Service Commitment, From the Top Down and the Bottom Up
Albert BarraFebruary 8, 2019 · 3 min read
Interpersonal skills, such as respect, active listening and conflict resolution, go a long way towards ensuring staff work together to meet guests’ needs. However, employees’ skills alone do not always guarantee a positive guest experience.
An organisation’s commitment has much to do with professional excellence, quality, punctuality and flexibility, and should be clearly demonstrated to the entire team. This kind of commitment helps reinforce the importance of providing guests with the service they not only deserve, but also expect.
Unfortunately, a lack of concern for customers and their needs can be detrimental to maintaining a hotel’s reputation, as well as securing customer goodwill and loyalty.
Hospitality businesses must rely on and trust their staff to build a strong relationship with the property, brand and guests. In other words, they must trust their team to deliver a fantastic guest experience every day. This means having the right people—people who love their work, take pride in where they work and are committed to improving performance—if we want our guests to enjoy a better experience.
It is therefore crucial for hospitality businesses to create the right mechanisms to engage and empower their employees, recognising the importance of professional development in engaging staff. Professional development is a key driver of employee engagement and an important retention tool for organisations determined to retain their top talent.
Since recognition plays a fundamental role in engagement, the need for hotels to recognise employees, both publicly and privately, for delivering excellent service cannot be underestimated.
By recognising employees for high performance, hotels empower their staff to do what is best for the guest while performing at their best. Holding monthly staff meetings focused on service successes and areas for improvement can have a positive impact on guest satisfaction. In addition, measuring guest satisfaction allows hotels to monitor the overall guest experience regularly and identify areas for improvement.
It is important to remember that when guests arrive at their chosen hotel, they expect a fun, positive and memorable experience.
Without this kind of service, hotels risk losing not only their most valuable guests, but also their most committed employees.
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