Can You Spot Bad Service?

Can You Spot Bad Service? Well, can ya, punk? The answer, my friend, is that your customers can.

Can You Spot Bad Service? Well, can ya, punk? The answer, my friend, is that your customers can. It is so very easy to walk in off the street and notice it immediately. In 7 seconds, from 11 impressions, they know.  It is an amazing statistic that some 20 million workers are not delivering their full capability or realising their potential at work. Hospitality is a sector driven by young people. Already, 40% of the hospitality work force is under the age of 30and as older generations begin to retire, they will soon become the main part of the workforce. It is estimated that 2 million young people in the UK are not engaged. It is easy to understand why hospitality is so variable in quality and why we need to change what we do, now.

In an era wherein almost most service providers, hotels and restaurants offer the same ideas, the same dull service, the same rates and even the same food and dining menu, a key differentiator should be how you engage with your guests and your employees. Employee engagement is now a must do, not a nice to have. In 2014 employee engagement is seen as a major priority by UK Business Leaders. There is no other industry where this is more true than the hotel and hospitality sector where the customers experience is heavily dependent on how engaged the workforce is, every day.

In 2010 the UK Government commissioned a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of employee engagement in raising performance and productivity across the UK economy. The report is called Engaging for Success, more commonly known as the MacLeod Report (you can read and download the full report here). They were asked to examine in particular whether a wider take up of engagement approaches could impact positively on UK competitiveness and performance, as part of the country’s efforts to come through the current economic difficulties, take maximum advantage of the upturn when it comes, and meet the challenges of increased global competition. Their answer was anunequivocal yes.

The findings deliver a compelling case that employee engagement in a people focused way has a powerful impact on the bottom line. Organisations in the top quartile of engagement scores demonstrated revenue growth of 2.5 times greater than those in the bottom quartile. 94% of the world’s most admired companies believe their employee engagement efforts have created their competitive advantage.

So let us go back to the basics of service and engagement. Your staff should be warmer than everybody else and more accommodating than your competition. But that is not the real secret of a successful hotel or a restaurant. Engagement does not end with guests. It starts with employees.

While employee satisfaction is an important point of focus for hospitality managers, these managers must look beyond ensuring employee satisfaction to fostering employee engagement. Employee engagement is characterised as a feeling ofcommitment, passion and energy, which translates to high levels of effort, persistence with even the most difficult tasks, exceeding expectations, and taking initiative. The result of engaging employees is profound. From lower turnover rates to higher productivity, the engaged employee is a valuable business asset.

In the coming years, the most successful enterprises in the hospitality industry will have managers who are not only adept at the technical competencies required of them, but have significant capability in people management: more specifically, the ability to foster employee engagement. Employee satisfactionis characterised as a feeling of gratification and contentment. Studies have demonstrated the link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction and profit.

You only have one chance to make a first impression among your guests, which only underscores the importance of having your best and brightest personnel at your front desk as host. This is the first step in building great memories for your guests and your first chance to connect with them emotionally. Having on-going training sessions will help build bonds, boost morale and improve customer service. It is at the heart of the emotional signature of your establishment.

Good hospitality is something that many people and organisations desire, but only a few know how to deliver. It is important that hotel and restaurant staff offer quality hospitality to customers so they can enjoy their stay and want to come back. Encourage your team to listen and respond. Get them to start using (if they re not already) the ‘Be Amazing 3 : 1 Rule’

This isn’t anything new, but it’s worth a reminder and in need of updating. It is a very basic concept or strategy that you may be familiar with. Within (roughly) 3 metres of a customer you should acknowledge them with a facial expression. This starts with eyes, then a smile. Within 1 metre or so of the customer, you should acknowledge them verbally. It may be a simple,

‘Good morning, how are you today?”’

The idea is to create a small positive interaction between you and your customer. Hospitality is a challenging sector for recruitment, simply because of the high turnover. Now, imagine if everyone you work with greeted you every morning when you came to work. ‘Good morning how are you? Amazing and you?’

Or they smiled at you every time you walked by them. AMAZING. Think of the positive atmosphere this might promote in your company. Think of the energy that would result if everyone was just a little nicer to everyone they encountered, both customers and fellow employees.

Some people won’t be good at this. I see lots of people struggle to be amazing. Some people won’t want to do it. It is just not something they are used to. However, make it part of your culture (dare I say mandatory), and once everyone starts to do it and it becomes a habit, it will be much easier for everyone to do. Keep in mind as you hire new people that you are looking for the personalities that buy into this type of practice. Many young people are made to believe that hospitality is glamorous, and then end up working long shifts in pubs or restaurants all night. But do your staff feel valued?

My empirical real world research suggests there is a huge gulf between the job managers think they are doing and the reality of their management style on the floor. Further research indicates a massive 91% of UK managers believe that they always or sometimes spend time coaching their team, but only 40% of UK employees agree. The problem, say many managers in the hospitality industry, is that since a majority of their employees see their jobs as stepping-stones to more permanent positions, no amount of effort will reduce turnover or fully engage them during their short employment cycle. It is reasonable to ask, therefore, whether fostering employee engagement is a worthwhile effort in an industry known for low paying, often temporary positions.

So do your line managers, floor managers, hosts or general managers notice the things staff have done well and praise them? They should, because one thing that comes up time and time again in organisations where engagement could be improved is how important verbal praise is to people. We all need reassurance and this has such a positive effect on their work environment if a manager is prepared to go out of their way to thank staff for their efforts.

Verbal praise is one of the easiest things to do to demonstrate you value your employees. It is (of course) free and doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Remember to do it often, don’t wait until the annual performance review, do it right away and do it a lot.

One key element to note when you praise, is to be specific. Instead of saying the generic ‘well done’, say something like‘well done on handling that customer complaint just now. It was particularly good that you resolved it quickly and sincerely without there being a scene.’It shows that you’re really attentive, and that you’re not giving praise just for the sake of giving praise.

My experience shows that praise always works best when it is constructive. Add in some feedback in your praise to make your feedback less negative. Employee engagement is a workplace approach to creating the right conditions designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values and motivated to contribute to organisational success and achieving their own potential.

Try and think in terms of changing your customer AND employee engagement in these terms:

Excellent Leadership:  Ensure you are committed to developing strong leaders (floor managers) who are approachable, adaptable and committed to developing and supporting their people. Your leaders should be role models for the guest experience and lead by example. A genuine and sincere open door policy is essential.
Excellent Communication : When we communicate we have to be focused on being excellent, always. Communicate the vision for your customers experience relentlessly, and communicate as much performance data (you have the figures from last night, right? You use the data every day I am sure.) about the your restaurant, hotel and service provider as you can. The more people know, the more engaged they will be and the greater the buy and commitment to your goals.
Managed Performance:  Talk to your people. Every day. Hold regular appraisals, monthly informal coffee chats and give on the spot feedback when you see behaviours you like and those you don’t with all employees. This will create a feedback culture to drive continuous improvement.
Positive Recognition : Praise in public. Go out of your way to recognise great performance immediately. It’s not about rewards, it’s about making the employee feel valued and recognised for their contributions. You could also celebrate staff birthdays (and the bosses).
Create a Learning Culture : Allow employees to learn something new (use the new technology of Smart Phones and amazing eLearning software like World Manager) to improve their knowledge and skills in addition to giving them training to allow them to excel in their role.
Educate, Empower and Entertain : Allow employees, within clear boundaries, to make their own decisions. If they are doing the right thing to make your guests happy without needing to refer this will engage your guests and employees and create guest advocacy and a fantastic reputation.

Lastly, I believe all organisations involved in hospitality, need a dynamic on-boarding process (and also a great mentor). Unlike traditional new employee orientation programs, on-boarding focuses on all of the activities and experiences a new employee is exposed to in the first three to six months of employment. Employees should be introduced to the business strategy on their first day of employment according to most managers are so focused on making sure their new employees understand the tasks they were hired to perform that they forget to teach other important things like how each employee’s role contributes to business success, or what behaviours are in support of the brand promise. By explaining information such as the objectives and priorities of each department, managers can have a positive impact on new employee productivity and morale. So get understanding, from all new employees on:

What is the ultimate goal of the organisation? [Mission, purpose, Why?]
What does the company deliver? [Product, Knowledge, Brand]
How does this company differ from the competition? [The USP and UVP]
What is our brand strategy and how can you deliver on the brand promise?
What values does the company promote above all others and how are employees expected to embody these core values?
How does what you do or fail to do affect our ability to achieve business success?

Efforts by hospitality industry managers to engage their employees are likely to result in measurable improvements to the bottom line. Devoting time and energy to acquaint new employees with the company goals, brand strategy, and the ways in which their role directly affects business success will focus them in a common direction and increase motivation in their daily efforts. Building expert and referent power, by demonstrating integrity and earning the respect of their employees, will create a work environment where employees feel a sense of belonging, and the level of engagement increases.

Employees drive and deliver the customer experience. Without engaged or motivated staff, the guest experience that any hospitality provider will hope to achieve will never be met.

The quality of the internal customer experience determines the guest experience that your guests receive.

Train Your Staff, Then Train Some More…Be Amazing Every Day.

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