Hotel & Motel Management - March 17, 2008 - (Page 20) 20 Guest Column IN THE details Practice what you promote Set a positive mood Motivate employees Increase training H&MM March 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition Common sense not always common practice otels, on average, spend about 6 percent of their revenues on marketing efforts to lure new customers and retain existing ones. Most of these campaigns depict a hotel staff that is prepared to meet or exceed every need of the guest. Even so, guest satisfaction survey results oftentimes contradict the notion that H hotel staff is ready, willing and able to serve. Ready Readiness to perform the job consists of tangible things like having the necessary tools to perform the task, as well as intangibles such as the atmosphere or mood of the workplace. The atmosphere is shaped by a vari- By Steve Curtin H&MM Guest Columnist ety of factors including employee treatment issues, morale, leadership and more. Managers need to think about readiness daily and even our-byhour during the shifts they supervise. Managers work mong a society of “boss watchers” who always are looking for cues. As author Bob Farrell said in his book “The Leadership Pickles,” “What they see is what you’ll get.” If employees detect management’s skepticism about a corporate initiative, then they too will be skeptical. If management acts with indifference toward customers, then employees will feel justified in doing so. What they see is what you’ll get. Willing Motivation and enthusiasm are important traits of employee contact with guests and, as compared to knowledge and skills, are not necessarily developed during the orientation and ongoing training process. An employee’s willingness to demonstrate a positive attitude at work and to enthusiastically serve the customer must be assessed during the hiring process. Whether through the use of an applicant assessment such as Gallup’s StrengthsFinder or through a behavioral interview, attitudinal characteristics that support an organization’s service mission, such as the willingness to go the extra mile, must be validated prior to hiring the job candidate. Able Employees always bring skills and abilities to the workplace. These have been developed in previous job, school and life experiences. It is the employer’s role, working with the employee, to ensure that one’s knowledge and skill levels increase throughout his employment experience. Oftentimes, training is more formal but less frequent than it should be. To be more effective, training should take place less formally and more frequently. It’s not uncommon for inconsistencies in one or more of these areas to contribute to a lackluster service experience for the customer. Regardless of where the problem lies, your customers expect employees to be ready, willing and able to provide the same level of service implied by the numerous marketing campaigns that brought them to your property in the first place. hmm@questex.com Steve Curtin is a customer service, training, and public speaking enthusiast based in Denver. His Web site is ww.stevecurtin.com. CIRCLE NO. 158 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition http://www.stocorp.com/stonext http://www.stocorp.com http://www.stevecurtin.com
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