Monitor Work Operations

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Monitor Work Operations

• SITXMGT001A

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Monitor efficiency and service levels

• Organizations are places where groups of people
  work together to achieve a common goal, or goals
• The organizations, in which we work today are
  very different places from the traditional
  organizations of ten or twenty years ago
• These changes can be both exciting and unsettling
  for people
• Those most likely to adapt to change are those
  who are multi-skilled and who are open to
  learning new skills and doing things differently

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Monitor efficiency and service levels

• The roles of managers and supervisors have also
  changed
• It is not common now for a worker to have both
  management and operational responsibilities and
  to be part of a work team
• Managers are often responsible for staff who have
  multiple tasks and who move between jobs and
  tasks
• Content-free managers are common they have not
  necessarily been trained in or worked directly in
  the department or area they are managing

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The culture of an enterprise

• All organizations have a culture or a mind-set or
  a particular way of operating
• The culture could be
• Supportive of staff
• Customer-oriented
• Friendly
• Comfortable
• Casual
• Total quality management in focus/nature
• Blaming
• Negative
• Stressful

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Ensure workplace operations support organization
goals and quality assurance initiatives

• Management have responsibility for ensuring that
  operations in the establishment support the
  overall enterprise goals and quality assurance
  initiatives
• This pre-supposes that goals, objectives and
  targets do in fact exist, and have been
  communicated to the appropriate staff/managers

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Enterprise goals and quality initiatives

• Many companies have a way of operating that is
  called total quality management
• All employees are involved in continually
  improving the level of service, productivity and
  customer satisfaction
• TQM is a positive thing for organizations to be,
  or strive to become

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Enterprise goals and quality initiatives

• Requirements of a TQM organization
• Full top-down management commitment, support and
  understanding of TQM philosophy
• Right work systems and processes
• Team work and involvement of all members of staff
• Identification and meeting of customer needs
• Prompt identification of problems and issues,
  making prompt adjustments

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Enterprise goals and quality initiatives

• Why monitor progress and adjust plans?
• Benefits are
• Things are more likely to happen as planned
• Management and staff actually know whats going
  on in the business
• Problems are identified and corrected
• Service and/or product are consistent over time
• Work operations fit with work goals
• Staff feel supported and involved
• Customer needs are met

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Enterprise goals and quality initiatives

• What is monitored in a quality environment?
• It is not only about inspection and checking
  procedures and work done
• Focus should be on building quality into every
  aspect of work operations and continuous
  improvement
• It is not about blaming individuals, but seeking
  better ways to do things

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What is monitored in a quality environment?

• Any aspect of work operations can be monitored
  with a view to improvement, e.g.
• The procedures or systems that exist (e.g. bar or
  restaurant procedures)
• The workflow (order in which things are done,
  e.g. cleaning a hotel room)
• Whether or not there are gaps or overlaps in
  service provision
• The workload of staff (underworked or overworked
  at different times)
• The times it takes to do a task or job
• The job design of individual staff (whether their
  jobs are challenging or interesting enough)
• The level of customer satisfaction with the
  service or product provided

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Identify quality problems and issues

• Anticipate problems - be able to read ahead,
  observe behaviour and systems that can result in
  problems (e.g. predict that on public holiday,
  your staff will be overloaded, therefore roster
  extra staff)
• Correct problems as they happen be able to
  identify and correct problems as they occur (e.g.
  kitchen hand dragged a leaking carton of food
  through the kitchen, resulted in a slip/fall, the
  problem was identified immediately and a quick
  decision was made to always use a solid-base
  trolley for transport of food from the kitchen
  area to stores
• Correct problems after the event sometimes it
  is not possible to anticipate problems or to
  solve them as they happen the advantage might be
  that you have more time to review, reflect,
  consult and then make changes (customer
  complaints about no change available at the
  reception area increase)

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Steps in monitoring

• Work out what needs to be monitored
• Not everything can and should be monitored all
  the time
• Areas that show early warning signs that things
  are not going according to plan
• Areas of critical activity (high revenue raising
  streams, areas that are subject to intense legal
  scrutiny)
• Areas that are due for review
• Decide on methods or measures to use
• Observation, checklists, surveys, reports,
  flowcharts, bench marking, brainstorming
• Compare what is happening with what should be
  happening
• Take appropriate action
• Make necessary adjustments to improve the level
  of service, productivity or customer satisfaction

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Method of monitoring

• Reports
• Customer feedback
• Using a pretend customer
• Walking about the premises and observing what
  takes place, what and how could be improved
• Use of checksheets/checklists to tick off whether
  or not required service points are being adhered
  to by front line staff when they interact with
  customers
• Brainstorming staff contribute any thoughts and
  ideas to improve particular aspect of service or
  introducing a new initiative
• Staff input and review ask those directly
  involved and concerned

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Adjust procedures and systems

• In order to improve efficiency and effectiveness
• Changes in the internal and external environments
  impacting on workplace operations
• Management changes
• Organizational re-structures
• Introduction of new equipment
• Recruitment practices
• Economic climate
• Trends in customer preferences

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Developing standards and plans

• Response times (e.g. answering telephone before
  it rings X times, return a phone call to someone
  who has contacted us within X minutes/hours,
  every guest will be greeted and presented with a
  menu within X minutes of entering a restaurant)
• Service guarantees (e.g. if it is not here within
  15 minutes, it is free, it we dont check you in
  within 2 minutes, it is 20 off the bill)
• Pricing guarantees (e.g. staff must offer the
  lowest available price to all comers/callers
  rather than starting on top and working down)
• Product quality (e.g. discount, extra service,
  extra product, free XYZ if the product fails to
  comply or live with up to expectations)

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Developing standards and plans

• Document presentation standards (e.g. neat,
  clean, presentable menus, in-room reading
  materials, letters, forms, invitations, reports
  font, format, type size, layout, American vs.
  English spelling etc.)
• Personal presentation standards (e.g. required
  dress, personal presentation, hygiene
  requirements)
• Complaint management every complaint is an
  opportunity to rectify a problem, make a
  long-lasting customer relationship, but has to be
  dealt with quickly, properly and fully customers
  want to have their complaint treated seriously,
  acted on quickly and be apologized to

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Further approaches to adjusting procedures and
systems

• Approaches to staff
• Train and educate of staff
• Involve staff in planning and implementing
  quality improvements
• Build a team spirit
• Efficient communication means
• Promote environment of open communication and
  feedback
• Encourage and recognize innovation and teamwork
• Recognize the right of staff to understand their
  responsibilities and give them opportunity to
  suggest improvements

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Further approaches to adjusting procedures and
systems

• Approaches to customers
• Make the customer a member of the company or a
  guest of the company as opposed to a customer
• Reward faithful customers
• Communicate with customers in a way to promote
  goodwill, trust, satisfaction
• Identify customers unstated needs
• Ensure customers needs and reasonable requests
  are met
• Provide friendly and courtesy assistance without
  having to be asked

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The most serious problems found in service
companies

• Difficulties in contacting staff (frustrating for
  guests to see staff ignoring them, talking
  amongst themselves)
• Lack of information about the service
• Unclear or incomplete price information
• Unclear or incomplete deals (specials, deals or
  packages which at the end are something
  completely else gt betrayed customers)
• Handling of complaints (not handled respectfully)
• The content and form of the bill (correct and
  clear charges lead to quicker payments)

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Customer orientation and customer care for
continual quality improvement

• To improve the delivery of quality customer
  service levels
• Give benefits to key customers
• Systematize customer complaints and learn from
  them
• Train staff in customer care
• Give staff the authority, discretion and
  resources to make quick decisions
• Stimulate employees to be creative in developing
  customer care activities
• Invest in meetings and regular contacts with
  customers
• Make it easier for customers to complain

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Consult colleagues

• Encourage staff to feedback all relevant comments
  from customers (guests wont make formal
  complaint, but will speak in front of staff)
• Do not shoot the messenger
• Agenda items (regular meetings, compulsory,
  meeting minutes)
• Written protocols (everyone is aware and have
  clear instructions)
• Documentation (for staff to complete in writing
  if they do not feel comfortable with delivering
  verbal feedback)

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Plan and organize workflow

• Your role as a manager is to
• Motivate staff
• Determine workloads
• Schedule work
• Prioritize work
• Organize workflow
• Delegate work

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Assess current workload

• Focused and motivated staff are more productive
• Beyond earning an income, staff want to
  contribute to the organization and see it
• You as a manager can increase their job
  satisfaction by
• Taking an interest in their development (both at
  work and outside it)
• Being clear to them about how you judge and
  measure their performance
• Caring about their safety, health, well-being,
  taking visible steps to safeguard them
• Treating them personally, respectfully, using
  good manners, listening to them
• Giving them achievable objectives
• Giving them positive feedback and encouragement
  (especially when they fail to perform, so that
  they learn that trying is the important aspect)

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Motivating factors

• Not always incentives and rewards, but also
• A sense of achievement
• Recognition for a job well done
• Enjoying the work itself
• Having responsibility
• Having opportunities for advancement

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What is workload?

• Workload is an amount of work an employee is
  required to do in a set period of time
• As a manager your task is to ensure that
  employees are not under-utilized, or overloaded
  with too much work

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What is workload?

• Ways of determining what is an appropriate
  workload
• Work it out over time through practice and
  observation (suck it and see approach)
• Ask staff for their feedback (did they feel
  stressed, under pressure, or did they enjoy being
  flat out)
• Be aware of all other factors that may intrude on
  a staff members time and build on their workload
  (undertaking duties for other staff members,
  other departments, special guests etc.)
• Prioritize tasks into primary and secondary tasks
  done during quiet times

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Schedule work

• Scheduling work means planning, prioritizing and
  allocating tasks to be done in a specific period
  of time and by whom
• Work out priorities
• Work out the most appropriate workflow (consider
  timing requirements, physical availability of
  physical and human resources, layout of facility,
  equipment etc.)
• Assess the staffing levels and appropriate
  workload for individual staff members (based on
  your knowledge about individual abilities and
  capacities)
• Decide on delegation of tasks

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Prioritize work

• Prioritizing means deciding on and placing tasks
  in their order of importance
• Basic steps
• Involve staff in the process wherever possible
• Make three lists
• Essential tasks that absolutely, positively must
  be done no matter what, with no excuses, no
  exceptions
• Non-essential tasks, but which add quality to the
  performance of the department
• Tasks that would be nice to do, but not essential
  or important
• Compare the lists with the overall goals and
  objectives
• Adjust the lists, allocate work and take action
  to achieve the lists in priority order

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Assisting staff to prioritize their own work

• Ensure a private and quiet time to sit down
• Talk with them about their position duties, the
  goals
• Ask them to separate/identify the most important
  tasks they do (provide advice, direction, comment
  with the aim of staff becoming competent in
  managing their workload)
• Assist them to consider how they will do these
  tasks, and the priority order they will allocate
  to each of them
• Assist them to come up with a work plan to use as
  the basis for the actual implementation of their
  plan
• Set a time to review their plans and their
  progress on a regular basis
• Bear in mind that the aim is to get staff to
  prioritize their own work, so resist the normal
  temptation to do it for them doing it for them
  is certainly a quicker option, but it will not
  teach them how to think for themselves, and you
  will have to keep repeating the job for them
  forever

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Organizing workflow

• Workflow is the order in which work is best done
• Organizing this involves determining the logical
  sequence of tasks
• The aim is to make sure that the job is done
  efficiently and effectively
• Take into account
• How long each task should take
• Recognize staff needs and award requirements such
  breaks
• Number of staff to best achieve the result/task
• OHS requirements
• The most logical order of tasks to avoid
  duplication and gaps in service
• Suggestions of staff who are actually doing the
  job
• Useful tool is a flowchart

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delegation

• Make sure you are clear about the task
• Explain why the task has to be done
• Choose the right time to inform staff and do not
  hurry the explanation/delegation
• Provide clear instructions, explain all steps
• Continually check if the employee has any
  questions and encourage them to ask questions
• Continually check if the employee genuinely
  understands what is being said/shown
• Give them positive feedback make them positive
  and confident

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Delegation problems

• Age differences you as a younger person are
  trying to delegate to an older person
• Experience differences where you as a relative
  new-comer to industry are trying to delegate to
  an old-hand
• Gender issues where the opposite sex takes
  exception at you trying to tell them what to do
  
• The basics remain constant
• Treat people with respect, explain your
  requirements, solicit questions, answer them
  truthfully, thank people for their cooperation

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Assess workflow and progress

• Regular meetings with staff covering
• Overall feeling of personal performance
• Reasons why targets were/were not attained
• Relationships with other staff that appear to be
  beneficial or a hindrance
• Problems with equipment and process
• Timeliness that appear too tight/loose
• Problems with patrons
• Resourcing issues

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Assess workflow and progress

• Meeting can be an opportunity for you as a
  manager to share your views on how the worker is
  progressing
• Compliments and complaints from patrons
• Compliments and complaints from other workers
• Specific instances where you have observed
  non-compliance with procedures etc.
• Specific examples of outstanding work performed

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coaching

• Coaching can be seen as a process of providing
  positives (including feedback) to an employee
• The purpose is to reinforce knowledge and skills
  that have been developed through other training
• Principles of coaching are
• Involvement
• Understanding
• Listening
• Changing the situation
• Changing the employees perception of the
  situation
• Changing the individuals skills

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Provide timely input

• Ensure staff is not under-utilized or overworked
• Keep management informed of progress against
  goals
• Advise management on staffing needs
• Inform them of any difficulties you are having
  (with staff, patrons, equipment, suppliers,
  authorities) or any needs you are not able to
  meet (targets, budgets, deadlines)

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Provide timely input

• Reasons why you cant guarantee a smooth and
  trouble-free workflow from your unit
• There is actually too much work to do
• There are problems in other areas or outside
• There are unreasonable demands on your unit
• Your staff have not been provided with the
  necessary training to do their job effectively
  and efficiently
• The wrong staff have been hired/engaged in the
  first place
• You have equipment breakdowns

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Provide timely input

• The best ways how to notify the management
• Choose an appropriate time to do it
• Decide on method of communication (in person,
  meeting, orally, or in writing)
• Be very, very clear about the problem and/or the
  needs
• Spell out in detail how you have tried to address
  the issue (include how and why you think your
  efforts to-date have failed)
• Come up with possible recommendations that would
  improve the situation

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Maintain workplace records

• Workplace records are an important part of any
  work environment
• They should be accurately completed and
  maintained within the required timeframes
• There can be legal and financial implications if
  records are not kept up-to-date

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Maintain workplace records

• Examples of records in hospitality industry
• Staff records
• Performance records
• Fire safety checks
• OHS checks and reports
• Security records, Incident register
• Customer comments and feedback forms
• Orders, Receipt of goods documentation
• WorkCover claims, Insurance
• Lease agreements and renewals
• Banking details
• Equipment maintenance records, Linen cleaning
• Subcontracting agreements and compliance
  documentation

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Maintain workplace records

• Staff records
• a) Overall records that relate to staff as a
  whole
• Staffing roster
• Training details
• Annual leave planning chart
• Salary and overtime payments
• WorkCover records

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Maintain workplace records

• Staff records (cont)
• b) Individual staff records related to individual
  staff
• Position description
• Letter of appointment
• Signed contract
• Performance review records
• Copies of certificates held by the employee
• Leave records
• Record of uniform orders
• Training schedule
• Direct salary deduction details
• WorkCover claims

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Maintain workplace recordsdelegate and monitor
completion of records

• When dealing with these records it is important
  to maintain confidentiality and to ensure the
  privacy of individual staff
• Keep the records up-to-date and easily accessible
  when needed
• Managers of a work area is unlikely to personally
  attend to all of the records, but they are
  accountable for their accuracy
• Delegation involves finding appropriate person,
  making sure the person is capable or trained to
  take on the task, ensure that confidentiality is
  maintained at all times, training the person in
  the tasks required, monitoring the process on a
  regular basis

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End of PresentationDo you have any
questions?Thank you for your attention ?