Establish & Conduct Business Relationships

Establish & Conduct Business Relationships

Practical Assessment

Part One – Establish and Conduct Business Relationships

Overview:-

The success of your business is directly related to the commitment and productivity of the people who work in your business. And yet it is generally recognized that 60% of employees, or more, are underutilized in their roles at work.

So what are the factors that contribute to low performance standards and expectations?

Communication, or miscommunication, is one of the major sources of low productivity. The messages that move between the owner, employees, managers and even customers are not understood in the same way. One classic example is that business owners tend to assume that employees and managers see things the same way they do.

At Business Performance I believe a sale is a noble profession.

That is why we are passionate about delivering strategic sales performance consulting,

Training and lead generation activity that helps people builds profitable long term customer relationships based on innovation creativity, trust and discipline.

Our unique focus is on three key areas that are vital for every business.

How to improve trading performance:-

Tips to Improve Hotel Service with User Generated Reviews

Providing a consistent level of quality customer service is always a work in process for hotel managers. Couple that with the fact that the labor pool in many markets is relatively shallow and that turnover remains high as compensation remains low, and it is easy to see why some managers are reverting to the 'fog the mirror' method of hiring!
Understanding the sensibilities of a generation of potential employees raised on teams and that heavily participates in community sites like My Space and Face Book makes it easier to hire and motivate a customer service team.
First of all we need to reflect the mirror back on hotels' traditional methods of training for customer service. In many hotels, training is focused on process issues, how to check in and check out a guest, how the reservation system works, how the equipment works and as an afterthought, oh yes, be nice to the guest. We fail to incorporate customer service training into the skill sets upon which the employee will be evaluated.
We neglect to build in evaluations based upon measurable behaviors that impact the quality of the customer's experience. We assume that they understand that they need to smile and make eye contact as well as say 'how can I assist you' - don't bet on it! Many of the individuals that we hire don't check into hotels and have little experience with being a hotel guest except when they were on vacation with their parents. They lack empathy for what it feels like to be a hotel guest.

Variety of strategies help improve hotel employee satisfaction

Why are some hotel employees so happy to come to work that their positive attitudes are noticed by guests? How do managers succeed in turning around low employee satisfaction? Can hotel managers really move the needle on employee satisfaction?

Our analysis of Market Metrix's employee survey database indicates the needle can be moved. More than 20 percent of hotels that administer employee surveys experience a dramatic improvement in overall employee satisfaction of 10 percentage points or more from the first time they conduct a survey to the second time. Hotel executives who have been conducting employee surveys for more than two years are more likely to achieve high employee satisfaction scores than those who do not conduct surveys, or who have conducted them for a shorter period of time.

To understand what leads to these significant results, Market Metrix studied several hotels that achieved extraordinary gains in employee satisfaction. These hotels saw average increases in their satisfaction and loyalty scores of more than 15 percent by pursuing the following strategies:

1. Commitment to measurement. There appears to be truth to the old maxim, "what gets measured, gets managed." Employee surveys help identify issues requiring attention, prioritize their urgency and offer insight into possible solutions. Christopher Wood, g.m. at Waters Edge Hotel in Tiburon, Calif., says a manager can get spread thin having so many stakeholders to address. The survey is a great way to reassure focus on employees.

The process of conducting an employee survey can serve as an impetus for busy managers to spend more time on employee communications. As Karlene Holloman, managing director of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, noted, "[General managers] pay more attention to their staff when they know their employees will be surveyed."

2. Allocation of time and resources to act on employee feedback. Successful hotel companies resist the natural temptation to "move on to the next thing" after the survey is complete. Spend time interpreting results, developing and implementing action plans and communicating results. These steps take time and require prioritization of a manager's resources and support from senior management. At the best hotels, even very positive feedback from employees is not taken for granted, but discussed with employees along with ideas for improving the work environment even more.

3. Alignment of incentives to the objective. The most successful companies go beyond reporting the results of the survey. They integrate employee satisfaction in determining managers' compensation. Whether employee satisfaction is a qualitative input to a manager's performance appraisal, or a quantitative input to a manager's appraisal or bonus, managers feel that they will be rewarded for creating a workplace of highly satisfied employees.

4. Communication with employees. Communication is probably the most important step to achieve improved satisfaction among employees. Employees need to hear first-hand not only that the managers have heard their concerns, but also that they have a clear plan to improve the situation. Often, human resources executives or external consultants will interview employees without managers present so that they can validate the findings, especially if the results indicate a problem with management. Managers then meet with employees to present clearly defined action plans and meet periodically throughout the year to give their employees progress updates.

Jane Howard, v.p. of employee development for Joie de Vivre, looks at her employee surveys as an opportunity to open a conversation between HR and employees. These conversations can unearth specific personnel issues that have detrimental effects on employee satisfaction so that managers are able to deal directly with the employees involved. She has found employees to be much more forthcoming when separate, smaller meetings are scheduled for each department to discuss the results of a recent employee survey. She believes that employee problems, especially in departments where a majority of employees speak English as a second language, often are a result of misperceptions. Conversations about those misperceptions, using a translator if necessary, often are enough to change perceptions and get everybody back on the right track.

5. Involvement of employees in the design and implementation of the solution. The strongest action plans are not designed in a "top-down" fashion. The best strategies are often developed and carried out collaboratively between management and employees. Tom Chamberlain, g.m. at the Affinia Dumont in New York, saw an increase of nine points in six months. He partially attributed his success to involving employees.

6. Demonstration of action and implementation of "quick hits" that matter. Quick hits can play a critical role in demonstrating management's commitment to taking action. Chamberlain was able to increase one component of his hotel's satisfaction score by 15 points just by working with his associates to conduct inventory twice a month versus once a month. It was easy to do, he was able to implement quickly and the employees were thrilled. Joe Root, g.m. of The Lodge at Cordial in San Martin, Calif., realized that by staying overnight once a month, he was able to reconnect with employees on the night shift, and raised his overall employee satisfaction score six points in just six months. The managers who achieved these impressive gains in employee satisfaction and loyalty also claimed to have realized better operating results, supporting the service profit chain theory that improved employee satisfaction leads to improved business results.

Measure training effectiveness

Evaluating training is not just about whether new skills have been learnt or performance has improved. To get meaningful information, you need to measure what has improved andin what ways.

Set specific objectives for the training. For example, you may want to increase:

·  the efficiency of a particular process

·  the number of returning customers

·  staff motivation

· 

Decide how to measure the objective. Quantifiable objectives are easy to measure such as the number of goods produced or the number of repeat orders.

Objectives about quality or behavior are more difficult. For example, if you want to measure staff satisfaction, you might look at:

·  promptness ofarrival

·  levels of performance

·  days off sick taken

·  engagement in teamwork

If you wanted to measure negotiating skills, you might try discussing case scenarios, asking targeted questions and observing work in context.

Use feedback from trainees, colleagues and managers to get data for qualitative assessment. For example, devise a questionnaire to gather specific information.

Try to express each objective in financial terms by costing the desired outcome of the training. This might cover:

·  profit made

·  time saved

·  productivity increased

·  absenteeism prevented

· 

Ensure objectives are achievable. Don't have unrealistic expectations. For example, staff will be de-motivated by exaggerated sales targets.

Take measurements before, during and after the training to chart progression and help trainees identify their goals.

Re-evaluate at regular intervals. It gives a more accurate picture and shows whether improved standards are maintained.

Evaluate your training

Evaluate more precisely

You may need a sophisticated evaluation method if you want to identify the value of training very precisely. If you want to design the evaluation yourself, a classic approach is the Kirkpatrick model of training evaluation. It divides the process of evaluation into four key stages - Reaction, Learning, Behavior and Results.

Reaction / Get feedback from trainees about the training. To get the most complete picture, ask both open-ended and closed questions. Answers to open-ended questions such as "What were the main strengths of the training?" give qualitative data. Closed questions that give more restricted answers result in quantitative data.
Learning / Measure skills, knowledge and attitudes before and after training. Observe skills in the workplace or in a specially-designed demonstration, or devise tests to assess knowledge of principles and facts. One approach is to base the measurements on learning outcomes that the training is designed to achieve.
Behavior / Find out if training has influenced the way a job is done. This can be tricky, especially if the training is in people skills such as leadership and negotiation. What you're looking for is whether the knowledge and skills learned have been transferred into the workplace. Before and after assessments will give the most accurate picture of how things have improved.
Results / Quantitative and qualitative information from the first three stages provides the evidence you need to measure business outcomes. Results should be written up, shared with everyone involved, and fed back into your training strategy. Compare data before and after, leave sufficient time for the training to take effect before you measure outcomes.

Managers tend to lower their expectations (unconsciously) so that they will not have to confront employees. Most people dislike discussing declining performance with their employees, and so actively avoid having to do so by reducing heir expectations of what’s required.

Employees have a tendency to protect themselves from possible failure by pushing back on what is expected. They will often negotiate/bargain the job down to a more comfortable level.

Business owners often have difficulty separating what they want done from how they want it done. Telling employees exactly how to achieve a certain goal leaves no room for the employee to think or use their own initiative. Consequently they often stop trying to contribute and become ‘sheep" – just doing what they are told. In this catch-22 situation, the owner is forced into a position where they must constantly be telling everyone exactly what to do.

Some owners may not understand the concept of person/job matching, and so have the wrong people in the wrong positions. This situation can be extremely demodulating for the employee.
So how do you go about setting performance standards and expectations?

The owner and employee must collaborate together.

They must work together on the fact that the role the employee is performing can be improved in a way where everybody wins - the employee, the owner, and the business. When you teach the owner to collaborate with the employee, not only does the performance go up, but so does the morale.

Short term goals, or wins, must be established. 90-days are the ideal.

Set specific goals for the employee in 90-day increments so that there will be ample opportunity to monitor systems and progress, as well as to experience wins on a routine basis. Ideally, involve the employee in this goal setting process so they experience some control over their work.

Determine the strengths required to do the job well.

If the employee is going to be successful, the owner and employee must decide jointly what strengths are required, and how the employee is going to be able to apply their strengths. This is where having a good match between the employee and the job is so important. The boss doesn't have to figure this out on their own - the employee will probably already know what's necessary.

Set standards, and determine HOW they will be done.

Decide the standards that will apply to each activity, as well as how the standards will be achieved. Understanding the level of performance required gives the employee a sense of achievement - this is one of the key ingredients to achieving performance standards. This is true for employees at any level.
Establish communication agreements.

To ensure success, the owner and employee must decide at the outset how they are going to communicate progress (and challenges) along the way. Will it be day-to-day? Week-to-week? The minimum time frame is week-to-week. Less frequent than that and it all falls apart.