Five tips to improve internal communication for frontline workers

This article offers five tips to improve internal communication in your hotel or other hospitality business. While every company is different, these ideas can help you identify areas where you could stand to improve your internal communication, streamline processes and empower your team members to do their best work

Hospitality businesses operate at a fast pace. With the average age of a general manager in the hospitality industry being just 34 years old, and many employees being early in their careers, it’s important to establish clear standards for communicating clearly to get work done effectively.

This article offers five tips to improve internal communication in your hotel or other hospitality business. While every company is different, these ideas can help you identify areas where you could stand to improve your internal communication, streamline processes and empower your team members to do their best work.

Communicate clearly and often

Clear and consistent communication is essential for any team to function properly. If team members are unclear about goals and expectations, it can lead to confusion and mistakes. To avoid this, make sure to communicate company goals, strategies and tactics regularly. This way, everyone will be on the same page and able to work together more effectively. If you’re unsure how your team members will interpret your requests and instructions, it’s better to over-communicate. Additionally, be sure to let employees know about any upcoming events or changes that could impact operations. By doing this, you can help avoid any surprises and ensure that everyone is prepared to provide the best possible service to guests.

Use technology to streamline internal communication

Using technology to streamline your internal communication can save you time and money, and allow you to focus more on guests. For example, you can use a scheduling software to assign shifts to employees, track the hours they are scheduled to work and send reminders about upcoming shifts. In addition to scheduling, consider using communication apps such as All Gravy to make internal communication more targeted and efficient. These tools allow you to communicate with your team members in an easy-to-read format on their mobile devices, and allow others to add comments or suggestions to what you’ve posted. Keeping communication asynchronous can also allow you to go “off the grid” when necessary—whether you’re taking a vacation or working from home due to bad weather.

Rotate staff to build familiarity

Some areas of your restaurant or other hospitality business may be running smoothly, while others may be bogged down with miscommunications. What can you do if you’re unsure how to fix the problem? One option is to rotate staff members to different departments so they can become more familiar with various tasks and processes.

This can be especially useful when there is a language barrier. For example, if a large portion of your staff speaks Spanish and some of your processes are conducted in English, language barriers could be slowing down productivity. Rotating staff members to different departments for a designated time period can help them become more familiar with their co-workers’ communication styles and work methods.

Create visual communication tools

Beyond verbal communication, you can use visual tools such as graphs, charts, diagrams and other helpful visuals to make complex processes easier to understand. This can be especially helpful for employees who work in areas that rely on technology, such as IT or engineering. This can be as simple as creating a flowchart to show how guests are helped at the front desk, or a diagram of a room to indicate where equipment, furniture and other items are located. You can also use visuals to create checklists for complex tasks or processes. This can help team members learn how to do their job more efficiently and potentially avoid mistakes. You can also use checklists to help new employees understand their role once they are hired.

Hold daily meetings for a quick check-in

Some businesses may host a daily meeting, whereas others may want to hold meetings at the beginning of each shift. Regardless of which option works best for your establishment, holding meetings to check in with colleagues can help to catch miscommunications and clarify goals and expectations. It could be as simple as hosting a meeting to check in with colleagues and let them know what will be happening during certain times of the day, such as construction or landscaping work. These meetings can also be a quick way to let your team know if there are any challenges that arose during the previous day that they should be aware of, such as service outages or changes to the schedule.

Conclusion

Improving internal communication in your hotel or hospitality business can be challenging, but it’s very doable! Start by communicating clearly and often, using technology to streamline communication when possible, and rotating staff members to become more familiar with various areas of your establishment. Hold morning meetings for a quick check-in and you’ll be well on your way to improving your internal communication.