Motivation is an essential tool in any industry. It is especially important for front-desk workers since they represent the company and are responsible for a high share of the hotel’s sales. The enthusiasm and working results of employees may vary. Motivation theories of Maslow and Mayo reflected in an individual approach should be applied to workers with different level of enthusiasm. Maslow’s theory is focused on the needs of employees, while Mayo introduces an individual approach. The manager should define the needs of the employees and determine the approaches to be used to the groups with similar needs. It is important to recognize individual’s contributions to the team effort. Financial incentives could be introduced to motivate workers and increase sales. A successful motivation program should include sales training sessions, personal coaching and continuous follow-ups. Motivational program should not be limited to one-time event. It is critical to maintain the enthusiasm of the workers on a high level, therefore a strategic approach should be implemented.
Motivation is essential in any industry to improve the performance of employees and thus boost the efficiency of the company. Front desk workers are the face of the hotel, and they are very important for generating sales in the hospitality industry. Therefore, enthusiastic employees would contribute more to the balance sheet of the company, and it is critical to keep their interest in work at a high level.
The first step in the establishment of a personnel motivation system is the identification of needs of the employees. In the hospitality industry, the needs of the front desk employees may not be fully satisfied by the hotel. That may be the determining factor of their performance at work. Therefore, in my opinion, the most suitable approach would be using Maslow’s motivational theories.
According to this method, it is important for the front office manager to identify the needs of employees and their hierarchy (Bardi, 2010). That is, for some employees pay is more important since it will satisfy the basic needs. They do not care much about other needs, such as self-development or socialization before the basic ones are met. For others, career growth is of greater importance than earnings. Both groups of employees will show similar unenthusiastic behavior if their needs are not satisfied; however, the motivation approaches should be different.
It is important for the manager to come up with the motivation tools that would be suitable for each employee. However, it is not possible and is very costly. Therefore, all employees can be divided into groups with similar interests, with appropriate motivation approaches applied to each of them.
In addition, an effective motivational tool may be recognition of each employee. This way, all the front desk workers will feel that their work is appreciated and valued and perform their duties better. This approach, offered by Mayo, will be suitable for both enthusiastic and unenthusiastic workers; however, the specific tools shall vary. That is, recognition of personal achievements of particular workers may discourage others, and unenthusiastic employees will show even less desire to work (Bardi, 2010). Thus, it is important to approach those who are performing their duties and find positive aspects that could be outlined. It is also essential for the manager to point out that each employee’s contribution is crucial for the team results and conduct team-building activities.
In general, all the motivation theories provide a personal approach to all employees. That is, the techniques used by the managers should vary depending on the needs of employees, their attitude to work, achievements, and other factors. In my motivation program, I would use individual and group approach to all front-desk employees. It would be most efficient since it would take into account needs of every worker and help to find optimal approaches to each of them.
The framework of motivation program should also include financial incentives for the front desk workers to promote products and services offered at the hotel. Percentage of sales of each additional service should be included in the salary of the front office worker to motivate them to generate additional sales.
For a front desk manager, the motivation of personnel should be a consistent task. That way, enthusiastic workers will not lose their interest, and the less enthusiastic ones will become more involved in the process of providing the best experience for the customer. Therefore, it is important to develop a system of personnel training that would give the front desk clerks a motivation to maintain the high level of service in the hotel. It is important to remember that the job of the front desk clerk is often not viewed as a sales occupation. Therefore, some of the employees may be unprepared to the sales goals and appropriate training should be provided for them to feel comfortable when communicating with the guests and offering them additional services at the hotel. Some of the front desk workers may be better at sales than the others, so the manager ought to make all of the members of the team comfortable with what they are doing.
The training program for front desk employees should include lectures about sales, role-playing to help them experience the possible situations they can encounter in the working process, performing their duties under the supervision of the manager to test the newly acquired skills, and coaching sessions for personal communication. In the end, the best motivation would be performing their duties and showing better results due to adequate training. In addition, it will be helpful to let the employees experience hotel service to help them feel the customer’s experience (Bardi, 2010). That way they will be more confident about the services they are offering.
To sum up, the motivation of personnel is a continuous process. It is critical in the hospitality industry, in particular for the front desk employees. Their work account for a high share of the total sales of the hotel, therefore, it is essential to keep them motivated to perform their duties efficiently. Individual approaches should be used to satisfy each employee’s needs and help them become more enthusiastic at work. To this extent, motivation theories introduced by Maslow and Mayo are most useful since they take into account individual needs and offer personal approaches. The motivational program should incorporate continuous training and team-building activities, financial incentives, and ongoing follow-up for better results of the front desk workers.
