Housekeeping

Outsourcing gets indoors

In this era of Business Process Outsourcing, even the hospitality sector is no exception to the trend. Iti Yadav examines why it makes sense for hotels to outsource their housekeeping operations

The hospitality industry which was once perceived as a protected fortress has slowly (although not visibly) opened its doors to the trend of outsourcing of few of its operations. The initial trend was of using contractual workforce, but with stringent legal measures in place and labour-friendly laws of the land, the focus shifted to getting quality work without labour hassles. This is taken care of by an external party, and so the concept of outsourcing in hotel operations was born.

Outsourcing is a strategic business decision which needs to be analysed and studied critically before taking the plunge. It involves a lot of expertise on the part of the client as well as the agency to strike a balance. One of the first areas where outsourcing was used was housekeeping operations and payroll accountancy. These departments realised the importance of outsourcing when it came to specialised treatments rendered under constant expert guidance.

Outsourcing housekeeping

The challenge of keeping a mirror finish on the entrance lobby floor so as to have a first and lasting impression on the guests without incurring any extra burden on the already employed and overworked manpower, made the housekeepers look for viable alternatives.

Technical areas like maintenance of marble and granite flooring, carpet and upholstery shampooing, chandelier and glass cleaning (specially for hotels having double insulated windows which are difficult to access for cleaning) and pest management of the entire hotel premises were few of the areas which saw the entry of expert external agencies into the protected world of hotels!

Advantages: Some of the facts that worked in favour of outsourcing in housekeeping were:

• It allowed the housekeepers to concentrate on the core competencies of delivering a well-kept house and keeping the areas maintained as per the standards of the hotel.
• It allowed a certain level of flexibility of operations in terms of utilising and rotating the manpower to deliver extra on other jobs which needed more attention.
• Specialised and expert guidance for the maintenance of the areas.
• Reduced staff problems! Right from recruitment, training, allocation, appraisals, increments to dismissals.

The decision of outsourcing is property specific, but before outsourcing, the executive housekeeper must consider certain key points:

• Assess what work needs to be done.
• Assess the workload requirements and prioritising assignments.
• Prepare a daily, weekly and periodic cleaning schedule for every surface/area.
• Create frequency charts.
• Calculate the man hours required for the above frequencies & schedules and the payroll for the same along with other benefits (cost to company of an employee).
• Calculate the cost of training, equipment and material costs.
• Obtain bids from different companies either through networking with other hotels who have hired such agencies or through advertising.
• Check references carefully.
• For specific tasks such as marble maintenance, the executive housekeeper should ask for a demonstration to measure the company's performance and capabilities.
• Have preliminary discussions with the companies as to what needs to be done, when, where and how it has to be done.
• The available manpower with the company (number as well as skill levels).
• The available equipment with the company and the equipment required to carry out the defined tasks.
• The coverage of contract with respect to men, materials and machines; clauses for unsatisfactory services rendered and termination of services.
• In case of cleaning of external glass façade of the hotel, the condition should be put on the company to get the insurance for the staff carrying out the task. Also the company would be liable for safety of the equipment/process being used.
• Make it clear to the company that all statutory requirements like ESI PF etc. of staff should be taken care of and certificate towards the deposits made should be furnished to the hotel.
• Both the hotel (executive housekeeper) and the company should reach an agreement as to what the contract would cover before starting with the negotiating process.
• Ultimately the deciding factor should be 'Value for money' and not the "cost" alone.

Types of outsourcing

Outsourcing in housekeeping is either partial or complete. Partial outsourcing also referred as selective outsourcing, means that the cleanliness, aesthetic upkeep and maintenance of few selected areas or facilities are given to an expert agency that works in tandem with the housekeeping department and receives the directions on the frequencies of cleaning and the standards from the housekeeper. The common areas being:

• Chandelier cleaning
• Carpet and upholstery shampooing
• Floor Maintenance, especially of marble, granite and wood floorings
• Pest control
• Laundry
• Gardening & landscaping

Selective outsourcing

Selective outsourcing opens the avenue for engaging more than one agency also for the operations. However, the trend these days is on engaging one agency for entire public spaces of the hotel.

Advantages:

• Greater control on quality.
• Reduced safety concerns in terms of loss or damage to hotel property as the agencies are usually bound by the agreement which would cover such costs.
• Choice of more contractors who have expertise in their field and who can work simultaneously.
• Replacement of contractor is easier as compared to complete outsourcing.
• Core areas like the guestroom is under the control of hotel housekeeping.

Disadvantages: However, a lot of disadvantages also creep in which need to be weighed carefully by every housekeeper before selecting this option. The major difficulties which arise due to selective outsourcing can be noted as:

• Confusion amongst staff
• In case of more contractual agencies, security risk
• Skilled manpower
• Inconsistent performance
• Different or same uniforms as that of hotel staff
• Honesty and loyalty of staff is debatable

Complete outsourcing

The other option is complete outsourcing of housekeeping operations wherein the entire hotel housekeeping staff is outsourced with the exception of may be the supervisors and the executive housekeeper who might be the only ones to be on the rolls of the hotel. Complete outsourcing includes the cleanliness, aesthetic upkeep and maintenance of entire premises (public spaces as well as guestrooms) as per the set standards of the hotel with the quality being monitored closely by the hotel housekeepers. The cost is usually negotiated as a bulk amount to be charged per month or rate per square feet. It includes the manpower, machinery and the material used by the agency. However, some housekeepers prefer to provide the material, especially the guest room toiletries and linen as they can have a close control on the quality, supply and usage of the same.

Advantages:

• A saving on time, effort and energy
• Reduced costs in terms of labour, training and equipments
• Reduced staff problems
• Specialised and expert guidance

Disadvantages:

• Increased security risk as the employees not being screened by the hotel initially
• Background verification of staff
• Skilled or unskilled manpower
• Less control on quality of finished product due to inconsistent performance and lack of disciplinary powers to correct any poor performance
• Honesty of staff especially when they are being entrusted with the responsibility of cleaning guest rooms wherein they would be having access to guests' luggage as well as any lost and found in departure rooms
• Motivating the staff as being with an external agency, their increments, bonus, medical costs etc. are to be decided by the agency and not the hotel. So the carrot and the stick policy cannot be employed by the hotel
• And with all this comes the loyalty of the staff. Needless to say, their loyalties would lie with the person who gives them the salary not with the property where they are working.
• There is reduced flexibility of operations as the hotel is bound by the contract. So any sort of adjustment or changes is difficult to incorporate. Even if the termination of contract is being considered then too the time factor is important as finding a new contactor at the earliest is a Herculean task at times.

Conclusion

It is left to every executive housekeeper to decide on whether to go in for complete or partial outsourcing. Although a safe bet is always to start with public areas and if you are satisfied with the performance and share a certain level of comfort with the agency only then to think of entrusting it with higher responsibilities, if required, of course!

The success of outsourcing operations depends to a certain extent on the constant monitoring of the performance to ensure that quality standards are met. Irrespective of the magnitude of the task, the supervisor should check the services and any unsatisfactory performance should be recorded and brought to the notice of the executive housekeeper who in turn should discuss regularly with the company person in-charge not only the drawbacks but also any assistance required to meet the standards. All executive housekeepers should never forget that the ultimate aim is to provide a clean, comfortable and safe environment to their esteemed guests!!

The author is assistant professor, Department of Hotel Management, Acharya Institute of Management & Sciences, Bangalore