Last night I attended the Institute of Hospitality London’s CPD event on ‘Growth through People Engagement’. The guest speaker Wayne Clarke was very insightful and shared some great information on what organisations need to do in order to have engaged staff. Below is a quick snapshot of the behaviours Managers need to demonstrate and are often lacking:

Research from People 1st has shown that 21% of Managers in the Hospitality and Tourism industry are below the age of 30 and lack management skills. This lack of skills is clearly backed up by the work that Wayne has been doing. So here is how can you improve and apply this to your hospitality business:

To be more strategic you need to have big conversations with your team. Involve them in your strategy so it becomes their strategy too. Only 10% of your workforce are truly engaged with what your organisation wants to achieve. I often tell my clients if their vision, mission and values is not shared with their team, and they have no belief in it, then it will not be lived out in their business.

Be more empathetic. Showing your caring side shows you are human! I teach my clients how to be empathetic listeners when dealing with their guests, and this applies to your staff too. Remember your staff are your customers too.

To be more productive you simply repeat what you do well. Look at what works and what needs to be improved upon. Keep doing what works well, there is no need to reinvent the wheel if you don’t need to.

To be more responsive, speed up knowledge sharing and build management capabilities. I always teach my clients to be proactive rather than reactive. In hospitality at times you almost need to be mind readers, although the secret about doing that is to ensure that knowledge is shared with all your team so they know what your guest wants before your guest does. By working like this you will be building your managers capabilities and empowering them to use their initiative and be a better problem solver.

Collaboration is all about being connected to your teams and the need for you to be visible. Treat people well and they will work harder for you. We talk about adding value to our guests’ stay. Well the same applies to your staff. Make them feel valued and they will be more loyal, dedicated and committed to you.

If you can resonate with the above and you need assistance in delivering a star quality service to all your customers, then schedule a call.