Operating a hospitality property is a never-ending journey that requires your constant and continuous attention.

I am going to highlight 10 productivity traits that waste time and ways to correct them.

Welcome to another edition of Hospitality Property School.

I am your instructor, Gerry MacPherson.

Just like guest services and your colleagues, your productivity will never be perfect, but you can always benefit from taking a breath and determining what is working, what is not and how to improve moving forward.

#10 – Being a perfectionist

Perfection is a great thing if you want to cut diamonds, perform open-heart surgery or defuse a bomb. Not so much in your hospitality property.

Being a perfectionist can drive all your employees crazy and be a waste of time. Shooting for very good is the sweet spot you want to strive for because it is efficient and quite suitable for almost everyone.

#9 – Not having a routine

Everyone can benefit from a routine to be more productive. In your property, the key is making sure you have an up-to-date operations manual and you are leading the way by modelling the proper procedures. A goal would be to work on one job at a time and to do it right. Multitasking rarely works.

#8 – Micromanaging

Micromanaging won’t motivate your employees. Micromanaging gives them the impression that you don’t trust them to run your property. Instead, give them the right tools and then step back a little and give them more responsibility.

Show them that you trust them to get the job done right the first time. If they don’t, make them accountable. Over time, you’ll find that by giving them more responsibility, their efficiency and productivity levels will increase because they’ve become more confident in themselves and in how they operate their area of your business.

#7 – No incentives for your RAs

The biggest part of the labour engine in your property is likely your room attendants. So. offering them incentives as a way to maximize the productivity around the hours per room occupied is where you want to focus.

#6 – Not using an up-to-date daily rooms forecast

If your schedules are based on the weekly forecast and not updated daily, you are missing an opportunity to finetune things. Post-COVID-19, the hospitality property industry will become even more of a game of inches and a volume sport at the same time. An hour here and there all adds up to whether you are taking or giving.

#5 – Lack of effective communication

All employees need to know what is going on. Daily effective communication in all departments in a property is key. The number of times you avoid extra costs for things that could have been caught ahead of time and dealt with more efficiently is worth a fortune. Flip it around and if you are running by the seat of your pants this equals poor fuel mileage.

#4 – Encourage breaks

You need your staff to be efficient, productive and ‘on-fire’ when it comes to operating your property and looking after guests. However, with a high workload, it’s also important to encourage breaks to help reduce the risk of an employee having burnout. If this occurs, your property will suffer because key staff members will need more time off to recover from the extra work.

Instead, encourage time off and make sure you have adequate staff who can fill in. You’ll find that your staff will become more efficient and productive if they aren’t tired or pushed to their limits. So encourage employees to take some time off when they’re getting overworked or stressed out.

Do these make sense so far?

Let me know in the comments.

#3 – Abusing breaks

Yes, I just said encouraging breaks are important but unfortunately, there are those who will find ways to abuse this time. Set realistic guidelines for smoke and bathroom breaks. Not that long ago, I remember the crowds of employees gathering numerous times a day at the designated smoking spot. Unless you have guidelines, this could have a huge impact on working hours. Keep in mind, a trip outside for a smoke always equals a trip to the washroom.

#2 – Not tracking & scheduling with productivity measures

Track everything. If you are not using tools on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis to track your labour effectiveness you are missing the boat. As Peter Drucker says,

“You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure.”

Labour costs and percentages just do not work well enough here.

#1 – Not controlling smartphone, social media, texts & email

These can be huge time wasters and finding a way to control your staff and the amount of time wasted on these devices is like finding the Holy Grail. Please drop me a line when you do and tell me how you did it.

If you are a member of the Hospitality Property School Group, as a bonus, I am going to share 6 Ways to Boost Productivity.

In conclusion

Operating a hospitality property is a never-ending journey that requires your constant and continuous attention. So it is important to determine the productivity traits you have at your property that are a waste of time and find ways to correct them. It will not only make you, your employees and your property operate more efficiently but will give you the time to focus on the things that will help your property grow and prosper.

We cover more on employee development in “The Guide to Owning & Operating a Hospitality Property – Successfully” book & course. You find more information at KeystoneHPD.com

What productivity traits have you improved lately?

Let me know in the comments.

You will have access to this episode for the next six weeks and then it’s locked in the vault for Hospitality Property School Group members only.

To see all the other valuable material you’d have access to as a member of the Hospitality Property School Group, check out the short video in the episode post-show notes.