After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Identify the proper hiring attributes.

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:• Identify the proper hiring attributes.• Describe the role of verbal and nonverbal communication in

delivering quality service.• Explain and apply the concepts of successful nonverbal

communication.• Explain the importance of corporate culture in developing a

brand.• Identify the attributes of successful hospitality candidates.• Embrace the concept of guest service terminology.• Contrast the importance and different views of training,

managing and developing.

CHAPTER 12DEVELOPING A STAFF


Employees

• The employees are at the front line of the company. • They are what the customer sees. • They are the ones interacting with the customer. • They can seize or lose opportunities. • How well you hire, train, and develop your employees

determines your future as a manager.


Hiring

• Today’s society is filled by design with positions at hourly rates for which employees clock in and out, performing duties with little sense of responsibility for true guest satisfaction.

• Developing a staff is crucial to any hospitality business. • They must also be familiar with basic procedures and

methods or at least have transferable skills. • They also need to possess organizational skills to work on

projects alone and with others. • In the end, the hospitality industry has little use for

candidates with poor attitudes and poor people skills.


What do Companies Look for?

• Standard forms for the hiring process include the job description and the job specification.

• Most hospitality companies seek similar traits and ask themselves similar questions when hiring someone:– How do they appear?– Do they get along with others?– Can they communicate?– Are they sensitive to others?– Can they foster customer relationships?– Do they know and understand your business and your

customers even if they’re not from the same background?


Ideal Candidates

• Have a genuine desire to please others; find reward in a job well done

• Are motivated from within—an energetic personality• Bring a positive attitude to work, leaving personal issues

behind• Able to adapt to situations, but are consistent in

performance• Able to anticipate needs and demands before they occur• Feel a duty of loyalty to the company• Are sensitive and consider the needs of others


Ideal Candidates (cont’d)

• Are sincere• Have knowledge of procedures, and products (which is

different from rules that can or cannot be broken)• Have a thirst for continuous learning• Have knowledge of themselves• Have pride in themselves• Have knowledge of standards of excellence, what to

strive for• Have positive habits• Have great listening skills• Have great communication skills


Employee Turnover

• Hiring correctly is crucial for guest service. – Your staff will be more content – They will perform better– A momentum will develop that will make the

manager’s job much easier. • Another benefit of this is lowered employee turnover. • Reducing turnover means more content employees and is

a general indication that your operation is well run. • All of this contributes to successfully implementing

customer service.


Employee Turnover (cont’d)

• To calculate employee turnover:1. Determine the period of time to be used (month, quarter, or year).2. Determine the number of the separations (number of employees that

have left and been replaced). Each full-time employee counts as one. Adjust accordingly for part-time employees who will equal a fraction relative to their hours (e.g., 2 half-time employees equal 1 full-time employee).

3. Divide the number of separations by the total number of employees during that same period (again, adjust for part-time employees).

4. Multiply this figure number by 100 to get a percentage.

Sometimes, the calculation is simplified by only including full-time workers. It can also be calculated for management, employees, or new hires separately. You may also need to adjust for adding employees or downsizing.


Communication

• When you communicate, you are revealing much more than you might initially realize.

• As a customer approaches you, an identity of them begins to form.

• This often directs how they will react in a situation. It will direct your questions and their responses.

• You can expound and put together such descriptors as:– Confidence– Education– Knowledge of surroundings


Visual

• You only have one chance to make a first impression. • Your dress and appearance are important. What works

well for one situation may be very inappropriate for another.

• Although people may have been taught not to judge one another, they often do; they make these snap judgments about others.

• A business must control what it is able to, and an employee’s initial appearance is something that can be controlled.


Body Language

• Eyes• Head• Face• Hands• Arms• Torso• Legs • Feet • Distance


Vocal

• Vocal expression is even more difficult to control. Few people focus on it, but it is essential.

• When doing so, observe:– Inflection• Variation in voice

– Pitch • High, low, or monotone

– Timing• Fast or slow

– Volume• Loud or quiet


Phrases

• Try to learn phrases that parallel the organizational culture.

• There are also words that should be discouraged and removed from your vocabulary.

• It is difficult to remove them just while you are at work. Instead, remove them from your personal life as well.

• Also remember to be optimistic and avoid negative phrases.


Telephone

• Answering the Telephone– Initiating a Call– Leaving a Message


Training, Managing, and Developing

• Training, Managing, and Developing: 4-Step Process

1. Demonstrate personal and procedural expectations.2. Integrate and initiate into the culture.3. Demonstrate service standards.4. Monitor, assess, support, and reward.


Training, Managing, and Developing (cont’d)

1. Demonstrate Personal and Procedural Expectations – Goal Setting– ABC Prioritizing – Use of Terms• On-stage and off-stage• Cast members• Guests

– Standards

2. Integrate and Initiate into the culture– Internal Customers– Developing a

culture/Managing an image


Training, Managing, and Developing (cont’d)

3. Demonstrate Service Standards– Empowerment

4. Monitor. Assess and Reward– Saying Yes


Team Management

• Teams have offered many benefits such as:– Workload distribution– Idea generation– New perspectives– Oversight for responsibility and objectivity

• Most common reasons why groups fail to become highly successful:– Communication and awareness– Personalities and traits– Planning and scheduling– Past team issues


Teams

• Types of Teams– Teams can be classified in many ways. – Most common classifications use characteristics of functionality,

purpose, duration, supervision, and dependency.• Team Stages

1. Forming: Familiarization, getting acquainted to leadership issues2. Storming: Fighting, goal/objective issues3. Norming: Beginning to trust and form a structure4. Performing: Productive teamwork

• Types of Team Members– Approach to Problems– Interaction/Expression– Work Style– Personal/ Emotional– Expertise/Intellectual


Teams (cont’d)

• How to Make Teams Work– Know the types of teams and assign members

appropriately.– Know the typical roles of the members.– Keep the pitfalls in mind.– Stay focused on the objective and monitor.


Discussion Questions

1. List the most important attributes that hospitality companies look for in hiring candidates.

2. Why is nonverbal communication important to delivering quality service?

3. List and briefly describe five aspects of body language that you would seek in an applicant for a concierge position.

4. How can a manager say yes to a difficult request?5. Why is developing an organizational culture crucial to developing

a brand?6. Should a manager be strict, lenient, or consistent? Explain.7. When should you devise a list when ABC prioritizing?8. How is empowerment crucial to providing quality service?9. How long should a meeting be?

After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Identify the proper hiring attributes.

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