Impact of Declining Employee Satisfaction on Service Delivery in Hospitality - Essay Example

In what ways does reduced employee satisfaction impact service delivery in the hotel industry? BY YOU YOUR INFO HERE In what ways does employee satisfaction impact service delivery in the hotel industry? CLIENT BRIEF The hospitality industry, especially hotels, is always considerate of issues related to improving service so that customers enjoy a more pleasant service experience. Sometimes complicated marketing strategies are used, as part of an entire integrated communications programme, to enhance sales volumes and improve total profitability. This is a reasonable and real-time goal of many hospitality industries. Many of these strategies include television advertisements, radio promotions, print information in travel brochures, and other high-budget activities to build a better brand image. However, there is increasing evidence that consumers are affected more strongly by their interaction with staff members within the hotel industry than through their exposure to promotional marketing and make future purchasing decisions based on this previous experience within the hotel brand. Why is this of interest to today’s marketers? Employees are only going to provide superior service when they are content with their environment. If the hotel is structured improperly or does not improve the morale of workers, they are likely not going to be as devoted to their job role tasks in the degree expected by corporate policy. Employee satisfaction would seem to be of high concern to the hotel industry due to the fact that consumers often come face-to-face with employees during a periodic or long-term stay in the hotel brand. When customers reflect on their visit, they conduct what is referred to in marketing as a post-purchase evaluation. In this evaluation, they are likely to assess not only the tangible factors such as aesthetic appeal or the comfort of the mattress, they are going to consider how they interacted and were treated by the service staff. Specific individuals will likely be remembered over others based on the level of quality of this interaction. Post-purchase evaluation is part of the general consumer profile after making a purchase, therefore making a good impression the first time is a key business success strategy for positive service delivery. This independent research project explores the relation of employee satisfaction on overall service delivery, specifically attempting to discover how reduced satisfaction can adversely impact the consumers’ perception of quality and value. In what ways does reduced employee satisfaction cause future sales problems with hotel brands in achieving success in positive service delivery. OBJECTIVES To discover: In what ways does reduced employee satisfaction impact service delivery in the hotel industry. The objective of the study is to uncover, specifically, how employee satisfaction at its reduced level can negatively impact hotel brand reputation. This study has three specific aims: 1. Uncover what drives employee satisfaction to be reduced in this hospitality environment. 2. Analyse various case studies of existing hotel brands to determine how they might have handled employee satisfaction issues in the past. 3. Discover which key sections of hotel guest services experience declines in customer approval when staff satisfaction is reduced. When a hotel chain is experiencing sales decline and they suspect that the problem could be related to consumer satisfaction and the guest experience when dealing with staff members, there are many models of training which can be imposed on the organisation to improve public relations skills with staff. However, identifying where these problems lie is the first step in improving employee satisfaction. It would be important to today’s hotel chains to consider what areas are most notorious for reduced satisfaction with staff members to put extra emphasis into redeveloping or redesigning these business areas. This study desires to add a new employee satisfaction model to the wealth of research data available on employee satisfaction theory to assist hotels in recognising the impact of reduced staff satisfaction on service delivery and customer satisfaction. RESEARCH DESIGN This study will be desk-based, consisting of research into employee satisfaction in both the hotel industry and in general business environments. The study intends to uncover what drives employees, at the psychological level, related to their own sense of value and their ideals on how they believe customers should also be treated during their guest experiences. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to consult with a variety of foundational learning tools such as psychological texts, social texts, and popular culture journals to understand how employees behave and respond in modern, structured organisations. This part of the research design is intended to improve the reliability of the researcher by broadening their knowledge base and skills in areas of psychology and social studies. These learnings will need to be applied to the analysis of research uncovered through secondary source analysis. Case study review is also required as part of the research focus, examining how other hotel brands have dealt with a reduction in employee satisfaction and whether these activities had ever achieved any meaningful results. These results might be financial, discovered through an analysis of annual report data on company investor websites, or through other analysis means such as the employee satisfaction survey or other tool to measure employee attitudes in the organisation. By examining what is happening in real-time, real-world hotel chains related to satisfaction and employee/guest interactions, case study analysis is required at the in-depth level. A sort of forensic examination of these materials, using a qualitative research perspective, can discover whether problems exist in these companies at the broader level and pose educated suggestions about issues such as organisational structure and the broader business hierarchy. Journals which specifically represent the hospitality industry will also be consulted, as these give both biased and sometime unbiased reviews and opinion about issues of guest services and service delivery. These journals also give information about what is occurring in terms of processes at the organisational level, therefore giving a window into what drives activities at certain hotel chains regarding their human resources policies. It could be uncovered that motivational activities at certain chains have worked previously, therefore providing a model by which to recommend a new employee satisfaction method. These journals will be critical tools for peering into the hotel brand to observe activities related to keeping employees contented and devoted to superior service delivery. All of the materials consulted will be field-specific literature which comes from reputable marketing managers or human resources staff (or even at the executive level) so that a well-developed industry profile can be developed. This is an aspect of improving validity of the results by assessing the authorship and point-of-origin of the researched materials. Part of conducting this research is to measure whether the author’s perspective is based too loosely on personal opinion or whether it can be grounded in factual, corporate information. Various organisational structures at existing hotel brands will also be examined, these items can be located on various websites or annual reports of some brands. The first focus of research is to discover how the management and leadership hierarchies work within the hotel so that the employee role can be tightly defined. Are they considered to be valuable contributors to business success or more of a tool which can be closely scheduled and coordinated at the managerial level? Does the hotel brand have specific human resources plans in place which view the employee as a major source of human capital and are the company’s resources devoted to these activities in a way that is meaningful to service delivery and customer experience? All of these fundamentals of today’s hotel brands must be uncovered so that employee role within the organisation is understood. DATA PRESENTATION and FINDINGS The results of a recent study indicate that employees can be satisfied by simply knowing how their pay is determined (Branham, 2005, p.19). Pay is one of the determinants of employee satisfaction and goes back to basic, traditional beliefs about performing a quality day’s work for a fair price. Are their gaps in how pay is structured and how this information is communicated to employees? Does the brand recognise that employees demand a fair compensation and want to know what opportunities for pay increases are available? The research evidence suggests that clearly communicating the pay policies of the business can be a significant motivator, therefore improving their satisfaction levels. This would also seem to represent a low-cost effort by just improving the internal communications methods within the hotel brand to make sure that employees become engaged in their pay structure and pay options. From any view, this would seem to be common sense business practice, however it could be an oversight in today’s hotel brands. The organisation’s climate is strongly linked to employee satisfaction (Payne, 1998). Organisational climate, in this context, represents the organisational structure and how the management/staff relationship is developed. Excluding other contextual job role factors, such as tangible job expectations, the aspects of leadership directly impact whether an employee is satisfied. Businesses should be looking at whether their structures are centralised or whether they offer employees more autonomy and decision-making within the organisation. The climate is the environment in which the employee is forced to work within and be expected to achieve multiple job role tasks whilst still remaining devoted to smiling and greeting customers. It would seem that hotels should strongly examine their internal structure and see if it provides opportunities for improving organisational climate in order to maximise service delivery. “Hospitality entities, whether large or small, are complex entities requiring managers to work through frontline employees to manage every guest’s moment of truth and meet their goals” (Crotts, Ford, Heung and Ngai, 2009, p.3). The hotel service delivery experience is complicated, requiring employees at multiple divisions to interact and schedule their activities in a way that is inter-dependent on other organisational resource divisions. These moment of truth activities suggested by the author include the minute the client arrives at the front desk, to daily room and housekeeping, to amenities management, up until their final departure from the organisation. This inter-dependent, complicated environment can likely provide stress and anxiety to the employee population and make them less effective and productive, especially if there are colleague-created scenarios arising which complicate their own job role functions. This complex environment would seem to point toward management intervention in ensuring that frontline employees become the focal aspect of the business in human capital, therefore giving them more motivation to perform, such as improving their rewards structure. Pay as a motivator for meeting service and customer focused goals, which are measurable, could be a solution for the brand struggling with employee problems. “There is a strong connection between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction,” offers J.D. Power’s global hospitality director, Sam Thanawalla (Keeton, 2008, p.D8). Hotel industries cannot ignore that people are integral to the service delivery, whether valued or undervalued, and can therefore not be overlooked as an active variable in whether consumers have a good experience with their hotel visit. For hotels which are looking for new methodology to raise profit and increase customer sales, the first step is recognising this connection and work toward building momentum in having a positive organisational culture. Training employees to be more satisfied, however, does not come without significant financial and labour-related costs. Erstad (2001) identifies a case study in which The Forte Hotel Group had begun to recognise problems with satisfaction and therefore implemented a change programme to redevelop the organisational culture. This investment meant more than one million hours of training, over a three year period, just to ensure that employees were satisfied by using human resource principles (Erstad). Not every hotel industry is going to have the available capital to launch such a widescale training programme to improve culture and satisfaction, nor the available staff who can remain dedicated to ongoing projects of this size and expense. Training is clearly an advantage to improving satisfaction and improving the organisational climate, however a new model needs to be recommended for smaller-sized hotels which provide in-house tools which do not strain budget and also can be meaningful to staff members. Nelson and Bowen (2000) suggest that this tool should be the consideration of employee uniforms. Uniforms do not only identify members of the organisation so that customers can distinguish guests from service representatives, but they also build identity in employees based on aesthetics or how they feel they are being viewed by others in their uniforms. Many hotel brands have strict uniform policies and mandate that their employees have neat, organised appearances by streamlining colour and style across the entire employee spectrum. If employees are disengaged from their uniforms or they do not flatter their personal expectations for identity, they will likely have emotional outcomes about being forced to wear these outfits which might be resistance to change, poor client interactions, higher turnover rates, or any number of business issues related to service delivery. It would seem that employee uniforms should be of considerable concern to the hotel industry especially when self-esteem and self-identity are aspects of uniform policy and process guidelines. King and Grace (2006) offer that flexibility is key to ensuring employee satisfaction. Flexibility, in this context, represents an autonomous environment where employees are not micro-managed at the leadership level and are left to complete their tasks so long as their performance is at standard or above-standard. Flexibility can also mean, in this context, job rotation and enhancement of job skills by rotating job roles within the hotel to avoid mundane job role tasks and a perception of being involved with organisational goal-attainment. Is the hotel flexible in how it manages the employee population? The evidence suggests that flexibility should be a consideration when determining whether employees are likely to be superior service delivery providers or whether they are likely to resist change policies or other measures designed to improve the customer experience. The Organized Change Consultancy recommends that employee satisfaction surveys are the choice tool for uncovering what is driving employee attitudes regarding positive service delivery (organizedchange.com, 2008). These surveys focus on job role elements in order to understand whether employees are having a difficult time in their jobs or whether they feel they are a respected member of the organisation. The employee satisfaction survey represents a tool which is low-cost and can be modified using simple technology tools in order to build better relationships between management or human resources and the employee population. The satisfaction survey, in the hotel industry, might be just what is needed to ensure that employees recognise that the hotel is taking their needs into consideration and is attempting to make changes to improve the organisational climate. Further research into case studies on the employee satisfaction survey and its relevance to successful satisfaction-building need to be examined. CONCLUSION Uncovering what drives employee satisfaction in today’s hotel brands is not as easy as it might seem, since there seem to be a multitude of potential factors at the internal level which can impact service delivery. This study intends to uncover exactly what these drivers are and where they impact business. Employees seem to appreciate flexibility in job design, with the ability to contribute to organisational goals, whilst being forced to work in dynamic and frustrating environments where colleague interdependency is commonplace. They likely have to work with individuals who are less motivated to perform and those who are more motivated and assist in achieving the cyclical goals of the service staff. Understanding what organisational elements are necessary to bring these employees more satisfaction would seem to be a critical starting point for hotel brands looking to improve overall service delivery and leave customers with a positive reputation. The tools available for measuring and building employee satisfaction appear to be of large volume, therefore isolating the specific tools which would be most beneficial for employee satisfaction should be explored. Organisational-level problems, such as structure and culture, must also be identified through case study examination. The end result of any hotel chain is the hope for a better customer experience and more improved service delivery. Evidence suggests that employee satisfaction is a variable in this business goal, therefore making this study of high importance in helping hotel brands to establish a quality employee satisfaction model. No recommendations, based on preliminary research conducted, can be offered until a more solid picture of what drives employee satisfaction and its potential business outcomes can be uncovered through further research. REFERENCES Branham, Leigh. 2005. The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Reorganize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It’s Too Late. AMACOM Books. Crotts, J., Ford, R. and Heung, V. 2009. Organizational alignment and hospitality firm performance. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality. Bradford, 3(1), p.3. Erstad, E. 2001. Commitment to excellence at the Forte Hotel Group. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Bradford. 13(7), pp.347-352. Keeton, Ann. 2008. Airline satisfaction at 3-year low; survey finds fliers dislike service, understand prices. Wall Street Journal, New York, NY. 18 June, p.D8. King, C. and Grace, D. 2006. Exploring the implications of market orientation for hospitality employees: A case study approach. Services Marketing Quarterly, Binghamton. 27(3), p.69. Nelson, K. and Bowen, J. 2000. The effect of employee uniforms on employee satisfaction. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(2), pp.86-96. Organized Change Consultancy. 2008. Employee Surveys, 360 feedback, Assessments, and Balanced Scorecard. Viewed 3 Nov 2009 at http://www.organizedchange.com/surveyshome.htm Payne, A. 1998. Relationship marketing for competitive advantage: Winning and keeping customers. Marketing Series: Professional Development, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Read More