Introduction
High competition in business, and in particular, the hotel industry has forced management to adopt new techniques to attract and retain customers. Apart from providing the state of the art services to their customers, companies are laying down strategies to empower their employees in the service department, particularly the front line staff. These empowerment strategies aim to improve the quality of service provided to residents and guests. Research from many parts of the world shows that empowering staff, such the subordinates results in significant improvement in both managerial and organizational effectiveness (Argyris, 1998).
Case Study: Starwood Hotel
To remain competitive and relevant in an ever-changing business environment, Starwood hotel chain in the United States has changed its management structure. This hotel chain has shifted from the universal traditional models that entailed superior –lower rank staff to a more democratic approach with the subordinate staff who are given room to air their views and opinions. This process is not the democratization of management systems per se but rather, empowerment. One cadre of staff that the hotel management has focused on this empowerment program on is the front-line staff.
This decision has been informed by the realization that front line staff is in direct contact with the clientele and therefore is in the best position to sell the company. Here, the employees are allowed more control in their work and the supervisors’ role shifts to coordination and facilitation as opposed to control. Instead of the management making decisions on behalf of the company, it focuses on improved communications and leadership roles. The model has had benefits to both the employer and employees resulting in more employee and customer satisfaction, improved quality of service and staff productivity (Gemkow, 2011).
Staff empowerment strategies
One strategy adopted is enhanced skills and knowledge acquisition among the front-line staff. This allows the company to decentralize roles among the front-line staff. An internal study revealed that most of the front-line staff fell short of the required basic skills to succeed in their jobs. The company has focused on imparting wide-ranging skills among the employees to ensure their success in the front-line services. This has resulted in high-quality services.
The employees have been trained and made to understand that the quality of their services is crucial to the overall success of the company and this would, in turn, guarantee them job security. Over the years, it has become clear that the acknowledgment of staffs’ input as beneficial to the success of the company has resulted in an overwhelming dedication among the front-line staff. This, in turn, leads to an increased guarantee concerning customer satisfaction (Rayburn & Rayburn, n.d.). The strategy to decentralize roles among the employees has increased output and greatly reduced the time spent per task.
Also, it has improved customer retention and employee satisfaction and retention. The staff has also benefited from this training with increased team interaction and performance at the workplace. There has also been an improved ability among staff to cope and manage work-related challenges since each one can specialize in the areas of expertise leading to improved output. Overall, this results in improved output by the company (Bardi, 2011).
The use of the knowledge management strategy inculcates innovative methods among the staff. The Starwood hotel has adopted this tool to improve the performance of its front line staff through the employment of a rigorous process of understanding the necessary knowledge by identifying weaknesses and target areas of improvement. The method has been successful through the use of new technology which has facilitated the development of business and customer relationships (Gemkow, 2011).
Another strategy that Starwood hotel has adopted to improve the performance of its front line staff is increased autonomy. This means that the employees have been given the freedom to make significant decisions without necessarily seeking an opinion from any other source. Matters regarding guests’ stay in the hotel are wholly handled by the front-line staff. To enhance flexibility in dealing with different clients, the hotel management has allowed the front-line staff to use their expertise in solving any problems that the guests may face while staying at their resorts.
By giving the staff outright autonomy, the company has over the years registered increased job satisfaction and a competitive edge in the industry. The individual members of staff have shown interest in their work and the desire to improve themselves through the setting of goals. Through this strategy, increased job coverage and enlargement of roles is achieved. This leads to a more focused approach to matters affecting the area of specialization under the individual’s mandate (Gemkow, 2011).
Starwood hotels strategy to include incentives and support to the front-line staff has been hailed as one of the most effective appraisal strategies. The company has adopted a model that guarantees rewards to all members of front-line staff whose work is outstanding. The reward system has been structured in such a way that employees are not rewarded according to the job they do but by the improvement shown in their areas of jurisdiction.
Though the use of incentives by the Starwood management that focuses on the employee’s behavior and performance as opposed to specific stringent behaviors, the company has been able to align its staff’s agenda and preferences to its strategic plan. This has, in turn, eliminated the tendency to seek personal gratification among the employees. The use of incentives has facilitated collaboration efforts between the managers and the front-line staff resulting in more elaborate problem-solving strategies and customer satisfaction (Bardi, 2011).
Building elaborate communication and information flow channels within the organization have greatly helped in transforming the performance by the front-line staff at Starwood hotel. The company has invested heavily in setting up communication facilities such as the use of advanced technology has greatly enhanced the communication process increasing interaction among the staff members. By exchanging information, the employees can share and even help one another in the performance of different roles. Job rotations are also enhanced since employees share information and can work in any area of the department, comfortably performing any duties allocated to them (Gemkow, 2011).
Advantages of Empowering Staff
By empowering the front-line staff, a company greatly reduces labor costs. This is achievable by eliminating the need to make movements across workstations and buildings. The company will, in turn, save on expenses by centralizing support. The empowering front-line staff builds overall leadership competencies. The staff members are enabled to make decisions on behalf of the company and this creates a sense of ownership.
Over time the staff members develop into mature leaders. Companies such as the Starwood hotel have indicated a major reduction in management overhead and the managers are now able to focus on other important areas including value-addition activities. The business is, therefore, able to accrue greater profits through value addition and reduced labor costs (Burpitt & Bigoness, 1997).
Service companies have also benefited by empowering front-line staff by receiving feedback from the staff. It has been reported that by empowering the staff, they become more sensitive to client demands and can professionally handle any arising issues concerning the customers. This, in turn, generates valuable feedback and insights. Many service companies have reported improved productivity among employees courtesy of empowerment. Most employees have great ideas that if implemented would save companies costs.
It is only through the empowerment of employees including the front-line staff that service companies can harness these ideas and integrate them into their systems. This has resulted in higher job satisfaction among the front-line staff. Building staff confidence and valuing their input gives them more room to share out their ideas for the benefit of both the employer and the employee. With this, an employee feels valued and therefore there is no need to seek other areas for work-related satisfaction. In turn, this reduces employee turnover and ensures the company’s continuity and consistency (Jenkins, 2009).
Empowered employees embrace change more effectively. When front-line staff members are empowered and allowed to practice a level of authority can constructively challenge the status quo. Most service companies become complacent overtime when their services seem satisfactory.
The front-line staff members are in the best position to understand customer dissatisfaction since they are in direct contact with the customers. A staff member can therefore with authority caution the authorities above on concerns raised by customers. The Starwood hotel company has established an environment where the front-line staff members are free to question and offer new ideas to challenge existing systems. This has transformed the company into a world-class resort (Copp, Agpaoa, Carvalho & Pfeiffer, 2003).
Drawbacks of Front-Line Staff Empowerment
Empowering employees is regarded as a great strategy to boost a company’s performance; however, it has associated challenges. Lower cadre staff may take advantage of powers given to them to their gain. Staff members may also turn irresponsible in decision making and accountability issues.
Giving autonomy to front-line and other staff may have negative impacts in situations where the employee lacks sufficient knowledge to handle the particular issue at hand. This may undermine the company’s progress; for example, an employee may make a decision whose effects surpass his/her area of jurisdiction. This may antagonize the functioning of other departments (Brodie, 2007).
The empowerment of staff may create interpersonal conflicts between managers and staff. In some rigidly structured companies, some conservative managers may find it difficult to embrace the aspect of employees under them enjoying autonomy in decision making. Such managers feel undermined and may not achieve the same job satisfaction enjoyed by their juniors.
The managers lose control of situations that would have effectively fallen under their control making administration chaotic (Valerius, 1998). To effectively empower staff, a company may have to incur extra costs in training the employees on leadership and decision making. Starwood hotel has an annual budgetary allocation for staff training programs. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the training programs will necessarily transform the company’s performance (Hamlin, 2007).
Conclusion
Empowerment of staff through training and teamwork building has brought great success to many companies today. However, the process requires thorough planning to avoid challenges associated with empowerment. A cost-benefit analysis is vital to help firms determine the optimum level of empowerment.
Bibliography
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Copp, CR, Agpaoa, C, Carvalho, S, & Pfeiffer, WF, 2003, Staff Empowerment, A Prescription For Success, The Parmennet Journal, 7(4):37-41.
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