How radio communications and connected systems can help improve staff management

Your clients expect your room 'gadgets', hotel facilities and conference IT to work: FACT!

But when things go even slightly wrong, how efficiently can you respond?

• How quickly can you find and task the right member of staff?
• Will they arrive at the scene knowing what's wrong? If they don't it's likely to irritate your clients even more.
• And will they be ready and equipped to fix it? Because you know how annoying it is when someone turns up, then has to go away again!

Resident guests want everything in their room to work; conference and event customers expect everything to run smoothly..and why shouldn't they, they're paying good money. So, how can you give them all exceptional service which will help bookings - especially those lucrative conferences - grow in size and number?

This is where maximising your staff efficiency and minimising your response time really pays off

To illustrate this point I know of a guest who called reception because the power in their room had suddenly gone off. Reception needed the maintenance electrician to attend urgently, but he was out on a job so couldn't answer his desk phone and his mobile wasn't connecting either. Using MOTOTRBO™, a two-way radio system, coverage wasn't an issue and reception instantly got hold of him in the basement. Within minutes the electrician was in the guest room to fix the problem; result: one happy guest!

Makes you wonder just what you could do with the right communications doesn't it?

30% increase in staff productivity when facilities maintenance, supervisors, front desk and housekeeping are linked*

Here are my 6 top tips for creating staff comms which deliver exception service as standard

1. Think about your entire premises, not just public areas - staff need to be contactable even if they're at the other end of the golf course, deep in your basement or up on the roof!

2. Then consider your equipment - does it offer the functions and performance you need to compete today? Is it a little old and shabby? Perhaps a tad on the large, clumsy and obvious side?

3. One-size certainly does not fit all; every department has its own ways of working and a device which does not 'fit in' does not deliver superior guest service - check out your mix of devices and investigate what else is available now - you could even save money!

4. Ask about communication networks which can easily integrate old technology with new and think about your existing equipment; will it work with any new devices and systems you choose? Exploiting integration could save you money.

5. Consider how to get more out of your system - look at job ticket management, people and vehicle tracking, remote monitoring and control of equipment such as intercom/access systems, even management analysis tools.

6. Remember guests don't want to hear or see the effort it takes to deliver first class service - train your staff to behave like swans: calm on the surface, paddling like mad out-of-sight!

It's all about helping your staff collaborate better, which in turn helps keep your facilities in good working order; as a bonus, it can help lower your costs too, through efficiencies such as time-savings, multi-tasking and better job allocation.

How much better could you be with a better communication system? Do your people have the right tools which empower them to be the best? And with your competitors gearing up, can you afford not to take a fresh look at your hotel communications?

Digital radio has never looked better
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* Average benefit reported by Motorola customers