Aim for the stars

When managing your workforce, the sky is the limit

by TIMESH PATEL

Leadership skills are crucial when it comes to workforce management, and this is especially true for independent hotel chains. For example, when the staff is smaller, it’s imperative that transparency and communication are streamlined so everyone is on the same page. It can be tough to maintain high morale and retention among employees, but doing so will lead to a healthier working environment, which results in a stronger business overall.

Independent properties account for 40-50% of the world’s total hotels, and these properties must sell their rooms and maintain excellent customer reviews to continue bringing in revenue and maximizing their earnings. For independent hotels, this often means having employees wear multiple hats rather than implementing dedicated teams for each department. Management would best be able to handle staff in these circumstances with proper software and tools. Here are four ways independent properties can better manage their teams.

1. DELEGATE THE DETAILS
When it comes to minimizing expenses and capitalizing on ROI, it’s vital that employees are empowered to affect change. This can come from delegating tasks while allowing them more autonomy to operate and overlap duties as needed to get everything done. Learning how to delegate is a vital skill when it comes to leading your workforce. When you have a smaller team, it helps to know what tasks at which each employee excels. From here, leadership can better divide who works on what and when.

2. COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Strong leadership skills also include knowing how to communicate. Don’t wait for your employees to know what needs to be done and when. Set specific times for check-ins and checkouts and know who will be manning the front desk to handle administrative work and who will be cleaning the rooms. There needs to be enough staff for seamless checking in and out of guests. When leadership focuses on task management, they can more accurately forecast budgets and schedules.

3. CLARITY AND CONCISION
Communication and transparency will make or break your team, and this is especially true for independent hotels. Transparency allows all team members to feel included and on the same page, rather than risking someone being left in the dark and unsure of their duties or others. A great way to ensure that your staff are on the same page is to hold a daily or weekly meeting. If staff are not all there on the same day, consider having a general area for workplace announcements, reminders, and more – including a whiteboard or calendar that can be either digital or physical in nature to which everyone can have access.

4. COMPETITION IS KING
One final tip for keeping your staff morale and teamwork high is to incentivize. This can be accomplished by holding monthly contests for the best positive ratings from guests, ensuring everyone is on time for their shifts for the whole month, etc., to win a singular or team-based prize. This prize could be anything from recognition – such as employee of the month – to something bigger, like a party for the whole team. Small bits of encouragement go a long way when it comes to boosting and maintaining staff happiness and bonds.

With great leadership comes great team and individual performances. From this, a strong world of positive reviews will be built and your independent hotel will stay on the map and bring in new and returning guests alike.