Core values that affect hospitality performance
Moral Values - One’s dealings and actions must include always doing what is right – not only legally, but ethically as well. The hospitality industry’s ethical problems reflect the challenges that occur in a cash-based, people-intensive and disreputably underpaid industry. Although ethical violations are not a new thing, the scale at which today’s transaction errors, food-and-beverage pilfering, disappearing inventory, and unreported sales, is unprecedented. Even Managers and owners are guilty of malpractices – such as flagrantly flaunting one’s business as helping the environment, when, in reality, not all businesses measure up.
Organisational Cultures - A moral compass that consists of a set of beliefs or values that help guide ethical decisions, judgments, and behavior: an internal sense of right and wrong. Surprisingly, very few companies consider the impact of organisational culture and structure on managers and line supervisors. On one side, they dive in to measure employee sentiment, which is a snapshot of how staffs feel and to obtain a general overview of how happy people working at the company are. On the other side, they neglect to consider the impact of organisational culture and structure on managers who may be finding leadership stressful -because they were set unrealistic goals by their superiors and are under pressure to “make the numbers look good”.
Walk the Talk - Unless you put your money where your mouth is, a fancy mission statement unless played out in practice, cannot stand true to your company culture. All of us encounter work / life imbalances that can disrupt our daily routine, at some time or another. But managers who habitually arrive late for work, reprimanding employees who occasionally come late for their shift, display unprofessional behaviour. Other examples of derailing the walk the talk sing song; include managers taking food and beverages without paying, even though they would punish staff from doing the same. Not the type of role model that any respectable organisation would want to employ.
Effective Communication - Many managers, especially department heads are prone to leading from a distance or from the rear - because they lack core skills that include the ability to communicate with ease with both customers and staff. Hence, many avoid frontline public interaction and move around ghost-like. For instance, placing the right dish to the right diner is good service in the restaurant, but is sans any ‘hospitality’ when no real connections whatsoever, is established between the server and the people he/she serves - and each other. As Will Guidara puts it ““Hospitality doesn’t happen in the absence of intention. It needs to be pursued by the people on the frontline. Often, that doesn’t happen until leadership makes it matter and demonstrates hospitality themselves”.
Attrition rate – In every workplace, managers play a crucial role in shaping the environment and influencing the success of their teams. There's a distinct difference between a good leader who inspires and motivates and a bad manager (the "boss") who demoralizes and creates a toxic atmosphere. Usually, it is not companies that people want to leave, but line managers. When it comes to retaining staff, the hotel business presents unique challenges – not least of all, the presence of “Managers from Hell” – found in every industry.
Shafeek Wahab - Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Customer Service Trainer and Ex-Hotelier
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