Article The One Team Hotel By Lisa Murrell and Paul Kwiecinski Published in Lodging, Nov 1999

If it's not one thing, it's another. Just when food and beverage seem to be working together efficiently, you realize that turnover in housekeeping is higher than expected. You implement training and try to infuse order, only to discover the front desk is over- empowered and "giving the hotel away" as a result of not handling guest complaints appropriately. After more training, this time at the front desk, you find out that the kitchen and banquet are about to go to war with sales because they sold a product that the chef doesn't deliver and banquet isn't adequately staffed to provide. When asked, sales reminds you that they are following the sales training they got last month. Does this sound familiar? Do you feel that you go from department to department "fixing" things one after another in an effort to provide consistent quality for your guests? Is there a better way of operating? Definitely.

In the course of working in the hotel business for more than 20 years, we have seen certain systems of operations surface continually. For example, organizations like the ones above operate on a system of individual solutions. This is the system of " fix one thing individually and then go to the next thing and fix it," thus creating the never-ending pattern of going from one individual problem to the next. Of course, there is nothing wrong with "fixing" problems. In fact, problems can be the sign of a healthy organization that is consciously aware of what needs to change to better serve it's customers. But where most hotels go wrong is that they are "fixing" the wrong thing. They're addressing the symptoms of the problems, not the causes. However, finding the "real" problems can be a challenge. Yet, if hotels put as much energy in this direction as they do trying to fix symptoms, their operating systems would lead to much higher levels of quality and performance.

A common "symptom" is a lack of collaboration between departments. Most hotels focus their attention on the departments in looking for solutions, when they should be looking at their executive team. Chances are, the executive team only goes through the motions of being a team. Rather, they work as individuals. Looking further, they will find that their managers aren't working as a team either. Then, checking inter-departmentally, the probability of finding teamwork at this level is nil. The problem is with executives and their general manager and how they model the way to act as a team for the rest of the hotel. How does the general manager relate to his/her executive team? As individuals or as a team? Whatever happens here determines the system of collaboration for the hotel. This is the root cause of the problem. If the problem is not addressed at this level, then you will continue to go from place to place "fixing" the lack of collaboration. When root causes are addressed and corrected, things stay fixed because the system of operation is changed. Your organization begins to operate on a whole new level whose "symptoms" include consistent quality, higher profits, lower turnover, fewer fires to put out, and higher customer satisfaction.

The method of addressing the root causes of problems rather than their symptoms is based upon the premise that problems are co-created by everyone involved. The solutions, then, lie in the interaction and behaviors among you. In looking for these problems and solutions you need to examine your current system of problem solving. On what level do you approach your solutions? As an individual, a team, or a department? Our experience shows that hotels with organizational, or "One Team" perspective, are hotels finding long-term solutions.

How to Build Your System for Success Self-responsibility (the willingness to look at what part you are playing in what is working and what isn't in your organization) is a key factor in building a successful system. Take the time to answer the following questions as a first step to building yours. Use this outline to help develop your systemic perspective and begin your change process. Enlist a co-worker to help you follow-up on your actions - co-responsibility and accountability for results will begin immediately. What is a current problem/symptom you are experiencing in your hotel? Think of the burning issue that you would love to solve with a wave of the magic wand (if you had one). Identify it clearly. What is the history of that problem? Outline the history of this issue: how has it shown up, grown, and what patterns of reoccurrence does it have? In the history are keys to the problem's symptomatic nature. What is the cost? Identify all the costs associated with the problem: lost income, higher expense, turnover, guest dissatisfaction, job dissatisfaction, etc. What part are you playing? If we look at the hotel as a theater production, what role do you play? Victim? Disinterested Observer? Unsupported voice of reason? How do your actions support the long-term survival of the problem? What are you willing to do in the next two weeks to change it? While owning the success of the whole hotel, brainstorm five actions that would impact a solution to this issue and choose one that you can commit to completing within two weeks. How does the action address root cause? Who do you need to enroll to insure success?

This is not, however, the most popular perspective. Perhaps the biggest reason organizations choose to look at symptoms rather than causes of problems is that it requires less responsibility, accountability, and ownership. If your organizations culture is one in which individual solutions are sought, it's acceptable to give the problem to someone else. If your culture seeks team or departmental solutions, any issues that are near the boundaries of responsibility are candidates for shifting to another department. With the "one Team Hotel," or organizational perspective, there are no gaps in responsibility. Everyone co-owns the objectives of the organization and seeks solutions that are in line with attaining them - which means true resolution of issues.

A One Team Hotel is characterized by three primary standards. The first is equal value, which requires the acknowledgement that everyone in the hotel is equally valuable and necessary in providing quality guest service and satisfaction. Of course, there are different roles and responsibilities. But ask yourself how the guest might feel if, for example, there was no one to wash the dishes or to make the beds.

The second attribute of a One Team Hotel is the concept of co-responsibility. Everyone is responsible for the objectives of the hotel. Co-responsibility requires that you do what you are currently doing, but do it differently. This may mean involving others, delegating, or other such notions that you may or may not be ready to try. Co-responsibility also means no more "It's not my job." You're all in this together. Equally important is that if your co-workers are not holding up their end of the bargain, you need to let them know it, and they need to be willing to do something about it. The third building block of the One Team Hotel is self-responsibility- the willingness to look at what part you are playing in what's going on and acting towards the common end of profit, quality, and guest satisfaction. Self-responsibility requires that the focus for action and solution be on you, not someone else. This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of acting as a One Team Hotel, and the one that will have the most impact in creating a system for success. We all know, whether we admit it or not, that it is easier to look at what someone else is doing or not doing than it is to look at ourselves. However, we cannot change other's behaviors, we can only impact them through our own actions. That is why focusing on what the other guy is doing doesn't result in action or solutions. We can only change our own behaviors. Self-responsibility supports us to act in ways to create positive results for the individual, the team, and the organization.

The changes that occur as a result of acting from a One Team perspective are long-term because they are more than skin deep. There are hotels where "quality" and "customer service" are like a cardboard façade that tends to fall over and reveal the mess when things get hectic or an unusual situation needs handling. When employees act for the organization, they are acting from a foundation that can support day-to-day problems. This foundation is ingrained in all aspects of the hotel. In the One Team Hotel, staff sand management have been led through the process that has taken them from a working "group"- which had no focus on or commitment to collective performance, no understood common goal or purpose, and no system no accountability - to a "real team" with shared responsibility, a sense of solidarity and collaboration, high performance standards, commitment to mutual accountability, and success.

A One Team organization creates a culture of success. People are motivated to come to work because they like working in a culture committed to quality and excellence. Furthermore, they know how to create and maintain it on all levels-both for themselves and the guests.

The system of addressing the root causes rather than symptoms and concept of co-responsibility also applies to the successes of an organization-address to root causes of success and co-create the organization you always wanted to be a part of. Equal value, co-responsibility, and self-responsibility are keys to creating a One Team Hotel. If you want to build a system for success, now that you have these keys, start with yourself and begin immediately.

Yes…But Does It Really Work? One Team Hotels in Action When Erik Anderouard was General Manager of the Sofitel in Redwood City, California, the hotel became the most successful hotel in the chain in one year. Why? This hotel like others in Sofitel North America was involved with One Team Hotel type development. "The training was for everyone," Says Anderouard, now a regional manager for Novotel, also part of Accor North America. "This type of intervention is very powerful when everyone learns together." The intervention included team development, experiential workshops that brought a consistent message to the entire staff, an internal change agent program, and a management development series, all of which included mixed levels of staff collaborating together on a common, clearly defined goal. As a result, turnover lowered from somewhere in the 60 percent range to 40 percent. Taking the time to do the work properly and then following up is the key to a successful system, Anderouard says. "This is not an overnight thing," he says. "You need to begin something and follow it up. You don't have to go fast." Anderouard also says a clear master plan is essential. It is this agreed-upon goal that the hotel can work toward together. One of the most effective ways to foster this collaboration is through team development-"team" meaning the entire hotel. The Peabody Hotel in Memphis is one year into implementing a One Team Hotel program, and General Manager Mohamad Hakimian is pleased with the results so far. "Departmental barriers have been broken to a great extent and communication lines have opened," he says. "A campaign to achieve new heights in quality has started. The work has clearly improved the quality of our meetings as it has created discipline, time management, candor/confrontations, and accountability." Turnover at the property has begun to decline as employees respond to the changing work environment-from an annualized 59 percent in 1998 to an annualized 52 percent in 1999. "The program has created a strong bond between team members that happen to be in cross-functional departments and has focused them on common goals of our 'Target 2000' that ultimately enhances our guest services and customer satisfaction," Hakimian says. The property's meticulously tracked guest satisfaction index increased from 86 percent last year to 92 percent thus far in 1999. "The process is an excellent exercise and management training tool in developing accountability and teamwork in any organization that is committed to quality and is constantly in a quest to improve guest services," Hakimian says. "In the process of addressing the issues, team members develop relationships that are extremely effective in terms of making promises to each other and keeping each other accountable." What is the secret to getting these kind of results? "The overall program is what made the hotel successful, not any one part," says Anderouard. "But you have to be ready to work on yourself. This type of work is a very strong personal and professional growth tool."