Hotel managers spend much of their time and effort communicating with employees…
Hotel managers spend much of their time and effort communicating with employees. That can be frustrating, however, because it`s hard for managers to tell exactly whether they have found ways to communicate that are meaningful to employees.
A new tool from the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research bridges the communication gap-so that managers can determine the best means for communicating with employees. The tool, Guide to Aligning Present Practices with Possibilities, or GAPPP, provides a questionnaire that identifies the ways in which different employee groups receive information. Developed by Cornell professors Judi Brownell, Ph.D., and Daphne Jameson, Ph.D., the GAPPP guides managers in creating the framework for an action plan, based on a set of seven questions that focus on how to analyze employees` responses to the questionnaire.
Brownell and Jameson demonstrate the specific application of the GAPPP tool, relaying the experience of hotel managers who used the tool to determine why their staff members were not understanding the hotel`s quality service standards. Their analysis found distinctly different communication patterns among their employees, depending on such factors as gender and whether English was the employee`s first language. Using the GAPPP findings, management was able to communicate the hotel`s quality service standards in the ways that meant the most to employees.
What we learned from the study is that organizations have many complex communication webs, said Brownell. The problem for management is that often it`s hard to determine exactly how information travels along those webs-if at all. That`s where the GAPPP inventory comes in, to help managers identify the best way to communicate.
As an example, Brownell and Jameson explained that their study found that native English speakers benefited from oral explanations of service quality issues, but spoken instruction did not work well for non-native speakers. One solution to that challenge was that the hotel created templates for housekeepers to show them where amenities should be placed.
Jameson pointed to another key finding. It turns out that there`s truth in the idea of having managers `walk the talk.` We found that the hotel`s general manager was a closely watched and influential source of information about the meaning of quality service.
The GAPPP tool contains the entire employee communication questionnaire and the guiding questions that help managers interpret their employees` answers to those questions.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
