11 Ways To Develop an Employee-Centric Culture in Hotels

Revenue management, hotel technology, operational efficiency, or anything related to the hospitality industry, you name it and I have written about it.

However, there has been a major amiss. I haven’t talked about one of the prominent aspects of a hotel — “how to set your employees up for success?”

But the wait is over as I am going to talk about everything that can be done to create an employee-centric culture in hotels and how a hotel can its staff succeed in their respective roles.

Your Hotel Staff is Your Asset

Before we jump right into the points, there’s something I would like to state. I am sure you must have heard this multiple times, but let’s take it again.

Your employees are your hotel’s no. 1 asset.

Successful hoteliers know that they must value their staff. Irrespective of the position or the employee’s rank, hotels must offer unbiased incentives to everyone such as good pay, satisfying benefits, and positive work environments.

There’s no doubt that every hotel wants to offer a supreme experience to their guests. However, little do many hotels know that it can only be achieved if they treat their people well.

How to Set Your Hotel Staff Up for Success?

So, you want to create an employee-oriented culture in your hotel? Good for you!

But how are you going to do that?

If not, never mind.

Here are all tips for building an employee-centric culture in hotels and helping the staff succeed. 

1. Share the vision with them

The first and very foremost thing you must do is to share the business vision with every employee of your hotel.

Now, what I mean by that is you have to tell your employees or co-workers why they are working for your organization.

Simply put, you have to paint a picture of the dream or goal each one is working towards, and put that into the hands of your employees.

If you can successfully translate your vision, then you, my friend, are going to build an A-Team.

2. Set achievable goals for your staff

The importance of goal setting for employees in the hotel industry is higher. And this goes the same for every department in a hotel.

Setting goals for employees is one of the key responsibilities of a hotelier. When you set goals for your employees, you not only drive them with a good performance but also strengthen your business. 

Now, the most important thing to keep in mind here is that the goals have to be measurable and attainable. Because when goals are achievable, employees become confident and perform better.

3. Encourage job ownership among the staff

If you Google, you’ll find articles that state that if employees don’t take ownership of work, it is because they want to fly below the radar and avoid getting called out.

Even though there are employees who can do just the MDR (Minimum Daily Requirement), it completely depends on the hotel to make the staff take job ownership.

And one of the ways to do that is by having an open conversation with the staff and letting them know they are accountable for the quality and timeliness of an outcome.

Encourage your staff in every way possible to take job ownership. By doing so, you let them know how they can grow as professionals and individuals.

4. Provide constructive criticism

Praise in public, criticize in private.

There’s a thin line between criticism and constructive criticism. And you as a hotelier must know the difference and always take the side of constructive criticism.

When you offer valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of your hotel employees (which involves both positive and negative comments), you help them learn about areas of their work that could be improved.

If you want your employees to succeed in their respective fields then you must be able to communicate with them in an open and safe environment. And two-way constructive criticism, which is about giving feedback and getting feedback, is a good way to go about it. 

5. Include the HR department

HR is an imperative pillar of any successful hotel business. It bridges the gap between employees’ performance and the organization’s strategic objectives.

Which is why it is important to involve the HR department when you’re creating an employee-centric culture in your hotel. It will help you drive employee engagement, job satisfaction, staff retention, and define business success.

Not to mention, it is important to have a body that is always pro-employee and HR is just that. HR ensures employees that the department is for their betterment and will always be on their side.

6. Monitor the progress of each employee

Next up on our list of ways to enable staff success in a hotel is monitoring their progress.

For example, Hayley is your hotel’s sales manager who handles corporate and travel agent room sales for the property. It’s been a little more than a year since she joined your hotel and now you feel she should be promoted.

But, could you just simply call her up or shoot a mail saying ‘you’re promoted’? NO!

You have to extract data on her performance and see in which areas she did well. Try to determine the expertise she has developed during her tenure. Figure out how she has made progress.

When you do such an in-depth analysis, you will be able to promote her to the proper role, boost her confidence, and help her succeed in her career.

Additionally, if possible, do this for all or most of your employees. Let them know how they are faring in their current role and what lies ahead of them.

7. Create a culture of rewarding and meaningful work

Running a hotel is no joke. From hotel owners to staff members, everyone is on the go.

Amid all the hustle bustle and high-functioning work environment, the best you can do for your hotel employees is to create a culture of rewarding work.

Now, what it means is that, as a hotelier, it is your responsibility to keep the hotel staff motivated. And you can achieve that when you celebrate even the tiniest of the milestone and praise your staff for accomplishments.

Simply put, make employee recognition the cornerstone of your hotel’s entire infrastructure.

Employee recognition or appreciation of employees’ contributions can take many forms. And it is always a good practice to have some sort of employee recognition program. So, if you don’t have one at your hotel yet, you might want to set it up ASAP.

8. Enable teams to collaborate efficiently

Team collaboration is supremely important to achieve goals and for employees’ growth. And this is why you have to enable your employees to work in collaboration with different departments whenever needed.

For example, there are times when the housekeeping department might need some help from the concierge department. And in that case, the concierge department should be able to step in and offer support. It shouldn’t be held back by any sort of ineffective protocol.

Therefore, as a hotelier, who is trying to create an employee-oriented culture, promote collaboration from day one.

9. Create intriguing roles for employee promotion

Another major thing that hotels should focus on is creating intriguing positions.

What does that mean?

For instance, Rohan is working as a front desk associate for Hotel Grandeur. And now, he’s having multiple questions about his future.

What’s next in my career?

What role am I going to play when I get promoted?

Even if there’s a higher position, what would the work be like?

Do I really want to work in that position?

These are some of the most common questions that hospitality professionals get. And it’s because they want to see what exactly they are going to do a year or two down the line. 

Not to mention, many hotel employees even set goals based on certain higher positions and it is a brilliant element of enhancing performance. 

Therefore, spend enough time analyzing the current employees and their roles in your hotel. Try to determine what other roles you can create in your hotel and who could be a great fit.

10. Have empathy for your employees

The employee attrition rate in the hospitality industry is really high. And one of the reasons why employees leave a hotel job is because they feel they are not being heard and supported.

This is where empathy comes in. And EMPATHY MATTERS!

When, you as a hotel owner, understand a situation from the employee’s perspective, you react better and offer legitimate support.

In simple words, you have to allow your people to establish true, empathetic connections with one another and with you to feel included, enhance relationships, and boost performance.

11. Ask your employees about their personal goals

In connection with the previous point about empathy, you also have to be supportive of your employees in terms of their personal goals.

Maybe the frontdesk associate wants to earn more money and buy a vehicle. You can then talk to her about it. You don’t have to offer her a high-paying position right away; rather, you can be a friend and show her the path to achieve that goal.

This kind of employee-centric culture in hotels is the key to not only becoming a successful business but also a brand that is loved by people.