Turnaround Your Team’s Culture in 5 Steps
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela
Hospitality Leadership strategies can be implemented in many industries and organizations, not just hotels and restaurants. It’s a gap that needs filling. Here are some strategies specifically for a hotel which translate well into any organizational structure in need of positive change.
When a hotel’s culture is hurting, the idea of turning it around can be quite daunting. It takes hard work, dedication and commitment to turn around a team’s culture and it may seem impossible at first, but once it’s complete, there’s nothing sweeter.
If you try to draw a picture of hotel culture, you’ll be sitting there for quite a while staring at a blank piece of paper. You can’t draw culture, you can’t even see culture. Though, culture defines a hotel’s performance. Culture drives service. Service drives guest’s intent to return. Guest’s intent to return drives revenue. Revenue drives profits. Profits drive value. Trying to improve guest service without improving the culture is like trying to get over being sick by taking aspirin. It may relieve the symptoms, but it doesn’t touch the underlying cause and core sickness.
Cue the Beach Boys song, “Wouldn’t it Be Nice.”
Wouldn’t it be nice…..if all of our staff members were superstars?
It certainly would be nice, but that’s not usually the case is it? When a hotel’s culture is in a downward spiral, it seems like nothing can make it better. It’s much like when you start feeling sick. The runny nose becomes a sore throat, which becomes a cough, and then a fever hits. At your worst, the last thing you’re thinking of is what you need to do to make it better. You have no energy and just want it to end. The good thing about a cold is that it will eventually get better. But when a hotel’s culture is sick, it will not get better without a superstar leader with a super plan. Before the plan can be implemented, finding a great leader comes first.
Assuming the right leader is in place, here’s the plan:
Step ONE: Create a vision and “brand” your Culture
Like Yogi Berra said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”
Having a vision of where you want to be is crucial. It’s okay if you’re at point A and want to get to point Z. As long as you can see point Z in the distance, you’ll get there.
Gather your most positive team members and create a vision statement describing the culture you want at the hotel. A good vision statement starts like this, “We commit every day to creating a positive, service-oriented culture which……”
When the vision is determined, ask your team to brand it, as if they were going to sell it in stores. Have them describe the package, the name, the colors, the celebrity most likely to be the spokesperson, really make it your own brand. Make buttons, brochures and have a “launch party” to announce it. Most hotels want a culture that supports and inspires good service to others. Many focus on attracting and retaining top talent, employee relations, guest satisfaction and running a successful business. Every hotel wants a good “vibe”. Describe that vibe, then sell it and live it every day.
Step TWO: Identify the problems
“In the book of life, the answers are not in the back.” Charlie Brown
It’s time to dig deep. Be prepared and be open to realizing some harsh truths. Assess your team using a “Roster Review” process. All the major sports teams do it every year before drafting their next crop of talent. The only difference is your criteria. Instead of “ability to hit to the opposite field”, it’s “Service Attitude”, etc, etc. Use a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most competent. See below example for front desk agents:
It is important to complete this form for all departments. For this example, it is a front desk staff. The experience and tenure of the employee is important to consider when analyzing the scores. With a score of 4.8, it is clear that Nora is a superstar. With a score of 2.4, Aiden is struggling in this position. Sally and Josh have similar scores (3.4 and 3.5) but are competent in different areas. Also, note the averages of each competency. With “Service Attitude” being the worst average at 2.75 one can only think they are struggling with satisfying guests and Nora, with a 5 in Service Attitude, must be very frustrated working with 3 others that do not share the same attitude.
Step THREE: Eliminate the problems
“I couldn’t repair your brakes so I made your horn louder!” Tow Mater (Cars movie)
The world of hotel performance assessment has two hemispheres; people and processes. When fixing the culture of a hotel, most of the time, it’s a people problem. Some people were just not made for the front lines; therefore it’s best for the hotel and the individual for them to be removed from a position that has a high degree of guest interaction. This step must involve your human resources team. Aiden, the employee with the lowest score above may simply be in the wrong position and of course, there is more investigation that is needed before terminating an employee. In this case, it is clear that the front desk agent position is not right for Aiden. There may be a different position that is more suitable for Aiden, which is why the human resources department and other managers need to be involved.
A one-on-one meeting with superstar Nora would be helpful to gauge where her attitude stands as a result of working with team members that are less service oriented. She may have suggestions are can support the culture vision. Either way, in order for a service culture to exist, the 2 scores need to be a 4 or 5. This takes time, which is why points A and points Z exist. There are many steps involved. Be patient and follow the plan towards your vision.
Step FOUR: Rebuild with emotionally intelligent people
“It’s not the most intellectual job in the world, but I do have to know the letters.” Vanna White
In a turnaround situation, you are turning it around for a reason. It means the hotel was headed in the wrong direction and it needs to be flipped upside down and realigned. Once the Negative Nellies and Debbie Downers have been removed, concentrate on back-filling those positions with service leaders. The 5 criteria you should be looking for are the 5 hallmarks of emotional intelligence. They are: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills. Notice that nowhere is computer skills and local hotel knowledge. In 2004, Daniel Goleman wrote and excellent article published in the Harvard Business Review entitled “The Focused Leader”, where he details the critical importance of emotional intelligence in leadership and team culture.
Identifying and attracting emotional intelligent applicants is not like everyday recruiting. The best advice I can offer is that it takes one to know one. Therefore, be sure your hiring manager, or General Manager has a high degree of emotional intelligence, or they will struggle to identify or attract this particular type of individual.
Step FIVE: Long Term Care
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss
By now, your culture should be clicking well towards positive. You feel a sense of accomplishment and wonder how you ever allowed it to get so bad knowing how good it could be. In between award ceremonies and magazine interviews for leader of the year, don’t forget to set up mechanisms and processes that drive the culture to further heights for the long term.
Utilize unique and innovative techniques to engage and interact with your new superstars. Offer them benefits that they aren’t likely to find elsewhere. For example, play “Word with Friends” with your associates on your phone, offer them “social networking” breaks and turn the “employee of the month” luncheon into a celebration. If most of your team of superstars were born after 1980, ask them how they want to be recognized. Their answers may shock you.
Set up monthly “Temperature Reading” meetings with your team members. Talk about the future and thank them for being a superstar. These conversations, also called Pulse Meetings, need to be about them and how they feel working there and where they want to go. This is the time to develop your talent and seek feedback on how your organization can continue to improve. This is also a good time to discuss opportunities for further growth and responsibilities.
Complete a new Roster Review every six months. A company’s culture is fragile. It just takes one Negative Nellie to join the crew and steer the hotel off course. These monthly mechanisms ensure you have the finger on the pulse of your team and won’t lose site of the vision.
To make this culture turnaround successful, you have to be two things: honest and patient. Be patient enough to understand that you cannot to go from point A to point Z in 30 days and be honest enough to know when patience is not the answer. Remember, this is a turnaround. It’s not going to be easy; however when it’s done, it’s sweeter than honey.
Good luck and have fun!