Running a team of people takes a lot of skill and hard work, especially in the hospitality sector, where happy smiling faces should always be on show. It takes a special breed of person to work in the service industry. Regardless of the pressures, guests should always be made to feel like they are special. Yet we are all human and when having a bad day, it can affect your work and the manager has the job of keeping everyone motivated and in high spirits.
Here are a few ways that you can boost your team’s performance and boost productivity.
- Offer Incentives – As long as you have clearly defined goals, which might be zero customer complaints or a higher occupancy rate, you can offer employees incentives. Employee of the month has always been a winner; when a worker receives the ward, everyone is thinking that with a little extra effort, it could be them receiving the recognition. This makes everyone go that extra mile when working and wearing that badge is a great feeling.
- Team-Building – Arrange fun activities that foster team spirit and this will lead to an increase in productivity. No one wants to let the side down and when things are hectic, everyone will pull together. As the manager, you already have a good idea of team morale; do you meet every day/week/month? If you notice a couple of people that are not connecting too much, plan a session of activities that encourage dialogue.
- Hire The Right People – If you put an ad in a local mag looking for hospitality staff, this is hardly likely to attract the right people. Seek out outsourced human resources in hospitality industry from a leading agency and have access to the top performers, people with extensive experience in the field. Think of the time you waste when trying to find suitable applicants and without an agency, you don’t have access to the best applicants. Leave screening to the professionals and interview those on their shortlist, and you will build a strong team who work well together.
- Staff Training – Investing in your employees is always a wise move. No matter how good someone might be at their job, there’s always room for improvement. Aspects like how to deal with an unhappy guest or ways to diffuse a conflict among guests. These are skills that empower the worker, and that leads to better performance.
- Recognition – If you recognise employees that do perform well, this will bring out the best in them, plus it will motivate others to reach that level. A little recognition can go a very long way, while failure to do so can result in low staff morale and that will affect productivity.
If you hire the right people and create a winning ambience, your team should be able to perform when things get very busy and with your direction, staff will always have a smile on their face when they encounter guests.
