Time to unlock that 'Speak up' culture in hospitality
Empowerment requires enabling people to be able to ‘speak up’ without fear of retaliation – particularly for those in the lower ranks. They must feel confident to raise matters that affect them at the workplace – especially if in hinders operations and morale. If your employees won’t speak up, they would be reluctant to take proper or timely action. If you do not provide safe passage to speak, make people uncomfortable to ‘air’ their views and rudely dismiss their ideas, how can you expect to ignite employee creativity and innovation?
Communication cuts both ways; top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top. This two-way flow between workers and management is no longer simply a 'nice to have, but’ excuse. In today’s business world, it's become a must. Yet, most workers say that they are never or seldom listened to on topics that matter to them the most within their organization.
Command and control
In earlier days, most managers demonstrated an autocratic leadership style which was the classical approach to management. An autocratic manager would make decisions without input from staff, give orders without explanation or reasons,, and expect orders to be obeyed without question. Often, this type of leadership only encourages employees to be dependent on managers to continuously issuing further instructions. The wants and needs of the organisation and the manager only matter. Thankfully, the majority of businesses have moved away from that…although not far enough.
When workers do not have any voice, the whole organisation fails to reap the maximum benefit. It’s the frontline employees such as telephone operators, receptionists, waiters, housemaids, not executives who deal with customers. Being closest to each operating procedure, they are best placed with knowledge on how to improve them. Interacting constantly with customers they are also better positioned to recommend improvements that can boost efficiency and delivery. When managers turn a blind eye to employees who are the eyes on the ground – even the tiniest problem can snowball if no one speaks up or provides feedback about it.
Mum’s the word
What really are then the factors that cause employees to withhold bringing their ideas to the table or how can managers encourage them to speak up? Most employees feel apprehensive to speak out or challenge traditional ways of doing things – particularly when their senior peers keep silent as well. How many of us have at some point in our early work life been told ‘Don’t ask questions, just do as you are told…because that’s the way it has always been done.”
Then there are those employees who fall into the ‘once bitten twice shy’ group because their manager had, either been hostile or ridiculed past suggestions. This usually occurs when such managers took total ownership of the project or procedure in question and resent suggestions that hinted a need for change. Aside of the fear of being publicly humiliated, one of the key reasons why staff don’t report issues is because they believe management won’t take action. If your employees don’t trust you to take action then they simply won’t bother to speak up. Then there are a few employees who do not stand out and speak out because they are too introverted or shy to express their views. Overall though, when employees prefer to play safe by keeping silent, that culture of “When in doubt, keep your mouth shut” creeps in.
For an organisation to grow, frontline employees need to be given the right tools and conditions to drive momentum. Bottom-line; if you want to empower people enable your people to speak up. If you don’t…they won’t feel emboldened to take action. It’s really that simple.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
|
|
|
|
