important asset
Following on from the Blog about thinking and the quote:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
I have some new thoughts for the accommodation industry in 2012 that could shape our character and in turn our destiny. Let’s face it, as attributed to Einstein, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results really is the definition of insanity.
This is done with some tongue in cheek, but also with some serious points to challenge our thinking!
1. Staff really are out most important asset
- In 2012 with this strongly held belief we pay more, there is investment in training and development at all levels and as a result it is easier to find employees that have the right balance of skills, attitude and experience.
- On the back of this the unmeasured loss of productivity and wastage incurred due to high staff turnover are reduced and service levels go up resulting in greater repeat custom and sales generated by skilled people working in an environment that motivates them.
- The cost % of payroll may go up, but we bank more $ from consistent contributions
helped by the fact that the managers in the business instead of fighting fires
around staff issues can actually work on the business further adding to the
cost savings and revenue increases.
Anything ring true for you? What are your experiences? – would love to hear from you.
Look out for thought #2.
Let’s get the service right then worry about payroll
At one of the hotels I work with there has been an ongoing discussion around service and manning levels. The owner’s argument finally won through to put extra staff on to ensure service for the guests.
Low and behold not only has service improved, but profit has not been affected and sales have in fact increased.
What else? The staff are more energetic and engaged. I also reckon that staff turnover will decrease along with the amount of time management spend on staff issues and customer complaints.
So it reaffirms for me that the starting point is to get the service right and deliver a good product, someting that can be forgotten whilst worrying about payroll costs.
Where is your focus – service levels or reducing payroll cost?
Keeping your star employees
Mercers “Inside employee’s Minds – Australia’s What’s Working” report published in September 2011 surveyed more than 1,000 people across Australian workplaces. It found that in 2011 employees feel more engaged and satisfied with many aspects of their jobs. However, it also found that 40% of staff, up from 25% in 2003, are seriously considering leaving their organisation.
The study found that What Workers valued most is:
- Base pay
- A flexible work schedule
- To work for a respectable organisation
- Incentive pay
- Communication
- Talent management and development programs
Who the 40% considering leaving are we do not know; it may include your stars. Finding the right staff is hard, so when we do have them it is important that we put effort into keeping them from day one and not leave it to chance.
So armed with this knowledge, how can you keep the people you hire, turn them into star performers and most importantly keep them? Here are a few suggestions.
- Sell a career to people from day one and help them plan it; talk about it, help plan it and support it with training, development, coaching and mentoring.
- Train, train and train some more. Give people the technical skills and also the skills required to go to the next level: leadership, problem solving, decision making, team building and communication. It is vital that your management team have these skills.
- Pay people well – the award is a base, but staff look for reward above this when they are doing a good job. What incentive programs do you have in place? How do you reward a champion housekeeping attendant who has been employed for 2 years versus someone who has been working for two weeks in the same position?
- Catch people doing things right on a daily basis and tell them. Link this to a clear and consistent performance management system that gives regular feedback throughout the year (the good and the bad) Deal effectively with non performers as they can be the biggest de-motivator of others.
- Be flexible and creative when it comes to finding jobs and advancement for good people: if need be make a round hole square to fit the square peg that is a great employee.
- Ensure communication is unhindered both up and down, is frequent, and via a variety of channels. Respond to feedback – show that it is listened to and appreciated. Where an idea is valid, adopt it and give people an update on implementation progress.
- Work to accommodate people’s needs outside of work with the needs of the job; if people feel this is balanced they will be more committed to their work. This is harder in hospitality, but it can be done with some creativity and consultation.
There is nothing new in the above and much if it is common sense; but how well is it done in your business? You may think that you are doing it well, but at the end of the day it does not matter what you think, it is what the staff think and if they don’t like it they will vote with their feet. Remember, what you don’t measure you cannot manage!
This article was published in the Accommodation Association of Australia Key News Update 23 November 2011
Are you leading for the future?
It is clear that our business world is in the throes of transition – to what we do not know, but there are many changes happening that present new challenges. How we respond to these challenges will shape our future.
Whilst we look to leadership from government, industry bodies, the Reserve Bank amongst others; at such times, it is important that we look at our own leadership to take us through this change.
History shows that it is the companies that are able to ride the wave of change and find the new opportunities that thrive and eventually set the new benchmarks. The likes of Apple, Virgin, and AAPC were not led, they were the leaders. Taking control of our own destiny and finding new ways to succeed is essential.
Churning out the same business plan with the same ways of doing business will clearly not work, if we do then we will surely be dumped by that wave. Doing what we have always done and hoping for different results is one well known definition of insanity.
Strong and effective leadership from individuals and teams at all levels has never been more important. Here are some questions to ask yourself and your team about your leadership.
- Do you have a clear vision for the business over the next 3-5 years that is known and shared by your team at all levels?
- Have you clearly defined the values and created the culture to support success?
- What are your three key areas of focus for the next three months and how will you measure success in these areas?
- What do you have to do differently today that will make the biggest difference tomorrow?
- How well is all of the above communicated throughout the business and to its stakeholders?
- Are you walking the talk?
There are many more questions; hopefully these ones prompt some thinking and help you take a step back and re-examine your business and give you renewed energy and focus.
