Retention/Attraction – the BIGGEST Mistake!
Corey Harlock has spent more than 20 years at the executive management level in the hotel and restaurant sectors, and interviewed and surveyed thousands of prospective employees. With his finger firmly on the pulse of the hospitality industry, Corey can help your company find the right executive, increase its staff productivity, lower turnover and create a healthy work environment.
I have beren talking to a lot of old collegues lately. Some who have recently made changes, some who effect change and have been asking them all the same question, ”Do you think a company gets stronger/better by asking thier employees for suggestions?”
Here are the reasons (I have found) that companies don’t ask employees for input:
1. They know the are doing a poor job and asking will only create more work. Besides they don’t need the bad news, thier job is hard enough!
2. Scarier than #1 – they think they know better than the people who are actually doing the jobs they are passing policy and procedure on! – Now that is scary considering many of them haven’t ever done your job or atleast not for years (and years).
So, in conclusion here are your options.
1. Ask the question, do the work, improve your business
2. Don’t ask because your afraid of the answer or work or both and stay where you are.
3. Keep thinking you know better while 100′s disagree and walk that dangerous line of manipulation vs motivation and watch as great staff with brilliant ideas go to the competition one by one.
Someone told me a story about a major gas station back in the day who had a service promise that was unattainable. Something like “there will be an attendant waiting at the pump for you.” But the attendants could never beat the cars to the pumps.
Then a regular ol’ attendant had a brilliant idea. You know that tube you drive over and it makes a “ding” sound to alert the attendants? Well, he suggested that it be moved back, way back so that when ever a car entered the parking lot, they would be notified and have ample time to be waiting at the pump for the customer.
Simple idea right? But it took a line staff to come up with it! Ask your people, your business will get better!
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Great logic! Hopefully most of us already manage using this mentality.
To take it a step further and give the staff a sense of accomplishment, team work & pride, get them to implimentthere ideas with your assistance or support to ensure everything does go smoothly while ensuring standards codes etc are met or followed.
I am a member of an organization that is staffed with some wonderful people. The rent we are paying for the office is outlandish. We are considering a “package office’ for the lead staff member, the accountant and one staffer….make use of a board room for staff meetings every Monday morning and having the staff work from home. All files are ‘in the Cloud” so connectivity is not a problem. Does anyone have experience in operating like this? We are concerned about keeping the ‘team’ alive. It seems that most of the staff are keen. More the Board members who are worried about teamwork and productivity.
On the mark thoughts. In put from line employees as well as feed back is so important to a quality experience for the associate and the guest. Helps build value.