Is Your Team In V-Formation? Focus On Teamwork

Is Your Team In V-Formation? Focus On Teamwork | by Gene Ference | HVS International

Geese fly in V-formation for aerodynamic efficiency. Is management and staff focused on reaching a common goal through teamwork? Employee satisfaction surveys can help in making sure teams stay focused and fly in V-formation to customer satisfaction.

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In nature, teams work together to more easily achieve common goals. Wolves hunt together in packs, forming a formidable force to be reckoned with when they surround and in unison, move in on their prey. They are much more efficient in a pack than is the proverbial lone wolf. Geese work together when in flight, taking turns as the leader when forming the familiar V-formation that aerodynamically cuts the air for more efficient flying. Even ants find better results through teamwork, whether in building nests or in finding the shortest route to food as they leave pheromones behind as they walk. As a result, ants that have found the shortest route to food leave behind more pheromones than those that have taken a longer route, effectively helping all of the following ants to take the shorter route.

In all cases, there is a certain built-in sense of urgency to get results—to obtain food, to get to warmer weather or to find the shortest route. Clear roles and responsibilities are set for each team member in building a strong team. Usually this entails finding individual strengths that compliment one another and then using those strengths to remove obstacles or challenges. In short, each team member is used effectively to reach their cumulative goal.

The same should be said for your property. Every employee should be focused on reaching a common goal through teamwork. They should have clearly defined responsibilities that management supports by identifying strengths of each team member. Team members should be selected to compliment one another by utilizing their differing skills and experiences.

During the team building process, associates' feedback, concerns and ideas are all important towards developing the team into a well-oiled machine. Semi-annual and/or annual employee satisfaction surveys can offer a wealth of knowledge and insight into these areas. Because the responses and resulting data are kept in strict confidence, the responses are therefore truthful and informative. HVS/The Ference Group and The Center For Survey Research has been providing the hotel industry with custom, detailed reports that have been data-mined from these surveys for over 20 years.

The latest example of the benefit in utilizing a Team Member Satisfaction Survey is Station Casinos in Las Vegas. Having been recently named to Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies To Work For," this prestigious award can be traced back to corporate "drivers" that are measured in the survey. When organizational dimensions such as "Job Satisfaction and Morale" reach over 87% (an Excellent rating) you can be sure that management and team members are communicating and supporting each other. Additionally, almost 86% of respondents indicated that their managers created good team efforts for their property. Over 88% indicated that they were not afraid to ask for help it they did not know how to do something, thereby encouraging support towards each other to do their very best work and to help in solving job-related problems. Associates that network and perform as a team in order to respond to guest's needs allow managers more time to continue to upgrade the working environment and help celebrate successes.

Managers that communicate their approval and let their team members know of the great job they are doing inspire their team to even greater heights. Developing their team through education and allowing them time to problem solve is an investment that pays dividends for both the individuals as well as the property. Making sure that recognition is fairly distributed and that the team is appreciated can be an extremely beneficial tool.

Teams that have fun and enjoy their work will focus on yet higher goals and be more willing to get the job done, as opposed to employees that commit only to a humdrum existence of working their shift each day with no incentives in sight. If at all possible, throw a party, have an outing or invite your team for an informal get-together after work. Even if you can celebrate a team's success with pizza for lunch or a cake during a break, it is another positive reinforcement of the team effort and a building block to future successes.

Once again, whether or not employees are recognized for the contributions they are able to make to the success of the property is a measurable survey question that can aid in furthering recognition and promoting teamwork. It is extremely important to find out what the team's perception of their efforts are and not rely only on what management thinks or looks at. Realizing the shortfalls as well as the successes of the teams can initiate new and improved avenues of attack to acquiring a more satisfied and loyal guest.

In a time when every customer is precious, when every hotel and casino is seeking a bigger piece of the pie, and when each property is looking to gain more loyalty in guests returning time and time again, the road to success may lie in the focus on teamwork. Individuals must work together within their department to wow the customer. Teams must work together between departments to present a seamless experience for each guest as well.

Management must focus on supporting, improving, recognizing and rewarding excellence in teamwork. Line staff must focus on using their strengths and developing a close-knit team that effectively takes care of each guests' needs. Both management and staff need to focus on celebrating success and having fun while reaching team goals.

As in nature, when teams come together, they can offer a formidable force to be reckoned with. Finding that "V-formation" that cuts through to service excellence and discovering the shortest route to your goals can provide limitless success to both individuals and to teams, and ensure that each property will not only survive in these challenging times, but prosper and grow.

Station Casinos has become increasingly proficient in flying in "V-formation" to consistently increase team member satisfaction over the last decade. Now it's up to you to either get in formation or lag behind the leaders. With its recent Quality Award of Fortune 100's Best Companies, Station Casinos is one of the companies leading the pack. Will you be able to run with that pack, or merely be left to howl at the moon?

[Receiving a Doctoral Degree in Organizational Development from Cornell University in 1977, Gene Ference earned post-graduate certification in Change Management Leadership from the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Sciences. For over 25 years, he has conducted management retreats in Strategic Focus, Leadership Development, Team Dynamics and served as an Executive Coach to many of this industry's business professionals.]

How Do We Build a Culture of Customer Service?

How Do We Build a Culture of Customer Service?
	We are a diversified organization with 11 companies (all in retail merchandising). What are the steps we should take to build a corporate culture oriented around customer service? What are the critical variables to consider in creating an incentive scheme? Can you share some customer service measuring tools? —Keeping Everyone Happy, retail, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
	Building a customer-service-oriented culture can be a huge challenge for an organization of any size or complexity. However, it can be done and done well. Just look at Southwest Airlines, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Nordstrom and Whole Foods Market as some examples of companies renowned for providing world-class service. There are four steps to building a customer-service-oriented culture: Gain commitment from the top Creating a companywide service culture begins with senior management. The importance of serving customers must be communicated and reinforced constantly throughout the organization. Most of us at one time or another have heard a CEO proclaim, "We are a customer-focused company." But when you look behind the curtain, you still see long lines, extended wait times, poorly trained staff, inadequate responses and dissatisfied customers. Develop a comprehensive plan As with any project of this magnitude, you must have a comprehensive plan to succeed. Goals must be set, tasks identified, responsibilities assigned, timelines established and resources allocated. Some companies develop their customer service plans internally using an in-house project manager. Still others hire consultants. Regardless of the option you choose, the planning team should involve employees at all levels. Soliciting employee opinions helps identify and resolve potential issues before they become major roadblocks to cultural change. Many companies conduct employee-satisfaction surveys to benchmark the current culture, and also to establish a baseline for measuring employee satisfaction in the future. Satisfied employees deliver satisfied customers, so measuring customer satisfaction should be an integral part of your plan. Implement the plan Implementation usually involves a series of meetings between various levels of management and staff. Although the media may vary based on the audience, the message should include the what, when, why and how of building a customer-focused culture. At these meetings, provide examples of good and bad service, communicate performance goals and identify measurement tools. It is critical to frequently reinforce the goals and successes of your program. This can be accomplished with refresher sessions and reports of progress publicized via companywide meetings, newsletters, staff e-mails, other internal news media and external media outlets. Measure success Many world-class service providers link employee and customer satisfaction scores to staff performance at all levels. The scores affect salaries, bonuses and job security. Building a customer-service-oriented culture is challenging. Taking steps like those outlined above should give you more satisfied employees–and more loyal customers. SOURCE: Roger H. Nunley, managing director, Customer Care Institute , Atlanta, December 30, 2005.

Balancing Priorities on Schedule

Balancing Priorities on Schedule

by Lynda Cardwell

We get pulled in many directions during the day—unexpected interruptions, phone calls, e-mails. It's time to get control of your schedule.

Wayne Curtis, vice president of partnership investments at Fannie Mae (Washington, D.C.), had to fundamentally rethink his approach to work when the company's public finance business was added to his portfolio this past spring. Before, an agreement to extend a line of credit to a state or local authority for a fifty-unit housing project might crystallize over a two-month period. But now on top of this responsibility was the fast-paced work involved in evaluating multibillion-dollar bond purchases.

"Suddenly, my business volume had increased by a factor of 10," he says, "and the rhythm of the new work was very different from the work I had been doing. I was really grappling with how to stay focused on long-term priorities."

An additional challenge was one faced by many professionals when they become managers: the expectation that they'll continue to perform as technical experts even though their primary duties are now managerial and strategic. This creates the tendency to hold on to tasks that subordinates could handle.

Dilemmas like these highlight the way that the pace and pressure of work crowd out what author Thomas Hylland Eriksen calls "slow time." Being able to work faster and to take on more work is jeopardizing our high performance. Increasingly, he explains in Tyranny of the Moment (Pluto Press, 2001), we find ourselves with little, if any, of the kind of time ideally suited for the detailed, focused, and unhurried intellectual and interpersonal work upon which high performance depends.

How do you make the most of this precious commodity? For some time, management experts have advised that you develop an understanding of the interplay between importance and urgency in the tasks you face. More recent thinking, however, underscores the importance of recognizing the rhythm associated with a given task.

Triaging the tasks you face
To maximize your slow time, you have to be clear about your purpose, says Washington, D.C.-based executive coach David Coleman. "Key things you want to accomplish go into your schedule first, so that everything else falls in line."

Using a technique from the classic time-management book First Things First, by Stephen A. Covey et al. (Simon & Schuster, 1994), Coleman has his clients imagine that they have rocks, gravel, and sand with which to fill a bowl. The rocks represent the most strategically significant tasks; the gravel, the work that has the next highest priority; and the sand, the least important activities. Starting with the sand and gravel leaves no room for the rocks. But by working backward—starting with rocks first, then putting in the gravel, and finally adding the sand—clients find that there's plenty of room for everything. The highest-priority goals get first crack at a client's time, and the other tasks get accomplished in descending order of importance.

Suddenly the to-do list, once overwhelming, seems very doable.

Many management experts suggest using a simple two-by-two matrix to identify your highest-priority tasks. First Things First defines the four quadrants in such a matrix as:

1. Urgent and important tasks (Quadrant I). For example, dealing with a product recall or completing due diligence before an acquisition can be approved.

2. Not urgent but important tasks (Quadrant II). Examples here include developing key business relationships and drafting a plan for how your company will respond to the changes you foresee taking place in your industry 18 months down the road.

3. Urgent but not important tasks (Quadrant III). Examples of these tasks are taking impromptu phone calls from sales reps or fielding a request from a subordinate to help make arrangements for next week's unit party.

4. Not urgent and not important tasks (Quadrant IV). For instance, surfing the Internet or gossiping around the water cooler.

For this discussion, Quadrant II is the most significant because it represents the activities that call for slow time.

Bethesda, Maryland-based executive coach Catherine Fitzgerald says that when her clients use this two-by-two matrix, "it's like a light bulb going off." They see that valuable time is being wasted on urgent but not important tasks instead of being spent on those that are important. Fitzgerald advises her clients to block out time every day for the important but not urgent work. One focus of this time should be coaching subordinates to take on responsibilities that are not essential for you to do yourself but that you often hang on to out of a sense of duty.

"You can easily free up at least 5 percent of your most valuable time by handing off things," she says. "And those tasks often prove to be interesting to a direct report or an assistant."

Identifying the rhythms
The more time you devote to important but not urgent work, the more control you have over your schedule. In particular, the less likely it is that your time will be consumed by putting out fires. This comes as no big surprise—so why is it, then, that people have so much difficulty reducing the time they spend on urgent but unimportant tasks? Stephan Rechtschaffen, author of Timeshifting (Broadway Books, 1996), believes the answer has to do with a process known as entrainment, in which a person becomes almost psychologically addicted to the rhythm of the particular task he's performing.

When you get to tasks that are not urgent and not important, something really interesting happens," Rechtschaffen observes. "The ambient rhythm in modern life is so fast that even in our leisure time, instead of relaxing, we tend to take on activities that keep us in this fast rhythm." Thus, typical Quadrant IV recreational activities tend to be things like watching television (with its fast cuts and high-energy commercials) or playing video games (in which the action moves very rapidly).

"Once you're in a rhythm, the tendency is to stay in synchronization with that rhythm," says Rechtschaffen. The result is that "in modern life, Quadrant I, III, and IV activities are all happening at high frequencies. Even though the way to reduce the number of Quadrant I crises in your life is to spend more time in Quadrant II, people resist going there because its rhythm is so different."

To be able to concentrate on work that is important but not urgent, you have to learn how to gear down. Rechtschaffen recommends scheduling specific times for such tasks. "I set aside time for doing my writing. The ground rule is that although I don't actually have to be writing during this time, I can't do anything else. What I've found, as I'm sitting there not writing, is that guilt feelings or feelings of inadequacy as a writer come up.

"I think this happens to many people who are attempting to do important but not urgent work: They're reluctant to face the feelings that surface when they slow down. The feelings hijack us; they act as perpetual motion machines, preventing us from comfortably entering into the activity. So instead of sitting with the feelings of guilt or inadequacy, we flee into high-frequency tasks."

The only way out of this trap, says Rechtschaffen, is to acknowledge the feelings that come up when you try to slow down—to let them "rise and then fall like a wave." Pausing after you finish a high-frequency task and before you begin Quadrant II work can help you consciously shift gears, he points out, as can putting on slow, classical music or doing a few minutes of breathing exercises designed to promote mindfulness.

"It's not so much the outer management of time that's important as it is the inner management," says Rechtschaffen. "The fundamental error lies in getting so entrained to a particular rhythm that you can't engage in the task at hand, whether it's a fast-paced activity or a slow-paced one, in a fully present way."

Lynda Cardwell is a marketing writer and publicist based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Losing Loyalty, Losing Employees

How Do We Earn Employee Loyalty When More Money Isn't Enough?
	How do we earn our employees' loyalty--and more importantly, preserve it? Our bank has lost a number of key employees to competitors during the past five months. We were prepared to match the departing employees' competing salary offers, to no avail. We want to stem the tide, but we aren't sure if these defections are based in a lack of company loyalty, or if we're losing out because our competitors offer better jobs, better opportunities for advancement or a better working environment. —Hate Losing Them, finance/insurance/real estate, Muscat, Oman
	No. 1: You cannot buy loyalty, so forget matching competing offers. Once an employee has decided to leave, the emotional bond is broken. Your first step is to begin the diagnosis. Are you conducting exit interviews? If not, consider hiring an outside service--professionals, not telemarketers--to ask questions that will yield honest, candid answers about why people are leaving. Step two involves conducting a survey of remaining employees. Again, it's better to hire professionals from outside the firm. Don't try to do this in-house, as employees may not feel the level of trust required to give you meaningful feedback. Although you may be in a highly competitive market, you need to understand how employees perceive the experience of working for your company. Is it something they value? This knowledge should provide a clearer picture of how your work environment is creating conditions that prompt--perhaps even encourage--people to leave for other jobs. Your job: Develop strategies that strengthen your defenses and make deliberate improvements to become a less toxic, more attractive employer. Bonus hint: Employee retention is a management responsibility , not a human resources responsibility. Do your managers understand their retention role? Are they trained and equipped to perform it? You'll need to get at the root of these questions too. SOURCE: Roger E. Herman, the Herman Group , author of Keeping Good People, Greensboro, North Carolina, January 22, 2006.

Knowledge from Retirees

How Should We Use Retirees to Train Our New Crop of Workers?
	Our organization would like to implement cross-training in light of a large number of seasoned employees who are approaching retirement. How could we go about keeping these experienced folks on as consultants after they retire? What is the key to making this solution work? —Training and Retaining, services, Colton, California
	You are on the right track. It would be a lost opportunity for all if company knowledge left your organization without being passed on. First, consider gathering all, or at least a representative sample, of these "seasoned employees" into a focus group. Ask them how you can tap their company knowledge once they retire. You will want to learn their opinions regarding schedules, compensation, duties and other conditions that are important to them. Also, this discussion sends a clear signal that continuing to employ these people in consulting roles, even after they retire, is of such importance that your organization will adjust to their needs as best it can. One outcome of the focus group might be to establish a mentoring program in which veteran employees (retirees) serve as coaches to new hires. Retirees might even be able to mentor several new people simultaneously. This gives structure to their roles. While your primary goal is to have retirees pass along important job information to their successors, the company also will want this information to share in perpetuity. Human resources ought to interview each of the retirees before they formally leave the organization. This information, which is different from a more traditional exit interview, then could be passed on to the appropriate functional leaders for their use. Questions should be as specific as possible to reveal hidden secrets for getting the work done. For example: What are the three best tips you would give to someone just starting your job? What changes could the company make to this job that makes it easier to perform and better serves our customers? If you could give a five-minute speech on orientation, what suggestions would you give new employees on how to be successful in our company? The national talent shortage is requiring companies to take extra steps to retain their talent for as long as possible and to share that knowledge throughout the organization. Calling on your loyal retirees is a great way to start. SOURCE: Dick Finnegan, chief client services officer, TalentKeepers, January 23, 2006.

Job Descriptions and Business Strategy

How Do We Link Job Descriptions With Our Business Strategy?
	What best practices could we follow when developing and linking job descriptions to our organizational strategy? —Making HR Count, finance/insurance/real estate, Harleysville, Pennsylvania
	Given the turbulent market conditions facing modern companies, including frequent reorganizations and changes in business strategy, preparing job descriptions that withstand the test of time is especially challenging. Nevertheless, the steps below offer some practical approaches that should help you. 1. Be clear about the purpose your job descriptions will serve. For example: When preparing job descriptions for purposes of compensation, companies tend to use phrases that convey "compensable factors" that enable categories of responsibilities to be compared and contrasted across different jobs. But these factors may not align well with the content of your business strategy. Job descriptions aimed at selection or performance management, on the other hand, tend to align more closely with strategic objectives but must be frequently revised lest they become outdated. 2. Verify that a logical linkage exists between each job accountability and your business goals and strategies. 3. Make sure you pay adequate attention to defining logically linked competencies and skills related to each job. 4. Anticipate a short life expectancy for job descriptions. Given the rapid rate of change of high-tech companies, for example, job descriptions for research, engineering and information technology will need to be revised far more frequently than those for finance, legal or human resources. 5. Recognize that performance management is a natural complement to job descriptions. When effective, performance management emphasizes short-term outcomes (about one year) that are within the "line of sight" of your organization's more long-range goals. In fast-moving professional services and high-tech firms, traditional job descriptions are practically obsolete. Instead, these companies rely on individual performance plans to define work objectives, performance standards, competencies and needed areas of development. The goal is the same: to motivate employees in ways that sustain their organizations' performance. SOURCE: John Furcon, Central region leader, human resources management practice, Buck Consultants , Chicago, January 26, 2006.

Leading Change in Dynamic Hospitality Industry

Leading Change in Dynamic Hospitality Industry | By Mahendra (Mike) Rathore

Changing Business Dynamics:

In an ever-metamorphosing tourism and hotel industry the biggest fear confronting the hospitality operator's is CHANGE. Change is a reality and constant factor in the dynamic hospitality industry. What we knew yesterday is no longer applicable today. How we operated successfully yesterday can very well be premonition to extinction today. The truth is that change is occurring all the time and the cycle of change is constant and in order for hoteliers to remain competitive and survive must adopt the change. Those managers/ operators who are averse to change will either have to be content themselves with mediocre performance or bleeds with thousand cuts since competition will overtake them soon. In today's business environment, everything is changing the customer's taste & preference, competition, prices, policies, people and employees and products are can literally change overnight. The loyalty of either customers or associates for business is a thing of the past, are governed by the new rules of business. Therefore, the ability to embrace, manage and effectively lead change is of great benefit to today's hotelier and travel professionals. Only those leaders who act boldly in times of crisis and change are willingly followed. To successfully meet and overcome change, we need to have specific attitudes and skills for envisioning; anticipating and once we know the impending change, and planning for that inevitable change. And having known the impending change, we need to know how to effectively communicate that change to co-workers, client's vendors and future prospects to stay abreast of the competition.

While change may not come easily, you as an operator can be sure that it will indeed come. And must be prepared for the inevitable changes that accompany the modern hotelier in variety of ways. Changes brought by the franchisors sponsored new prototypes, forced amenities creeps, new technology adaptation, renewed marketing initiatives, capital expenditures, staff turnover, burgeoning competition, business threats, ADA, New Government legislations, consumer legislation from nowhere to name a few. Leaders must love progress and that comes by embracing and adapting to changing business paradigms. Successful Leaders are not always the first to see the need for change, but they are the first to act, and once they move away from the pack, they are positioned to lead. It is rightly said that "Character is not made in crisis it is only exhibited."

Planning for inevitable changes:

Changes in this business sneak up on you and we have to manage the change for success what has occurred. Therefore, anticipation and alarm are the two things that one has to constantly keep in mind while running the hospitality business. While you may not be able to predict the future, there are some useful indications or issues that you can consider to help you prepare for the future. The paradigms shift can be extremely frustrating and frightful for some depending on their past perceptions, background and educational background and cultural mores & social taboos. However, those who view change positive are more apt to benefit from it and create synergies and new opportunities for future. The most successful entrepreneurs are successful in this business because they always embraced change and found it exciting for their business rather than fearing or being intimidated by the change.

The paradigm can help hoteliers embrace change and plan of the future The example of paradigm could include that every guest will be served in most courteous and professional manners, the hotel will give irrevocable satisfaction guarantee, the communication channels between hotel and franchisers, marketing initiatives, current products portfolios and mix of lodging products etc. Division of roles & responsibilities are some of the paradigms that help reinforce positive service behaviors and deliver memorable guest services and generate desirable returns for the investors and owners. These paradigms help businesses organize their acts and provide structure that fulfill the business security needs. However, when the situations change, paradigm can prevent us from seeing the new opportunities that change brings to our business. We become accustomed to our set of rules and consequently we begin to fear and resist change that challenges our paradigms. When an established set of rules undergoes a change, a paradigm shift occurs. And these paradigm shifts are behind much of the troubles & turmoil's that usually accompanies change. Because we had a set of rules that we followed for years and then suddenly someone or something has changed the rules. We understood our old rules and boundaries and now we have to learn new ones. These changes dramatically upset our well-organized and business structures in today's times.

Dealing with inadvertent: prosper or perish!

In the shipping world the jet planes initiated a paradigm shift. Old reservation system was challenged by advent of technology and Internet revolution that now contribute to about 60 % of all hotel bookings and is rapidly changing the way travel and hotel bookings are made. Similarly in recent years the Hotel chains best rate guarantees on their web sites have threatened the third party travel distributor's sites business. Those who anticipated the paradigm shift and took positive steps to confront the reality change have sustained their business by devising the packaging for the travelers. That includes Air ticket, hotel room, rental car and sightseeing etc. The new packages system has benefited all the constituents of businesses and hence flourishing. Those businesses that resisted the inadvertent change, letting the shift occur without shifting with it, thus accepting a fate they believed meant a doom for their business. Most of such businesses either withered away from scene overnight and many were sold out or merged/acquire by dominant industry players. They became victim of paradigm paralysis, inflexible commitment to the status quo in the face of great change. Some example of such paralyzed paradigm shifts victims when we hear at the check out counter a manager responding to the customer complaint and demand for rebate and or refund: "that's', impossible"; "It's against our policy to give full refund" The owners would reprimand the Managers for meeting guest requests in the form of refunds responding in categorical terms "We don't do things that way in my hotels or around here! Or "Who gave you permission to change the rules" The demoralized Managers would then explain to owners that it is Franchisors written policy for absolute satisfaction or get your full refund. The owners would shoot back it is my business and "Let's get real here, Okay" or "I wish it were that easy to follow everything the franchisors promise to the customers" In contrast, those operators who back the guarantees on service or standards are essentially embracing change and respond positively to business paradigm shift and see opportunity for in the face of change. They assess the present situation and look forward to future in terms of repeat business, positive word-of-mouth publicity. They find success in change and embrace the paradigm shift for betterment of business in the long term.

Embrace change for competitive advantages

Yet another example of such paradigm shift was high-speed Internet access in guest rooms. Some operators resisted the change and took a heavy beating in the guest satisfaction, and consequent loss of repeat clientele. While other perceived as business reality and made it free for all customers and instead made this as a marketing tool to drive traffic to their hotels. Some visionary hoteliers went one step ahead and came out with video on demand with in room fax and long distance service and made stream of revenues, significantly higher than what they might have made on by charging the HSIA in the guest room. Third party online distribution system has too undergone a sea change in recent years. Hotel groups that aw the paradigm shift quickly responded to it positively and made their distressed room inventories available to opaque and not-opaque online distributors and gained significant revenues. Others who were averse and acted late were not able to take advantages of changing business models.

During post September events many hotels started taking recourse to traditional solutions for bad times, some proactive players jump-started sales with SMERF and travel agents business when group sales took all time high cancellations. Star wood Hotels & Resorts made the same bet. The company quickly gained revenues while most companies were at stand still by selling room prices as low as $ per night to travel agents. The group did not wait for customers to come looking, instead they went looking for customers. That is a basic paradigm shift in the business that was executed successfully. In tough times those who don't change are least likely to survive and a business have to be proactive and leaders most willing to accept change.

Similarly Revenue Management System is yet another example of a paradigm shift in hospitality industry. The focus in gradually shifting from heads in the bed occupancy and RevPAR to revenue per occupied guest (REVPAG). In evaluating the performance of hotels in the comp-set hotels, new shift is from the RevPAR index to Share Price index (SPI) that measures the growth in the share of business compared to other hotels in the competitive set. In an ever-changing dynamic business environment, rooms contract with groups and consortia have become outdated and obsolete because the hotels are not taking recourse to dynamic model of revenue Management. Since the room demand and forecasting models are based on several heterogeneous mix of variables rather than just focusing on the group business or corporate contracts for certain numbers rooms at a predetermined rates. In large metro cities hotels instead of quoting for long-term stay on average rates are now quoting rates for each night based on the properties occupancies and demands for property.

Successful hoteliers have come to reckon with the realities of paradigm that are all around them and are quickly responding to those paradigm shifts to stay competitive and to take advantages of changes situations. While paradigms are necessary and useful, the businesses have to realize that they can be detrimental when they block you from new ides or solutions. Winners are those who recognize their current paradigms –and willing to go beyond them seeing the new perspectives or opportunities.

Overcoming Resistance to change:

In the fact of such rapid change, the hospitality leaders need to develop abilities to analyze a situation and respond in a way that benefits the entire organization that most markedly distinguished them from managers who are primarily responsible for micro management with technical and human relations issues. In initiating such adaptations and change leadership and management abilities are necessary throughout the organizational change. Owners and key executives must not involve themselves with managing change but rather proactively commit themselves to leading change. True success occurs from leading change as well as altering the status quo, creating a new vision, communicating that vision throughout the company and getting employees to believe in it and then empowering them to action the desired change.

While planning for change requires owners to assess their own skills and perspectives, communicating change requires them to think of others involved in the change process. Our industry in recent times have witnessed huge resistance to business dynamics and changes in two kind of changes namely, transitional changes and transformational changes. Because both these changes requires dismantling of current way of operating businesses, systems, procedures and replacing those with new franchisers systems, procedures and policies often involving huge CAPEX and investments of time, capital and resources. These changes have basically been evolutionary for hotel business due to growing competition between brands, constant upgradation and evolutions of lodging business. These market driven changes have been very costly but were the only options for the hotels chains to stay competitive and gain firm hold of their market segmentation. These changes have met with huge resistance and bitter criticism by the franchisee community against franchisors. A case in point is of Marriott international , the company faced huge resistance from franchisees for transformational changed of their Select Services brands," Courtyard hotels new prototypes and also about Fairfield inn & Suites etc. Be it the new suites design, new bedding investments or investment in curved shower roads. Although these changes were introduced and hoteliers witnessed improved revenues and guest satisfaction scores, but initially the changes looked little threatening and often traumatic to the franchisees. Along with transformation and transitional changes, the new paradigm shift forced owners to organizational changes, and renewed vision. Similarly, choice hotels new focus on quality services and advent of amenity creeps also met with some resistance from the franchisee owners. Therefore important part of communicating change is anticipating and managing resistance Franchisers can manage the change and its resistance by involving the franchsi8ees in the change decision process right from inception, and explain the benefits of those changes in terms of impact on owners bottom lines. Further provide clearly and frequently information from time to time to allow the franchisees to understand, accept and finally prepare for the change itself.

Managing Change Proactively:

Change management necessitated thorough analysis and well-planned communication strategy before implementing changes Communication is paramount throughout the entire change process. The change should be gradual and phase-by-phase to gradually introduce new elements into the old structure. This would enable people to shift more comfortably from their existing paradigm in to the new paradigm. Such a gradual transition can help overcome paradigm paralysis. People in times of change need additional education & training to boost their confidence and to develop their skills. Associated in particular would need internal training, in the form of coaching, or mentoring, and external training. These could be in the form of educational professional courses and independent training seminars. This is very important and is needed to develop a skilled, motivated and confident workforce. From the first time that people first learn of the upcoming changes, its is important for them to assume responsibility for the change. With each additional efforts they invest in making the change happen, a sense of ownership increases. This fostered ownership sense would most employees should feel committed to change. Management should provide employees to incentives for successfully applying change. Set milestones for soliciting and responding to employee feedback. Incorporate new suggestions and ideas from the employees in the ongoing implementation process. Owners should insist on getting employees involved in implementing changes and that would perk up their pride and commitment in making the changes happen and would remove fears and resistance to the desired change. Feedback should be an ongoing element in planning, implementing change. Feedback is sharing the results of change efforts continuously and consistently. This would strengthen the staff confidence and help the employees stay positive and motivated. Feedback is the best tool to give employees some insight about the outcomes of their performance. Successful implementation strategies must take into consideration barriers that currently might exist or might arise during the change efforts, and the consequences of those anticipated barriers. Once the owners/ leaders have identified anticipated and/or barriers, must find ways to prevent them or at least limit their negative consequences. Here's where your management skills, leadership ability, and common sense is the best way to accomplish the important task.

Leading change- winners Way:

Hospitality operators have to reconcile to the immutable law of change that impacts their businesses. You have to learn to deal with the nuances and effects of a changing environment. Dealing with change is an understanding o change and willingness to adapt. We have a tendency not to change until we really have to .The real threat to our future success comes not from outside the organization but from inside. Changes in the hospitality & tourism sector are bound to happen and its not the change themselves that will destroy our business, It's how you choose to respond and adapt. Sometimes our own past success is the biggest obstacle to change. We tend to rest on our past laurels assuming successful past would guarantee us future success. I t might usually lead us down a different future path. The most successful changes happen when old paradigms are abandoned while they still work. Fixing something that "isn't broke" takes foresight, courage, and a high degree of risk. Only true change leaders hoteliers successfully tackle and accomplish this feat.

Today's hospitality organization need people who adapt quickly, not those who psychologically resist change. Being able to change quickly will build your business reputation, while resisting change can ruin it. To survive and gain competitive advantage in the travel industry environment of fierce competition and fleeting opportunities, hoteliers need operate with an emphasis on ACTION Indecisiveness, resistance to change, or inaction, and excessive analysis is paralysis, and great obstacle to change and would be at the root of the lost opportunity. Owners, who love structures and detest fluid job roles and shifting priorities, try to be flexible. Uncertainty and unpredictability characterizes the hotel business. Hoteliers future success would rests largely on ability accept ambiguity and uncertainty of changing situations. Continue to upgrade sills and knowledge Hotel leaders should embrace change and focus on the big picture. Be responsible for every action you make in pursuit of that goal. Focus on ways that you can make a worthwhile difference in changing times and increase added value to your business and work place. Continuous process improvements should be the focus for improving the operation and gain enduring competitive advantage in ever changing business environment.

About the Author:

Mahendra S Rathore, CHA, CHE, CTA, FCHIMA, MBA - Mahendra Rathore is the president of the Ultima Management dedicated to management of full service, select service hotels and resorts as well as providing turnkey consulting services for the hospitality and leisure industries.