{"id":923,"date":"2014-05-01T14:17:46","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T18:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bhr\/?p=923"},"modified":"2020-01-13T11:44:36","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T16:44:36","slug":"the-healthy-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bhr\/2014\/05\/01\/the-healthy-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healthy Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Recognizing<\/a>
Recognizing employees for good work is a great way to improve morale.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By John D. Murtha<\/p>\n

Doctors say that people who exercise, eat right, reduce stress, and have a balanced outlook on life stay healthy and live longer. So, could it be said that teamwork, having the right resources, maintaining a stable operation and fostering a productive culture will make a hotel healthier and more successful over time? Yes. A focus on keeping things \u201chealthy\u201d offers useful perspectives for hotel managers looking to enhance the culture and results of their operation.<\/p>\n

Setting the Tone<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The hotel I manage is home to a lot of history and more than 30 associates that belong to our 30+ Club signifying 30 or more years of service to the property. Their tenure is an important element of the atmosphere, culture, and success of the hotel. Part of my job is to make sure this special staff attribute is nurtured, applauded and contributes to the overall \u201ctone\u201d of the operation.
\nWhat\u2019s a \u201ctone\u201d? It\u2019s a style, a manner of being, or as Merriam-Webster says: \u201cThe state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.\u201d Establishing a tone that infuses the operation with health and vigor is a critical step in cultivating success over time.<\/p>\n

The GM is the one to take the lead on this, enrolling his or her management team in the tone-setting process. It starts with having shared goals and tactics for achieving outcomes. Then, it means fostering an atmosphere where people feel comfortable, recognized as individuals by everyone in the hotel (especially the GM) and acknowledged for their contributions.<\/p>\n

A simple thing like noting an associate\u2019s birthday goes a long way. As often as I can, I do so in person with the associate at their workplace, along with sending a card to their home. I also make a point of congratulating sales managers when they hit their monthly goal, or gently urge them on when they miss it. At those times, I find it works better to be a cheerleader and leave the coaching to their director.<\/p>\n

Setting the tone includes being fair and consistent in all dealings with associates and guests, being easily accessible to everyone and telling the truth, even when it\u2019s not easy to do so. But, it also means injecting some humor into the operation. The hotel business\u2014and, it is a business\u2014can be stressful at times, so keeping things light when the pressure\u2019s on allows people to relax and perform better.<\/p>\n

A Balanced Diet<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Doctors also recommend a balanced diet as a way to stay healthy. The same advice works to keep hotels healthy. What constitutes a healthy diet for a hotel? In my view, it comes down to a balanced \u201cfeeding\u201d of the primary constituent groups served by the property, including the owner, the guests, and the staff.
\nIn order for a hotel to prosper over time, it must generate a reasonable return for the ownership entity that risked its capital in the first place. You need to pay bills on time, keep the property in great physical condition and acquire, develop, and retain a professional staff. This all requires sustained profitability.<\/p>\n

The guest also needs to gain something from the hotel\u2019s operation. Travelers expect personalized service, cleanliness in everything, modern systems, and good memories of their experience. You may very well be leaving some money on the table to generate high levels of guest satisfaction, but that comes with the territory when you\u2019re looking for a balanced diet.
\nYour staff must be well served in the process, too. Fair rates of pay, good benefits, opportunities for training and advancement, personalized acknowledgement of their contributions to the operation, and consistent application of rules and regulations are essential elements of generating high degrees of employee satisfaction and low turnover. Again, some profit may be foregone to make sure that the staff is happy and taking good care of your guests. But it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

Dual Health Benefits of MBWA<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A few decades back, we learned that unstructured management by wandering (or walking) around (MBWA) was distinguished as a valid way to improve the morale and productivity of an organization. I think that MBWA is intuitive to most hoteliers because we know the best way to understand what\u2019s happening in our hotels comes from being \u201con the floor\u201d and responding to what we directly observe, rather than from reports, documents and other sources after the fact.<\/p>\n

Japanese businesses use the notion go to gemba (\u201cthe real place\u201d) to highlight the concept of having managers spend their time where the work is done. This approach asserts that direct experience best informs problem solving and process improvement.<\/p>\n

MBWA is a great way to catch your associates performing well so you can acknowledge their contributions immediately or provide feedback for improvement, when needed. It also works to increase the amount of time you spend with guests, in the lobby and elsewhere throughout your property. One should use time spent at \u201cthe real place\u201d productively and not simply to get out of the office.<\/p>\n

The second benefit of MBWA is the health benefit to you, personally, from being on the floor. Some fitness experts claim that staying healthy requires a steady diet of 10,000 steps per day, which for a person of average height is about 4 \u00bd miles of walking. You may not be able to walk that much each day on-property, but practicing some level of daily, unstructured MBWA can reduce stress, keep you healthy and strengthen your operation.<\/p>\n

Checking In<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Another benefit of MBWA is that it\u2019s probably the best way to experience how your associates are performing. You can then praise or coach them in \u201creal\u201d time. But there\u2019s an important distinction in how to approach this task. It\u2019s the difference between checking \u201con,\u201d and checking \u201cin,\u201d with your staff.<\/p>\n

Tip: Evaluate everyone involved in assembling and finalized your forecasts, then add to this list. You may find that a \u201cmore is merrier\u201d approach will improve accuracy.<\/p>\n

I suggest that checking \u201con\u201d is based on an unstated belief that the person being monitored might have done something wrong\u2014even unintentionally\u2014that needs to be corrected. One checks on people to make sure they adhered to established standards and procedures, to verify that specific instructions have been precisely followed or requests have been fulfilled in an acceptable manner. Managers accustomed to checking \u201con\u201d their colleagues use the phrase \u201cinspect what you expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, checking \u201cin\u201d with an associate assumes no wrong-doing, but rather that you care about them and their work. Good morning! How\u2019s it going today? Is everything okay? Can I give you a hand? Is anything missing? Did you get that report you needed? How\u2019s our guest that needed some TLC yesterday? These are the questions posed by a manager checking \u201cin\u201d with, and not \u201con,\u201d their associates.<\/p>\n

The answers you receive and observations you make still alert you to problems that need to be addressed, but your comments based on the checking-in style will more likely be perceived by associates as support for their efforts, not criticism. I think this is a healthier management approach that works to ensure both guests and staff have a memorable experience of your hotel.<\/p>\n

\"Checking<\/a>
Checking in with employees shows support rather than criticism.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Praising Praise<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Many hotels have an all-associate meeting, once a month or a quarter, sometimes known as a \u201cKoffee Klatch\u201d. At one of our recent meetings, most members of the
\nexecutive committee presented their team\u2019s accomplishments for the previous year.<\/p>\n

One member of the committee neglected to do so.<\/p>\n

This particular division head knew immediately he\u2019d made a mistake. His team had done quite a lot to improve the operation during the year and they deserved to be recognized in front of their peers. After the meeting, his team politely asked \u201cHey, what about us?\u201d Be assured that the division head made up for the error at the next meeting.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve normally found it easy to show gratitude to my staff for doing great work but wanted to know if there was evidence that doing so improves their well-being and results. I did some quick online research to see if any studies have shown a connection between showing gratitude and improved employee engagement. It turns out that lots of work has been done on this subject; here are some findings that I found interesting:<\/p>\n