Hotel employee satisfaction is perhaps one of the most underlooked elements of a successfully running hotel. Happy employees provide excellent service, which directly contributes to a positive guest experience, a good perception of your hotel brand, and thereby helps with guest retention.
Since happy staff are better employees, it’s important to understand what you can do as a hotelier to increase job satisfaction levels. In this article, we’ll look at the benefits of increasing employee satisfaction in your hotel and some top tips on how to do so. Ready to discover more?
What are the benefits of increasing employee satisfaction in your hotel?
Increasing staff satisfaction in your hotel creates a positive environment in which your staff will thrive, and this is palpable to guests in their interactions with staff and the hotel experience in general. The more engaged your team is, the better service they will provide, which will positively contribute to your brand’s reputation. After all, the human touch is ultimately what differentiates your brand from other hotels, and this added element does wonders for guest loyalty.
Furthermore, when your staff is happy, they are more productive, which leads to more efficient operations. The more efficient operations are, the smoother the guest experience and the better first impression. Furthermore, happy employees are more likely to stay at their jobs for an extended period, and less turnover also does wonders for your guest experience. So as you see, happy employees are a win-win for everybody involved.
Learn ten simple ways to improve the guest experience.
How to increase employee satisfaction in your hotel?
Now that we’ve understood the benefits of employee satisfaction, let’s take a look at some top tips on how to increase satisfaction levels. Increased satisfaction levels are key to great customer service, while at the same time boosting profitability and contributing to loyalty strategies. Discover the secret to great customer service.
1. Create a supportive working environment
When we talk about a supportive working environment, there are many things to keep in mind. For starters, make sure that your employees know who to go to when they have an issue. In order to prevent problems, try setting up one-on-one meetings and regular check-ins so that you can get a general feeling of how satisfied your staff is and any pain points you need to address.
Creating this positive and supportive working environment helps improve satisfaction levels because employees know that there is a structure set up to help them if they need it. This safety net is beneficial not only to the employee but also to your hotel to prevent problems before they arise.
2. Implement horizontal leadership
Setting up a horizontal leadership system, where employees know who their leaders are, but they are approachable and ready to solve any problems that arise, does wonders for employee satisfaction. Horizontal leadership also means that employees are aware of the hotel's business goals and objectives so that they feel implicated in helping to reach these goals.
Another benefit of horizontal leadership is that it can also lead to more coordination and flexibility among employees because they feel part of an overarching goal. Belonging to a group all working towards the same goal creates synergies, improves communication and encourages creativity in order to reach these objectives, which all do wonders for employees’ motivation.
3. Send out satisfaction surveys
Building trust is essential to happy employees, and one of the ways you can do this is by actively showing that your hotel management cares. Send out monthly satisfaction surveys to get a grasp on the overall pulse of the working environment. This is a great tool to understand what is going well, what needs improvement and any pitfalls. You can use similar strategies with your staff as you do with reputation management.
Learn more about reputation management.
4. Recognize good work
Nothing makes employees feel better than being recognized for good work. Recognition can come in the form of awards like for top service or employee of the year, or it can come in the form of kudos from employees. Recognizing employees not only from the management level, but also between colleagues helps create this positive working environment we discussed above.
In this way, employees will be more motivated to do good work because they will see the benefits of doing so. Also, give guests a chance to give their feedback about employees. Hearing about happy guests is a great incentive for staff to keep up the good work and to be satisfied with their work, knowing that it has a positive impact on the hotel’s reputation.
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5. Upskill and give employees the chance to grow
We talked about the importance of upskilling employees in our article about how to improve operations, but the fact is upskilling is key not only for operations but also for hotel employee satisfaction levels as well. Upskilling has numerous benefits like filling skills gaps across departments, increasing employee retention levels, and giving your hotel a competitive advantage.
Coupled with upskilling, giving employees the chance to grow also keeps them motivated and satisfied with their jobs, in addition to preventing talent migration. You can set up both a pay structure and a position structure, i.e. Junior, Senior, Lead, etc. that allows them to grow and know that they have a chance to move up in the ladder with dedication and hard work.
6. Hold employees accountable
Accountability is important to give staff a sense of responsibility. Instead of micromanaging employees, hold them accountable for their daily tasks. Give them the tools they need to be successful at their job, like adequate on-the-job training, and designate people they can go to when they have questions. This way they are ready to handle anything that comes their way, and they are empowered to make decisions for the benefit of the hotel.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve looked at the benefits of increasing employee satisfaction in your hotel and some strategies to do so. We mentioned creating a supportive working environment, horizontal leadership, sending out satisfaction surveys, holding employees accountable, recognition and upskilling. All of these tips will contribute to a positive working environment where employees are happy to go to work every day.
Satisfaction levels are not only good for staff retention levels at your hotel, but it’s a fact that happy employees are more productive and will work harder to provide excellent service. And, excellent service is at the core of generating more bookings and encouraging loyalty, which are both key to a profitable hotel.
10 Ways to Manage Staff Shortages
Sometimes even if you have great employee satisfaction levels, global factors beyond your control may disrupt your operations.
But your property doesn’t have to suffer. Our guide, 10 Ways to Manage Staff Shortages, gives you tips on how to run a property with a reduced team, from smart technology that reduces your workload to better staff engagement.
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