Lobby View

Guest satisfaction through employee satisfaction

P S Sundar

Speaking on improved guest satisfaction as part of a Management Development programme for corporate hotel executives in Singapore, I identified employee satisfaction as a key factor. Like charity, satisfaction begins at home. Satisfied employees are the only ones who can consistently satisfy the guests. Improved guest relations come through better service, which can be given only by committed employees who repose a high degree of job satisfaction.

In this endeavour, employee satisfaction is not the destination but guest satisfaction is. Employee satisfaction is a vehicle used to reach it. Corporate hotels adopt different strategies to ensure a high-degree of employee satisfaction. I group them all into an abbreviation - PRAISE - and insist that all the elements, not a few of them, must be followed to provide improved guest relations through a high-degree of employee satisfaction. Praise expands to six vital factors - Pay, Reward, Appreciation, Incentive, Sympathy, Engagement.

P S Sundar

Pay is the primary factor for job satisfaction and it includes perquisites. Reward is the next stage where improved performance is matched with rewards including promotion, sought-transfer, better working ambience and bonus. Appreciation is recognition that gives a psychological boost and can be through certificates, notes, letters, mementoes, etc. Incentive is important to increase the productivity and employees feel that their effort brings in success. Sympathy does many things which money fails to do. Engagement directly gives job satisfaction, develops a sense of belonging and importance and ensures involvement in the work done.

The key indices determining the level at which these factors serve to provide employee satisfaction are to be devised for individual units. Likewise, the strategy to reach these indices and factors has to be tailor-made for the units. This approach deals only with the 'carrot' side of personnel management, but does not rule out the 'stick' part comprising punishment and correction. Both have to be balanced.

While all these six elements have to be followed for success, achieving one can lead to another. Thus hotels have instances of sympathetic consideration of employee requirement leading to greater engagement, resulting in promotion with matching high pay. The Intercontinental Hotels group stresses on 'Employee Engagement Survey' covering many factors including management standards, facilities, amenities, training, guest relationship and image building, for a comprehensive understanding of the experience of being employed in the hotel concerned. Holiday Inn Gem Park Ooty, that belongs to the group, has won the best 'Engagement Award' for the last two years. According to Amith Khanna, its GM, "The group evaluated different departments through online survey and awarded us 100 per cent engagement index. Our hotel stands first in the group's Asia Pacific region."

Among the factors that helped recognise satisfaction with the employees were constant feedback to staff on business progress, two-way communication between staff and managerial cadres, sharing, adopting and adapting ideas and consistency in looking for improved strategies.

Khanna summed up, "Our employees are excited about the growth opportunity in South West Asia. We give quarterly feedback to staff on the progress at various levels. On the first Monday of the month, we hold Town Hall meetings when the employees are apprised with the previous month's performance relating to finance, room service, front office, quality, etc. Recognitions and rewards are undertaken at the meeting.” He adds, “We also have an Open Forum and a four-house employee concept. Our Idea Library tracks various ideas for improved services. Employee utilities like cafeteria, lockers and break rooms have been renovated to their appreciation. We have even developed a hotel song which we sing during internal gatherings. So, our employees are satisfied enough to satisfy our guests!"