Re-setting the dial
It’s started…
Hotels up and down the country are beginning the redundancy conversations.
Hats off to the government for the furlough Job Retention Scheme and CBILS loans but the absence of a firm reopening start (is it going to be July 4th), flaky reopening guidelines and now a 14-day quarantine period for UK arrivals means that shedding jobs is an inevitability for the hospitality sector.
Payroll is the biggest cost in any hotel business and was already under massive pressure due to the relentless rise of the national living wage without the associated government grants to support training.
Redundancy is going to be a tragedy for all those concerned and the businesses and customers for whom the team are their greatest asset and the most important part of the hotel experience. Years of dedication and knowledge are going to disappear, significantly affecting the quality of the hotel experience even before we introduce social distancing, hand sanitiser stations and masks, gloves and disposable aprons.
The greatest satisfaction I have had as a hotel operator is seeing teams come together and individuals develop to give customers fantastic and memorable experiences. I will never forget the guest who when asked on check-out by Laura if he had enjoyed his stay said ‘Yes, apart from the bar running out of draught Guinness’. He booked his next stay, and on his return, Laura bought a six pack of Guinness on her way to work and put it into his room with a welcome back note. The fact that Guinness was available on draught on this visit was not the point. Laura had, unprompted, found a way to make his next stay special and convert him into a loyal guest.
And here is the way forward…
I have worked with many businesses over recent years who have got used to being held to ransom by agencies because chefs were like hens’ teeth, having to compromise on food service staff because nobody else wanted to do the job, and wage inflation because a manager would threaten go to a competitor without a pay rise.
Some of us have become lazy in recruitment and training and accepted that is the way it is because the market did not allow us to be more disciplined and have higher standards.
As an industry, many have overblown the management teams with all manner of positions. We have bowed to chef hierarchies to retain often underperforming individuals because we were scared to be left with no-one to do the cooking. We have created supervisors to avoid losing a good room attendant because we were too afraid to pay those in the same role different levels of pay based on performance. We have allowed managers to become the most senior person in a suit without the expectation of delivering enhanced value.
That environment has now gone for a very long time.
We now have the opportunity to re-set the dial and deliver the holy grail of economics -productivity.
Hotel operators must look at their staffing structures and aim to do things very differently in the future.
Hotels will need to have fewer managers but the right amount of highly skilled staff to provide an exceptional level of service to the customer. Responsibilities will need to be consolidated to create efficiencies and consistency. Operational staff will need to be rewarded for performance not job title.
The one part of the hotel budget that should increase is training. Hotel operators should introduce the same level of detail and compliance to service and standards that will be required for hygiene, safety and cleanliness.
This is opportunity to reposition our hotels as effective profit generators focusing on commercial performance. This is the only way that we will be able to come out of this crisis and give hotels the opportunity to reinvest in the people and product.
Laura was once the exception she now needs to become the new norm.