HAMG 1313 Front Office Procedures Employee Relations

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HAMG 1313-Front Office ProceduresEmployee
Relations
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Why is human resource management important in
the hospitality industry?

• Hospitality industrys need for workers will
  increase by 25 - 40 during the 1990s
• Total labor force will only increase by 1
• 26 decline in labor force of hospitality's most
  common age group
• 16 to 24 year olds

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HAMG 1313-Front Office ProceduresEmployee
Relations - Communications
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Front Office Communications

• Log Book
• Record unusual events, guest complaints or
  requests
• Allows front desk to respond intelligently to
  guests
• Information Directory
• Directions maps taxi phone numbers
• Group Resume Book
• Summary of all group activities
• Reader Board
• Posting of daily events at the hotel

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Telephone Services

• Often first point of contact with guest
• Helps create hotels image
• Smile
• Match your speaking rate to the callers
• How may I direct your call?
• Avoid slang and technical terms

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Interdepartmental Communications

• Front Desk and Housekeeping
• Greatest amount and need for communication
• Engineering and Maintenance
• Should check front office log book
• Revenue Centers
• Answer questions properly post charges
• Marketing Public Relations
• Front desk must be informed of hotel activities

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Guest Requests

• Equipment Supplies
• - Roll-aways, irons, hangers
• Special Procedures
• - Split account folios
• - Master account folios
• Concierge Services
• - Entertainment dining
• - Transportation arrangements

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Guest Complaint Categories

• 1. Mechanical
• - Most guest complaints relate to hotel
  equipment
• 2. Attitudinal
• - Rude or tactless staff
• 3. Service-related
• - Poor service
• 4. Unusual
• - Often something that you can do nothing about

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Guidelines For Handling Complaints

• Isolate the guest
• Listen empathize
• Stay calm, dont argue
• Take the complaint seriously
• Give undivided attention

• Take notes
• Offer guest choices
• Set a time line for action
• Monitor progress
• Follow up

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Front Desk Robbery Dos and Donts

• DONT
• Make any sudden moves
• Attempt to disarm robber
• Try to be a hero
• Touch anything

• DO
• Cooperate
• Remain quite
• Keep hands in view
• Carefully hit silent alarm
• Observe the robbers physical characteristics

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Effective Communication

• The transfer of INFORMATION
• and
• UNDERSTANDING
• from one person to another

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Five Levels of Communication
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Barriers to Effective Communication

• Timing
• Right Person Wrong Time
• Routing
• Right Time Wrong Person
• Overloading
• Too Much, Too Fast
• Filtering
• Leave out info to make sender look good
• Distortion
• Right Time Person Wrong Understanding

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Effective Communication

• Barriers
• Timing
• Routing
• Overloading
• Filtering
• Distortion

• Cures
• Selectivity
• Planning
• Prioritizing
• Rapport
• Empathy

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Human Resource Process

• 1. Recruiting
• 2. Selecting
• 3. Hiring
• 4. Orienting
• 5. Training
• 6. Motivating

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Recruiting

• Internal Recruiting
• Involves the transfer or promotion of current
  employees.
• External Recruiting
• Recruit individuals from outside the hotel to
  fill open positions.
• Pros Cons?

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Selecting

• 1. Job Description
• Lists all of the tasks which make up a work
  position.
• Task-oriented
• 2. Job Specification
• Lists the personal qualities skills needed to
  perform the tasks.
• People-oriented

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Front OfficeJob Description

• Register guests
• Assign track guestrooms
• Provide information
• Monitor guest accounts/credit

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Front Office Job Specifications

• Professional demeanor
• Education experience
• Flexible friendly
• Well-groomed appearance

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Selecting

• What To Ask
• Questions based on sound business reasoning that
  are relevant to the job
• What Not To Ask
• Avoid asking for information that cannot be
  legally used in a hiring decision
• Can ask for proof of age and legal right to work
  after the applicant is hired
• What should you do?

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Common Interview Problems

• First-Impressions
• - Base hiring decision on strong
  first-impressions
• Similarity Error
• - Drawn toward people who are similar to you
• Contrast Error
• - Compare applicants to each other and not to an
• established standard

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Common Interview Problems

• Halo Effect
• - View everything in a favorable light
• Devils Horns
• - View everything in an unfavorable light
• Nonverbal Factors
• - Allow cloths, appearance, etc. to cloud
  judgment

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Hiring

• 1. Extending the Offer
• Should be written to avoid misunderstandings
• 2. Negotiating the Offer
• Pay, etc. should be discussed in the interview
• Allow for a reasonable starting date
• 3. Completing the Offer
• Assure applicant and inform hotel staff

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Applicant Background Check

• Past employer will only only answer questions
  about past employees
• Dates of employment
• Job title
• Salary
• Why?
• Defamation of character

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Orienting

• Some of a new employees anxiety can be reduced
  by a well-organized orientation program
• Should include information about
• - The hotel history, reputation
• - The building tour of facilities
• - The working conditions hours, overtime
• - The job how does it fit in with everything
• - The front office team introductions,
  reporting
• - The rules and regulations dress, discipline

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Training

• Task List
• What the employee must do to perform the job
• Ex. Check-in guest
• Job Breakdown
• Specifies how each task should be performed
• Includes performance standards which are
  observable measurable

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Motivating

• Motivation
• - The strength of a drive toward an action
• You are motivated by what you want.
• - Internal forces
• Can managers motivate you?
• They can create an environment that allows you to
  achieve what motivates you.

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Self Actualization

Self Esteem
Social
Safety
Physiological
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Motivating Work Factors

• Work Factor Hosp. Sales FD HK
• Wages 1
• Security 2
• Opportunity 3
• Conditions 4
• Interesting 5

2 4 1 5 3
1 4 2 5 6
2 1 5 3 4