Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
Well, that’s the first month since reopening under our belt and we were ahead of budgeted sales by 13.3%. In normal times a great result, but in the new norm that represents an 83% decline on last July – worth noting that we are three miles from Manchester Airport (so not the best locale at the moment) and we did not reopen until July 6th.
So, why am I feeling positive and excited about the business and the potential for what we can achieve?
To paraphrase James Carville, Bill Clinton’s strategist in 1992, ‘It’s the culture stupid’. Any business that wants to achieve its potential should focus on the collective effort of its people in the pursuit of a common goal. As a result of this crisis I have refocussed on the hotel culture and what we need to do to succeed.
Covid-19 has changed everything and has understandably created an attention on process, procedure and compliance. Risk assessment has become the new norm and as a result risk aversion has become the default position in many businesses. For those staff that didn’t like looking after customers anyway Covid-19 has become the perfect excuse to step back even further. There is now an overt excuse not to take you to the correct aisle, adapt a dish on the menu or even stay open for business.
I believe that the opposite needs to happen and only those businesses that embrace the situation will survive and thrive.
Here are my top tips:
1. Brand your survival plan
The team must be able to relate to what you are trying to do and refer to it easily, so give it a name. We have called our approach ‘Coming Back Stronger’. It does what it says on the tin – we have been away, we are back, and we are going to be better than we were before. Brands are successful because they are easily identifiable and give confidence and a sense of belonging – apply that to your survival plan.
2. Create a forum
Make communication easy to do and easily accessible. Open up a dialogue between the team that will encourage the sharing of success and the calling out of missed opportunities. It needs to be professional and fair, but it can also be fun – our WhatsApp group is POW Coming Back Stronger
That’s Pinewood on Wilmslow not a Colditz vibe…
3. It’s good to talk
Have face to face meetings whenever possible. Not long lectures from the GM but interactive, short, sharp giving of information. Not easy when you have a limited team and minimal staffing, but sharing experiences needs to become part of an open, honest conversation and managers need to stop hiding behind email. If you did not have meetings with the whole team when you reopened it’s not too late, but it needs to happen soon.
4. Call out failure – immediately
As an industry, for too long we have allowed bad practice and poor service to go unchallenged. Just as some will see this as opportunity to double down on that approach the opposite is also true – the businesses that come through this are the ones that can get customers to come back and recommend to others. Every missed opportunity makes it harder and unforced errors must be dealt with straight away and not be accepted.
5. Be honest about survival
We have all been guilty in the past of over egging the impact of an inflated wage cost or poorly controlled food gross profit. Don’t get me wrong, I have the T shirt when it comes to achieving potential profit and maximising revenue, but the benchmark was often about beating prior year or achieving bonus – now it is literally about survival. Tell the team what missing the targets now means, it is better that they know the consequences of not achieving budget.
6. Repeat again and again and again
For many staff that have been furloughed the penny has still not dropped. Not everybody watches Newsnight or is staring at the ever-reducing bank balance and therefore is perhaps not in the zone in the same way as an owner. Everybody needs to understand the contribution they can give and what difference it will make, so be relentless with the message.
7. Sweeter after difficulty
Everything is what it is by comparison. How much better does that first pint taste after a 14-hour shift than the one that has not been earned through blood, sweat and tears. The team need to believe that we will get through this but not by accident, by design, and that when we do there will be a celebration on the other side. Set monthly targets so that everyone can see what success looks like.
And when it goes right it doesn’t half feel good…
We had an exchange on our WhatsApp group last week, one of many that are happening at the moment. A couple had come in to celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary – they had their wedding at the hotel in 1971.
Kathryn in Sales posted their photos on the group and Facebook (immediately liked by Charlotte on Reception).
Vicky in F&B provided lunch for them in the garden.
Janet in Housekeeping made them a card
and Colin the Chef did them a complimentary celebration plate.
Before they left, they booked their Golden Anniversary Party with us for next year.
Good luck and if you need to talk contact me @timrumney.co.uk