Teamwork is important for almost any business where people work with or within close proximity of each other. It is especially true in the hospitality industry. Whether you run a hotel, resort, guesthouse, or any other hospitality-based establishment, you need your staff to be working together well to get the best results.
That being said, it takes time and effort to establish a rapport and build effective teamwork between your staff. Luckily, there are a few tactics you can employ to encourage the process along.
So, let’s take a look at 4 effective ways to improve teamwork amongst your staff.
1. Do NOT Micromanage
Micromanagement is when a person in a position of authority gets very closely involved in the minutia of those working under them, in a bid to improve it positively in some way. Ironically, this unwelcome involvement is often met with negative feelings from the staff and almost never results in any positive outcome.
For your staff to become an effective team, they must be given the trust and the space to work together. This allows them to learn each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and how to work with each other better.
If they have a manager interrupting them and constantly trying to influence their work, the only thing they will learn is how to do the bare minimum to please the micromanager. No rapport can be built in such a situation.
2. Make Roles Clear
One of the biggest boons to people working in a team is knowing exactly who does what and who is responsible for what. Often, it comes to pass that staff have to attend more things than their job description says, which can cause confusion, clashes, and discontent.
As such, it is very important that the managerial and executive staff make the roles of those working under them as clear as possible. While it is true that hospitality is a fickle industry and the needs of guests are infinite, it is also important to note that your staff need to know their responsibilities clearly so that they can work to fulfil these needs.
Knowing when to handover a task to another member of the team is very helpful to teambuilding. Knowing where your responsibilities end is helpful too, as you never step on each other’s toes.
3. Reward Good Teamwork
People are psychologically wired to respond well to rewards, rather than threats. Rewarding good displays of teamwork and celebrating challenges the team overcame together is yet another way to improve your staff’s likelihood of working well together.
There are many ways to reward good teamwork. You could introduce a financial incentive, for instance. Meet a certain target and everyone gets a bonus. You could also hold a small celebrating, perhaps every quarter or year, to highlight and celebrate the team and their accomplishments. You could also consider introducing group recreational activities such as fishing or camping as a reward for their hard work.
Knowing that their teamwork is appreciated and encouraged can do a lot to ensure that it remains of consistent quality. It also boosts morale.
4. Establish Effective Communications
When a group of people work together or are in close proximity with each other for extended periods of time, conflict is almost inevitable. This is why it is important to establish clear lines of communication to resolve these conflicts.
Your staff being provided an official means to air grievances, resolve disputes, and work out issues they have with each other in a civil manner can go a long way towards building stronger bonds. Whether it is a competent HR team managing conflict or simply a space for staff to talk it out with a neutral member of the team, any step taken in this direction will be much appreciated by your staff.
Effective communication channels can help with more than conflict management. It can impact the allocation of responsibilities and the state of staff morale as well.
Those were just some of the tips we have for increasing your staff’s teamwork and morale. Teamwork is an exceptionally important part of the hospitality industry, but it cannot be forced or artificially created. Only when people feel secure, listened to, respected, and a sense of community is teamwork born.
There is a saying that says that “teamwork makes the dream work”. So, keep that in mind as you work with your staff towards an even brighter future.
Lastly, one other way to improve teamwork is to create a way for them to effectively communicate with each other and never step on each other’s toes again. TripKit is the app that can make that happen.
TripKit is our easy-to-use, easy-to-learn, highly-customizable digital concierge app. It lets all your staff know what your guests have done, are doing, and will do based on their itinerary. It also ensures that the right staff is contacted for the right request at the right time.
Head on over to our website and try out TripKit today!