While many South Africans are preparing to go on leave over December, millions of other South Africans are gearing up for their most demanding period of all.
Yes - we’re talking about employees in the all-important tourism and hospitality sectors.
Since Covid, South Africa’s tourism industry has rebounded, and hotels, restaurants, shops and gyms will be teeming with locals and tourists over December and January. All these customers need to be helped, served and looked after - and that’s where service staff come in.
In this article, we’re going to look at these members of staff and explain how you can set them up for success. In doing so, you’ll not only create a good employee experience, but you’ll create a good customer experience too.
1. Understand how people work.
We all work best in fits and spurts. No one can be firing on all cylinders all day. And so as an employer, try to be mindful of this by reminding staff to take breaks, grab a bite to eat, and find a space to decompress. If people aren’t able to meet their basic needs, they’ll be more likely to grow stressed and frazzled.
A good employee experience creates a good customer experience. Imagine you’re in a restaurant and the waiters and waitresses are having to fight one another to get to the pass, or run around one another to use the restrooms. That’s going to create stressed and unhappy staff, and it’s also going to slow service.
The upshot? Always create convenience for your staff. Doing so will pay dividends, because they’ll work more efficiently to create a better environment for your customers.
2. Help staff manage biases
We all have biases and many of them unconscious - as we’ve unpacked in a previous article on the site.
It’s a good idea to help staff to spot these biases in themselves. For instance, if they’re dealing with a customer who looks well-off, they may treat them very respectfully. But if they spot a customer who looks less wealthy, they may ignore them.
This isn’t necessarily happening at a conscious level, and as a result, your staff are liable to dismiss the idea that they’re at all prejudiced. This is where unconscious bias training can come in, something we specialise in, and something that will help your staff to recognise their blindspots.
Once properly trained, they’ll be better positioned to treat customers fairly across the board.
3. Use the right incentives
Research shows that while money is an incentive, it’s a short-term incentive. Offering someone a bonus might get them to work harder in the short term, but once the money has been paid out, they’ve forgotten about it. The same goes for a salary - it’s paid out once a month, and around payday, you might notice an uptick in productivity. But what sustains an employee for the long term?
The answer: the environment.
Create an environment where people are motivated to succeed. A culture where everyone works together with the passion to be their best.
When it comes to motivation, there’s something of a Goldilocks Zone to aim for. You don’t want a culture so relaxed that people are falling asleep from boredom. But nor do you want an environment that’s so pressurised, people are fainting from stress.
Too comfortable, and staff don’t have expectations to meet. Too stressed, and they have all the expectations and none of the support.
Aim for somewhere in the middle.
4. Stop staff from entering survival mode
Following on from the previous point, an environment that is overly demanding will push staff into survival mode.
In these moments, they’ll become more short-term focused. “It’s about getting through the day”, not “performing well for the whole month.”
And when someone is focused on the short-term, they’re less concerned with the wellbeing of others. In the hospitality industry, this is a no-no, because it leads to staff becoming short and even rude with customers.
On the other hand, staff that are optimally positioned in that aforementioned Goldilocks Zone will be agreeable and keen to impress. Exactly what you want.
5. Teach staff to deal with stress
Sticking with the theme of stress: stress activates a fight-or-flight response. Unhappy customer? We look to fight back or flee the scene. Irate colleague? The same.
But stress can - and should - be managed. The trick is to help staff recognise this bodily response and to empower them to manage those feelings. If they can manage the internal turmoil, and look upon it as an impartial observer, they’re then better positioned to consider the next move.
You see, when we deal with stress badly, we react on instinct. When we deal with stress smartly, we think before we act.
This all ties into the broader point: namely, that Emotional Intelligence (or EQ) and stress management as a whole can be taught.
We have a wonderful course on EQ which will help to build emotionally mature leaders in your team, so do have a look.
6. Finally, staff turnover is disastrous
A revolving door of staff is never a good sign in any business, and it’s particularly bad in hospitality. High turnover means you’re constantly having to train newcomers who are not up to speed with your way of working, and don’t know your customers.
Not only does this impact the quality of the service, it’ll become apparent to your customers that they’re dealing with fresh faces all the time. That means they’re less likely to feel a part of the fabric of the business, and are less likely to return.
Losing repeat customers is one of the major reasons businesses go bust. On the other hand, those that have loyal repeat customers - and a steady influx of tourists over the high season - will do best.
Comments