When you operate a hospitality business, your front of house staff – the team that connects with your customers, delivers the service, and forms the face of your business – are your most vital assets. You rely heavily on these staff performing their best at all times, delivering the customer service promise you advertise, and creating repeat business simply through executing their job. We take you through the essential skills your hospitality staff need, and indicators to help innovate your hiring processes.

Customer service basics

Every employee should undertake basic customer service training as soon as they start, regardless of what training or experience they’ve had in the past. Specific, targeted customer service training, focusing on your expectations and desired style of customer service, sets the standard with all employees right from the get-go. There is no confusion on the type of service they should deliver, and you can build on these skills through further hospitality training in the future.

OH&S

A designated, singular occupational health and safety (OH&S) officer isn’t enough in the modern hospitality industry, especially with businesses that run twenty-fours, like hotels and casinos. While you may be meeting industry standard, you need all of your team to be able to identify potential hazards, be vigilant in an emergency, be able to assist with rectifying OH&S issues and take responsibility for their working environment.

Problem-solving

Empowering your team to make decisions and problem solve can be one of the most rewarding choices for your business. Staff members that can rectify issues for customers on the spot, who can use their initiative to settle customer issues, are highly valuable. Not only do they inspire the staff around them, but they promote enjoyable, honest and memorable customer service experiences. Most of your team will need specific training on how to embrace these qualities, but the investment in this will be highly rewarding.

Teamwork

At the core of the hospitality industry is teamwork: there are very few hospitality businesses that are run by just one person, with the majority of them needing a small army to fulfil shifts every week. The better the harmony between the team, the more they can communicate with each other and happily work together, making it easier for your business to reach its financial and service goals.

Want to find out more about running a hospitality business, especially in regards to bookkeeping? Give our team a call today.