4 Tools for Aligning Communication in Hospitality

For workers in the hospitality industry, communication is essential for succeeding in a high-stress environment. Since a large component of working in hospitality revolves around ensuring guests’ comfort and satisfaction, employees need to have access to instant and efficient communication channels in order to succeed. This way, employees can respond to guest requests, delegate tasks, and problem-solve while delivering top-notch service.

Because hospitality workers don’t have a centralized office space, communication strategies need to incorporate mobile-friendly communication platforms. Wondering how to incorporate better communication practices in your hospitality business? Here are 4 tools for transforming the way your team communicates.

Why Is Communication So Important in Hospitality?

First things first, let’s take a look at why communication is such an essential part of the hospitality industry. In any service role, employees need to be on the same page with management in order to follow company policies and provide the best service possible to guests.

Lack of proper communication may result in misunderstandings and misalignment with the company’s vision.

• Missed Announcements: Without access to company-wide announcements, employees run the risk of making costly errors. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was paramount for hospitality staff to follow health and safety guidelines in order to provide guests with a safe and stress-free experience. Without access to the latest company-wide updates, employees might miss essential guidelines on COVID-related protocol.
• Wasted Opportunities: Not all announcements are necessarily bad news! Providing employees with details regarding ongoing promotions and deals boosts revenue and encourages guests to engage with your services again. If employees don’t know the latest promotional deal, they won’t be able to offer the service to customers, and may lose the company income.
• Misaligned Vision: Strong communication facilitates trust and respect. Without a foundation of mutual openness between employees and management, it’s common to have mismatched priorities. This may lead to employees feeling distant from the company’s vision and culture.

Tools for Improving Communication

#1 Employee Surveys and Feedback

Healthy communication is a two-way-street. In hospitality in particular, employees are frequently spread-out around a hotel property and don’t have quick access to management. By offering employees the opportunity to provide feedback via an online survey, employees will feel more empowered and valued by the company.

On the other end, it’s also crucial for management to have easy access to communication with employees. Online chat platforms allow management to deliver feedback through a secure and confidential channel.

#2 Thoughtful Onboarding

Although the onboarding process may seem like a preliminary step in an employees’ journey, setting expectations for clear communication from the start encourages an open workplace environment. Emphasize the importance of accountability to employees and management alike, and ensure new hires feel welcome and have the resources they need to thrive. By providing access to educational resources, employees will feel empowered to ask questions about company policy and job requirements. Ongoing training and a commitment to lifelong learning fosters a sense of collaboration between employees and management.

#3 Intranet Communities

In hospitality, it’s often not realistic to hold an all-staff meeting on a weekly basis. In a fast-paced environment, employees are frequently absorbed with daily tasks and don’t have time to attend meetings during normal working hours. Supplement in-person gatherings with workplace-exclusive intranet communities. These company-only forums give employees a secure place to share ideas, ask for advice, and check in with peers. Plus, with instant notifications, employees can gain quick answers to questions on a tight timeline.

#4 All-In-One Platforms

Hospitality often involves multitasking and receiving communications from more than one source at a time. For this reason, it’s not realistic for workers to have separate chat, email, and scheduling applications. Consolidating all communication needs into one platform simplifies juggling multiple points of contact at once, and gives employees a wholistic picture of their tasks and responsibilities.

Streamlining Your Hospitality Business with Konverse

Meet all your communication needs with one, user-friendly platform. Konverse is a cloud-based communication platform built for the modern-day deskless worker. Complete with email and social media integration, employee-only chat functions, scheduling platforms and task management software, Konverse is the app that does it all. Plus, Konverse’s app is easy to use on a range of mobile devices, ensuring streamlined communication is available from any location. Contact us today to request a free demo!