Working in the hospitality industry requires patience, teamwork, and effective communication. In any hospitality setting, happy guests are a top priority, but delivering top-notch customer service is only possible if employees feel supported by their peers and supervisors.
Unfortunately, employees often feel burnt-out or ignored if they don’t have a strong sense of community and team-spirit. In an industry where employees don’t have a centralized hub and are often scattered throughout a hotel property, it’s especially important to prioritize communication and clarity. Wondering how to connect your hospitality team? Here are our top four tips on how to foster a collaborative and team-oriented work environment.
#1 Listen to Employee Feedback
Offering employees a space to share their concerns, ideas, and input is essential when building a team-oriented workplace. Without the opportunity to communicate with management about workplace-related feedback, it’s easy for employees to feel resentful and frustrated over time.
One of the biggest things you can do to foster a collaborative work environment is to trust employees and listen to their suggestion and concerns. Here are a few ways you can encourage employees to take the lead:
- Host regular meetings to check in about work-related issues.
- Provide an online forum for employees to file complaints or raise concerns.
- Create a space where employees can propose new ideas or projects.
#2 Prioritize Learning
No one expects an athlete to have perfect form after a week of training, and the same thing goes for professional hospitality staff. Although many hotels and resorts only train employees during the onboarding period, it’s helpful to provide ongoing education for staff members. Continued training helps refresh employee’s memories about policies and strategies, and introduces them to new technologies.
Offer employees a variety of resources including webinars, demonstrations, and handbooks. Remember, training is also a great opportunity to foster strong bonds between employees. Use training sessions as an opportunity to get to know workers through ice-breakers and other activities.
#3 Reward Employees for Their Hard Work
A job well done should never go unnoticed. Since it’s challenging to keep a close eye on hospitality employees on a daily basis, rewarding good work is even more crucial. Employees need to feel valued in order to thrive, so make time to acknowledge how their effort contributes to the success of the team.
Create different metrics for employee success. Whether you’re rewarding excellence in customer service, unparalleled efficiency, or innovative problem-solving skills, it’s helpful to have a variety of awards that play to different employee’s strengths. This way everyone can have a chance to shine, and you highlight all the elements that go into making a successful team.
#4 Encourage Seamless Communication
Last but certainly not least, it’s vital to emphasize a culture of communication and clarity. Since employees are often in customer-facing, high-intensity roles, it’s necessary to clearly convey expectations, feedback, and advice. Communication is the key to success in all facets of the hospitality industry.
To take communication to the next level, try using a communication platform that integrates multiple methods for communication and emphasizes collaboration.
Real Time Updates
Instant communication is key in high-pressure situations. An intranet platform with a chat forum is a must-have for coordinating with workers and answering questions.
Mobile Friendly
No platform is worth the investment without full mobile capability. Look for software that works well on all smartphones, so employees have easy access to updates, schedules, and notifications from anywhere at any time.
Integrated Apps
Some communication platforms offer app-integration options. This allows you to view information from other applications, like emails and calendar updates, on one, user-friendly platform.
Sit Back and Relax, with Konverse
Konverse is your go-to integrated employee management and communication platform. Started with the goal of uniting remote workforces around the world, Konverse offers employees a space to communicate, collaborate, and manage their professional lives.
With Konverse, workplace communication will never be the same. Our goal is to create an environment of corporate alignment, where employees and employers alike are on the same page. Plus, Konverse integrates your existing tools to simplify your life and consolidates communication so you never feel like you missed something important.
Interested in getting started? Contact us today to start your demo.
