Employability Skills: A Housekeeping Manager's Perspective

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Employability Skills

Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 4
Task 1....................................................................................................................................... 5
1.1Positional Responsibilities and Performance Objectives.................................................5
1.2Effectiveness of Housekeeping Manager.........................................................................6
1.3 Recommendation for Improvement...............................................................................7
1.4 Use of Motivational Techniques to Improve Performance Quality................................8
Task 2..................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1Work Based Problems at Travelodge and Their Solutions.............................................10
2.2...................................................................................................................................... 11
Formal Letter and Memo................................................................................................11
2.3 Effective Time Management Strategies........................................................................14
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................... 15
3.1 EXPLAIN THE ROLES PEOPLE PLAY IN A TEAM AND HOW THEY CAN WORK TOGETHER
TO ACHIEVE SHARED GOALS.............................................................................................. 15
3.2 ANALYSE TEAM DYNAMICS.......................................................................................... 20
3.3 SUGGEST ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO COMPLETE TASKS AND ACHIEVE TEAM GOALS......22
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................... 23
4.1 EVALUATE TOOLS AND METHODS FOR DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS.......23
4.2 DEVISE AN APPROPRIATE STRATEGY FOR RESOLVING THE PROBLEM OF LABOUR
TURNOVER IN AN ORGANISATION OF YOUR CHOICE.........................................................25
4.3 EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON THE BUSINESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE
STRATEGY........................................................................................................................... 26
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 27
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 28

Introduction
The assignment focuses on four tasks related to Employability Skills. The tasks are carried
out from the perspective of a Housekeeping Manager in Travelodge Hotels Ltd. The first task
involves discussing the responsibilities and performance objectives of a Housekeeping
manager. It also involves self-evaluation of performance effectiveness and
recommendations for performance improvement as well as the use of motivational
techniques for performance improvement.
The second task involves the development of solutions for work-based problems, writing a
formal letter to a senior manager and a memo to other employees. It also involves
identification of efficient time management strategies. The third task involves creation of
employee induction pack that includes roles of different team members, analysis of team
dynamics and alternate methods of task completion and goal achievement.
The fourth task involves evaluation of tools and methods for problem-solving, development
of a strategy to address labour turnover problem and potential impact of this strategy on
the business. The assignment is concluded with finding and observation of these tasks.

Task 1
1.1Positional Responsibilities and Performance Objectives
The Travelodge Hotels is considered to be the largest independent Hotel Brand in the UK.
The group has over 560 hotels and employs over 11000 individuals. As a member of such an
esteemed brand, each employee has a defined set of roles and responsibilities. The
Housekeeping department of the Travelodge Hotels has a responsibility towards
maintaining the goodwill of the Company. This requires the customers happy with their
services. The primary responsibility of the Housekeeping at Travelodge is maintaining the
cleanliness and supplies in the Rooms as well as in the Hotel premises (Fouad et al., 2016). A
Housekeeping Manager oversees this operation and handles the housekeeping staff at their
respective hotel.
The basic duties of the housekeeping Department includes the following
 Cleaning the bathrooms and maintain its cleanliness.
 Sweeping, mopping, dusting, and vacuuming the Hotel rooms and premises.
 Refilling bathroom supplies and keeping them stocked.
 Changing sheets and making beds in guest rooms.
 Keeping the guest rooms well stocked with supplies like towels, clean cups, etc.
 Providing guests with additional items requested by them like extra blankets or
pillows.
A Housekeeping Manager is responsible for smooth operation of the housekeeping
department and in supervising the above-mentioned responsibilities. In addition, the
Housekeeping Manager is responsible for the hiring staff and training them. He is
responsible for coordinating with Hotel management for the background checks of the
housekeeping staff. He is also responsible for developing the staff schedules and
coordinating with other departments and guests that have housekeeping needs. He looks
after the procurement of cleaning equipment’s and supplies. He may also have to perform
the housekeeping duties when there’s a shortage of staff. The housekeeping Managers have
the important responsibility of keeping the guests happy with their service and keeping the
hotel clean and pleasant for their use (Wu and Lu, 2012).

1.2Effectiveness of Housekeeping Manager
An employee needs to self-evaluate their effectiveness in terms of the goals and objectives
defined by the organisation (Akgunduz, 2015). This is essential to identify an individual’s
actual contribution to the organisational goal. A reflection of accomplishments and failures
gives a perspective of things that were done correctly and incorrectly. It also helps in
avoiding future mistakes and improving overall performance. A self-assessment may
become a part of an employee’s official record and it helps in conveying their
communication skills and improving their perception within the organisation. In this case,
the organisation is Travelodge and the employee is a Housekeeping Manager.
The standard parameters of self-performance appraisal includes performance in fields like
administration, knowledge of work, teamwork, communication skills, expense management,
problem-solving, decision making, Staff management, leadership, customer response,
change adaptation, personal appearance, and dependability(Pan, 2015). As a Housekeeping
manager in the Travelodge Hotels, the quality of customer service and customer satisfaction
becomes critical for individual work performance. Another important benchmark is
utilisation of available resources for the most effective results. Though satisfactory, the
customer service and resource utilisation can be improved through training and training can
help in scaling up of effectiveness these objectives.
The fulfilment of guest demands is an integral part of housekeeping manager’s
responsibilities and a manager must be able to able to get their work done in an acceptable
time frame. Effective time management can improve the performance in this aspect to
exceptional levels (Andrews and Russell, 2012). The knowledge and understanding of work
and responsibility and their application to work can be instrumental in improving efficiency
of the department. Towards this end, the housekeeping staff should be trained to employ
their knowledge and understanding effectively. Most of the performance parameters can be
improved to exceptional levels through due diligence and training (Nunes and Nachado,
2014).

1.3 Recommendation for Improvement
Certain techniques can be employed to improve the important skills of a Housekeeping
Manager at Travelodge. Consistent training of the Managers can be a tremendous help in
improving the employee skill levels. The training can help Managers in learning new skills
that are necessary for their effective performance and improve their current skill levels
(Karatepe, 2013). The improved understanding of their position and responsibilities can help
in better grasp of organisational goals and aligning their own performance with the
organisational goal. The line manager at Travelodge has helped in this regard. The
performance feedback can help in performance improvement within a particular time frame
(Andrews and Russell, 2012). The improvement recommendations are as follows
 Co-worker engagement – This can be easily achieved through improved
interpersonal communication and knowledge sharing.
 Assessing personal work habit – This can help in identifying problem areas and
correcting them will help in overall performance improvement.
 Team reviews – Periodic team reviews can help in improving the performance of
housekeeping staff by identifying and correcting their problem areas.
 Review team structure and management – The team structure and positional
responsibilities should be analysed to root out problem areas. Training or coaching
activities should be carried out as per the need to correct the problem areas.
These activities can help in improving the performance of housekeeping Manager in
particular and housekeeping staff in general. It will in turn help in improving housekeeping
practices that will reflect in improved cleanliness of the Hotel premises and improved
customer satisfaction levels (Andrews and Russell, 2012).

1.4 Use of Motivational Techniques to Improve Performance Quality
Different motivational techniques can be used for improving the performance quality of
employees by motivating them. According to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, the
lower level needs such as proper incentives and remuneration are directly associated with
an employee’s performance (Maduka and Okafor, 2014).
Source: Businesscasestudies, 2015
The performance levels of an employee can be improved by fulfilling their need of
remuneration and motivating them through incentives (Jerome, 2013). The needs of an
employee progresses from lower need (Survival) to higher need (Self Actualization). Once
active this motivational technique keeps on working in the background. Another relevant
motivational Theory is the Herzberg’s Two-Factor Motivation Theory (Yusoff, 2013).

Source: Herzberg's Two Factor Theory
This theory can be the basis of core management practices at the Travelodge and help its
efficiency in achieving organisational goals. The Herzberg’s Theory can be applied to
improve supervision quality and the managerial approaches. The two factors discussed in
the theory Motivators and Hygiene or demotivating factors can help the Travelodge
management design a conductive work-environment (Jansen and Samuel, 2014). The
management can work towards removing demotivating factors from within the work
environment. This helps in creating a neutral environment which can be turned motivational
by introducing the motivating factors. Both the above theories can be used in the
Housekeeping department to improve overall productivity and efficiency by improving
motivation levels of the housekeeping staff (Akgunduz, 2015).

Task 2
2.1Work Based Problems at Travelodge and Their Solutions
There are certain problems that are identified during the day to day operations of the
housekeeping at Travelodge. It’s the Housekeeping Managers responsibility to observe and
identify these problems and solve those problems (Tippmann et al., 2012). One of the
problem that’s prevalent in the housekeeping department and to some extent other
departments is lack of communication and understanding of organisational objectives and
goal. The other problems that were identified include risk management, quality assurance,
and complex description. Steps are already being taken to resolve them through initiatives
to instil changes in the work environment.
Certain other initiatives that can help in the resolution of these and other problems are also
suggested
 The equipment handling by employees needs to be reassessed and training should
be arranged for efficient equipment management and handling.
 Training for handling and resolving customer demands and grievances should be
arranged to improve customer satisfaction levels.
 Planning should be made effective to handle shortage of resources such as water or
cleaning supplies.
The inter-departmental and inter-personal relationship and communication plays an
important role in problem-solving and crisis management (Felin and Zenger, 2014). This
helps in achieving the organisational goals and objectives in a satisfactory manner. The
verbal and non-verbal communication among the staff and with guests should be worked
upon since it can help in preventing and handling crisis situations. This allows for prompt
reporting and reaction to problem or crisis situations thus facilitates work-problem solving
process. This can also help in achieving greater customer satisfaction levels.

2.2
Formal Letter and Memo
Formal Letter Notifying the Senior Management of Travelodge about a Problem
FORMAL LETTER
Simon Roderick,
Manager(Housekeeping),
Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth,
18-20, Learmonth Terrace,
Edinburgh, EH4 1PW,
United Kingdom
Contact: 08719 846415
Email: [e-mail]
January 19, 2019
Mr John Edwards,
Senior Manager,
Travelodge Hotels Ltd,
Sleepy Hollow, Aylesbury Road,
Thame, Oxon, OX9 3AT,
United Kingdom
Dear Mr Edwards,
With regards, I would like to bring to your notice two problems that are being rectified at
Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth. Both of these problems were at the core of many other
issues arising at the Housekeeping department. First problem is the poor quality of inter-
personal and inter-departmental communication. This problem is a hindrance to crisis

anticipation and management and at maintaining quality customer service. The verbal and
non-verbal communication issue can be sorted out through extensive training exercises.
Training exercises are being conducted at the Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth to handle
basic communication issues. There’s a need of extensive training program to improve
communication skills at Travelodge Edinburgh Learmonth and organising the same is
suggested.
Second problem is the routine shortages of supplies that are essential to maintain quality
customer services. On closer investigation, the root cause of the problem seems to be due
to disconnect in demand and supply forecasting. This can be resolved by planning future
supplies after analysing past requirements and an expected rise in demand of supplies like
cleaning supplies.
I believe that resolving the above stated issues can go a long way towards improving our
services and customer satisfaction levels. It may also help in streamlining out working and
prevent unnecessary costs.
Sincerely,
Simon Roderick
Memo to Staff
Travelodge
Edinburgh, UK
Date of Memo: January 18, 2019
To: Housekeeping Staff
From: Manager(Housekeeping)
CC: Senior Manager
Subject: Communication Issue resolution
The quality of Inter-personal and Inter-departmental communication is identified as a
problem area. The poor communication quality is affecting the day to day operations and
hampering the customer handling. It has been decided that training programs needs to be
organised to rectify this problem. This needs to be conveyed to each and every individual in

the Housekeeping staff.
This is to inform that the training sessions will be conducted from 05/02/2019 to
15/02/2019. The concerned supervisors are responsible for the attendance of their teams
in the training program.