High Level of Employee Empowerment Enhances Guest Service

"The most important people in my hotel are my employees." That statement may seem to counter the usual mantra of a hotel's General Manager, the one that claims the guests are always the most important people. But to Marc Ellin, General Manager of the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC, it makes perfect sense. "If managers give our employees the tools to work with - the training, the support, good benefits, good working conditions - then the employees are inclined to take good care of the guests."

"As General Manager, I'm not the one dealing with the guests on a day-to-day basis. So few managers are. Our job is to find the right people, give them the tools, and motivate them. We delegate managers to be in charge of departments, but employees make decisions."

While such empowerment is encouraged, it is not always immediately embraced. "Sometimes, it's hard to get people to believe that they have this ability to act. There's a fear of reprisal. We want them to be selfish about guest service. We want them to say, 'This is MY guest."

Finding the right people is critical to building such a strong hotel staff. Mr. Ellin looks for people who are enthusiastic and who are willing to make decisions and act independently to meet guests' needs. Each prospective employee has five interviews, meeting with the Employment Manager, Human Resources Manager, department head, division head, and, finally, with Mr. Ellin himself. He spends up to 90 minutes with each new employee. He uses that time to sell them on why they should join Hyatt. "Our competitors are similar in location, pay and benefits. I want to convince this person that working at the Hyatt is special. I really promote the notion that our success is because of them."

Once hired, all new employees receive two full days of orientation and training. They tour the hotel and learn about all of the departments and how they operate. Mr. Ellin stresses that this is an important part of his management philosophy - that there is a distinction between the job and the task.

"The task is not the job. The job is to take care of the guest. The tasks are the elements of activity that keep the hotel operating." Knowing how the departments interact helps the employees use the tasks to address guests' concerns.

Insuring that all departments are aware of everything happening in the 900-room hotel is critical in insuring the managers can give the employees the information and support they need. Food and Beverage, Sales, and Rooms hold daily meetings. There's a twice-weekly Yield meeting and a general Staff meeting once a week. There's also a daily preshift briefing to update staff on the day's situation. Mr. Ellin says he's happy to overcommunicate information to his 600-plus employees.

"With 85% occupancy for 900 rooms and an average 2-night stay, there's a chance of employees interacting over 600-thousand times a month." Most interactions are the small things that guests appreciate. "They want recognition. To be greeted warmly. Hear their own name. To feel that their requests are valid and that there is a desire and intention to honor them."

Maintaining personal contact is the challenge for the industry in the future, according to Mr. Ellin. Many hotel chains now owned by organizations focused on the bottom line. This has implications for the role of General Managers. "Financial institutions, real estate companies, and others buying hotels focus on the stock prices and quarterly returns. GMs at those hotels are under tremendous pressure to perform and respond to the owners' goals. Meeting those goals can mean sacrificing customer service. We're fortunate that Hyatt is privately owned. We also look to the bottom line, but there's a different pressure. Our mandate is never to compromise quality."

Computerized services are one aspect of more efficient hotel operations that will probably become more common in the future. While there is a valid place for those advances in many areas, Mr. Ellin doubts if the dedicated hotelier will embrace them. "None of us got into this business because of technology. We love the human side of it. At the end of the day, someone still has to pour a cup of coffee."
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