Motivation and Retention

Keeping and recruiting top talent should be a top priority for all owners and managers.
Stephanie Mayhew

Motivating and retaining current employees and recruiting top talent is a challenge for employers in any industry, but with such a high turnover rate, the lodging industry faces a constant challenge. According to Dr. Jim Harris, a corporate consultant, business author and a corporate speaker, employers only need to follow a few simple principles to help keep their top talents happy.

Leadership

Excellent leadership is the cornerstone of motivating and retaining good employees. Harris notes that successful leaders solve problems, plan and organize, communicate, delegate, train and motivate their employees. "Leadership excellence is not mystic, it is simply the relentless execution of the basics," says Harris. Great managers utilize the skills mentioned above to create an ideal working environment that not only keeps their current employees happy, but also attracts other good employees. Harris says that he has seen even well-run companies make common mistakes that affect the overall working environment, thus driving their valued employees away. Some of these common mistakes are:

1. Lack of "Joy" - According to Harris, even the most well-meaning managers can steal the "joy" out of working because they become too focused on problems rather than focusing on creating an atmosphere of lightheartedness. Harris says that it is almost as if there is an "11th commandment over the entrance that says upon entering you shall never smile again."

2. Lack of Direction - If employees do not understand where your company is going, how can they commit themselves to helping you get there? Tell your employees your basic plan, a 90-day plan or an annual plan, so they understand where they fit into your plan, how you want to get there and how they impact the success of the business.

3. Lack of Mmanagement Listening - Listen! Listen! Listen! Harris notes that front-line employees are the ones that have their fingers on the pulse of a company because they have first contact with customers and are often the ones solving customer problems. However, managers still do not listen to them. Instead, they over-direct and under-listen.

Employees Motivate Themselves

"It is not a manager or owner's job to walk into their hotel everyday and pump up their employees," says Harris. Employees must motivate themselves, but there are two keys to ensuring that your employees do just that.

1. Environment - Take a look at your current environment. What do the offices and breakrooms look like? Are they cluttered? Is there broken equipment stashed in the corner? Are the computer systems in working order? Do you listen to your employees? Do you give them goals and a sense of direction? Focus on creating an environment of productivity for your employees.

2. Individualize Incentives - Acknowledge your employees in a unique and individual way when they do a job well done. To do this, Harris suggests creating what he calls a "Favorites List." Create a list of 15 or 20 questions for each employee to fill out. Ask questions such as "What is your favorite candy bar?" "What is your favorite color?" "What is your favorite sports team?" "What is your favorite flower?" The next time an employee does a great job, pull out their "Favorites List" and put together an individualized gift for that person.

Uncover Your Corporate DNA

To ensure that you retain your top talent and recruit more just like them, Harris tells employers to "Look for the common characteristics of your best employees and then hire employees based on those characteristics." He calls this "uncovering your corporate DNA." For example, when hiring for a housekeeping position, don't focus on whether or not he or she has previous housekeeping experience. Instead, focus on his or her "DNA." Does that person have the core skills and values that your top talents have? If the answer is yes, then he or she wil have the right "DNA" and you can easily train them in any method you want.

Retain Current DNA

Once you have uncovered the "DNA" of your top talents and figured out the skills and values that work in your hotel, focus on retaining what you have. Harris tells his clients to conduct a "DNA Interview." Bring together the top talent in the different areas of your organization and ask them the following questions:

1. Why do you stay? - Keep doing the things that keeps your best employees.

2. What would make you leave? - Your top talent knows that they are in demand, so as a manager or owner you will want to fix things that would make them leave or at least make an effort to make it better.

3. Who do you know just like you? - Why not let your top talents recruit more people just like them?

4. If you could change one thing about what we do here, what would it be? - By asking your top talent to help you make the business better, you are involving them in the future and success of the company.

Creating VEO

Joanne Sujansky, the founder of the KEY Group, helps employers create an atmosphere that promotes employee retention and motivation.   Unfortunately, no one ever says "Thank God it's Monday," says Sujanksky. However, through years of experience she has created some simple steps to help owners and managers make that statement a bit more of a reality. Sujansky coined the concept VEO, which stands for vibrant entrepreneurial organization. A VEO is a business environment that is alive and exciting and one that people want to be a part of. Sujansky has laid out five steps for creating a VEO.

1. Risk Taking and Accountability - An owner must let their employees try new things and acknowledge them for it even if it does not work. Hoteliers should encourage their staff to be innovation and give them the resources to try new things. In addition, if the employee fails, don't punish him or her.

2. New Face of Loyalty - According to Sujanksy, "People don't leave a job, they leave their boss." Employers must offer their employees the proper resources, development opportunities, a good work/life balance and decent pay and benefits.

3. High Productivity with Low Stress- A study done by KeyGroup found that nearly 1 in 5 employees say that their productivity suffers due to unnecessary stress. To alleviate undue stress, an employer must make an employee's goals clear and let them know what kind of performance is expected.

4. Winning Tradition - hire people with right attitudes and celebrate their success.

5. Communication As An Art Form - Acknowledge the diversity of your team and understand that because of such diversity a task might have to be communicated in four different ways for it to be understood. Repeating, clarifying and making statements clear is imperative to making sure that your operation runs smoothly. Employers also need make sure that dialogue works both ways.

If you listen to your employees and examine the culture of your hotel, you just might be able to make a few changes that will save you   the cost and hassle of having to hire a new employee.