BHCT- 407, ADVANCE HOUSEKEEPING MANAGEMENT I

 

CHAPTER 1: PLANNING AND ORGANISING

Key Words: Staffing, Work study, Work measurement, Job specification, Recruitment, Orientation, Screening and selecting, Training, Briefing and scheduling of staff, Work scheduling, Rotational and tight scheduling, Contract services, Contract, why contract Cleaning, Advantages and Disadvantages, Costing, Other contracts – Laundry, florist, linen hire etc.

STAFFING FOR HOUSEKEEPING OPERATIONS

Staffing is the third sequential function of management. Until now the executive housekeeper has been concerned with planning and organizing the housekeeping department for the impending opening and operations. Now the executive housekeeper must think about hiring employees within sufficient time to ensure that three of the activities of staffing—selection (including interviewing), orientation, and training—may be completed before opening. Staffing will be a major task of the last two weeks before opening. The development of the Area Responsibility Plan and the House Breakout Plan before opening led to preparation of the Department Staffing Guide, which will be a major tool in determining the need for employees in various categories. The housekeeping manager and laundry manager should now be onboard and assisting in the development of various job descriptions. (These are described in Appendix A.) The hotel human resources department would also have been preparing for the hiring event. They would have advertised a mass hiring for all categories of personnel to begin on a certain date about two weeks before opening. Even though this article reflects a continuation of the executive housekeeper’s planning for opening operations, the techniques described apply to any ongoing operation, except that the magnitude of selection, orientation, and training activities will not be as intense. Also, the fourth activity—development of existing employees—is normally missing in opening operations but is highly visible in ongoing operations.

WORK STUDY

 The procedures in method study consist of the following stages:

1. Select the work to be studied.

2. Record the facts

3. Examine the facts.

4. Develop a better method.

5. Introduce and maintain the better method.

 Stage 1: Select the work to be studied.  Routine or repetitive tasks,where some of the following problems occur:

· - Poor quality work, - Delays, - Frequent accidents, - Inefficient use of space, - Excessive absenteeism, - Poor working conditions.  Area to perform the task.

·  Cleaning aids.

 Stage 2: Record the facts.  Techniques for comparison and ease of understanding:· - Charts... process charts, etc - Diagrams... flow diagrams, string diagrams, etc - Models... 3D, 2D to scale, templates, etc - Filming... using cine or still films.

Stage 3: Examine the facts.  Purpose·  Place·  Sequence·  Person·  Means.

Stage 4: Develop a better method.  Elimination,·  Combination,·  Simplification,·  Change of sequence.

Stage 5: Introduce and maintain a better method.  Detailed planning and preparation,·  Assistance and cooperation of staff,·  Monitoring progress.· Also consider:  Motion economy,·  Work measurement,·  Ergonomics.

· MOTION ECONOMY Motion economy is considered with the economy of movement. The seven principles of motion economy are:

1. Minimum movements

2. Simultaneous movements

3. Symmetrical movements

4. Natural movements

5. Rhythmical movements

6. Habitual movements

7. Continuous movements.

 In carrying out a task, these movements may be made individually or two or more may be combined together in order to reduce fatigue. They are studied in order to develop better working methods, increased flow of work and improved design of tools and equipments.

WORK MEASUREMENT Work measurement is the application of techniques designed to establish the time for a qualified worker to do a specified job at a defined level of performance. It is concerned with investigating, reducing and subsequently eliminating ineffective time.

People tend to work at different rates, depending on a number of factors:

1. The type of job involved.

2. The amount of mechanization.

3. The working environment.

4. The amount of job satisfaction.

 5. The rate of pay and value of incentive.

6. The ability and attitudes of fellow workers.

7. The amount of rest periods.

8. Is the job full-time or part-time, etc.? It is possible to work out a standard time for a job by calculating the average time it would take a number of operators to perform it.

JOB ANALYSIS

The process of examining a job in order to recognize the various components comprising it. It also includes the circumstances in which an employee performs a particular task. It includes the tasks that are to be performed by employees, the knowledge they possess in order to perform those tasks, the resources and facilities available to them in order to achieve the standards expected from their tasks.

It is a systematic process of collecting the information on nature of a job, qualities and qualifications required to a job, physical and mental capabilities required for a job, duties and responsibilities, physical and mental effort required to perform a job, necessary skills required to perform a job, working conditions and environment  for a job, in order to describe job description and job specification, for recruitment and  selection of employees improve job satisfaction, employee safety and to build up employee motivation etc.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job description includes basic job-related data that is useful to advertise a specific job and attract a pool of talent. It includes information such as job title, job location, reporting to and of employees, job summary, nature and objectives of a job, tasks and duties to be performed, working conditions, machines, tools and equipments to be used by a prospective worker and hazards involved in it.

Purpose of Job Description

• The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to advertise for a particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and selecting the right candidate for the right job.
• It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies what employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.
• It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a particular department or division to perform a specific task or job.
• It also clarifies who will report to whom.

    JOB SPECIFICATION

• Also known as employee specifications, a job specification is a written statement of educational qualifications, specific qualities, level of experience, physical, emotional, technical and communication skills required to perform a job, responsibilities involved in a job and other unusual sensory demands. It also includes general health, mental health, intelligence, aptitude, memory, judgment, leadership skills, emotional ability, adaptability, flexibility, values and ethics, manners and creativity, etc.

• Purpose of Job Specification

  • Described on the basis of job description, job specification helps candidates analyze whether are eligible to apply for a particular job vacancy or not.
  • It helps recruiting team of an organization understand what level of qualifications, qualities and set of characteristics should be present in a candidate to make him or her eligible for the job opening.
  • Job Specification gives detailed information about any job including job responsibilities, desired technical and physical skills, conversational ability and much more.
  • It helps in selecting the most appropriate candidate for a particular job.

  Job description and job specification are two integral parts of job analysis. They define a job fully and guide both employer and employee on how to go about the whole process of recruitment and selection. Both data sets are extremely relevant for creating a right fit between job and talent, evaluate performance and analyze training needs and measuring the worth of a particular job.

SCHEDULING

 Once the executive housekeeper determines who will work in the department, he or she needs to determine when each will work. Effective scheduling makes sure all the necessary tasks are accomplished.

CREATING ROTATIONAL AND STANDING SCHEDULE

Using various management and forecasting tools, professional housekeepers generally make up a standing schedule that serves as a broad, long term framework for scheduling. The standard schedule reflects the number of workers needed on average to do the work assigned to the department. Computers have eased the formerly labor intensive task of scheduling. In some properties, this standard schedule includes a rotation element. Previously, having weekends off was a perquisite of seniority. With rotational scheduling all employees have regular opportunities to have weekends or at least one weekend day off. For example, if an employee works Sunday through Thursday one week, he or she may work Monday through Friday the next and so on. Rotational scheduling works equally well for individuals or teams.

CREATING DAILY SCHEDULES

The EHK or an Assistant housekeeper prepares the daily work schedule for the housekeeping department. He or she must determine how much work there will be in order to schedule the optimum amount of staff to get work done. Generally, the actual schedule is posted one or two weeks in advance, and then modified if necessary. Data needed to determine this includes:

·         Advance reservations: Which are the reservations made prior to the day of check in?

·         Night Auditor’s Report: Which indicates how many rooms, will be due outs or check outs, which means the guest’s stay is ending, how many rooms are occupied, notes any last minute reservation calls.

·         Occupancy or room forecast: An educated guess of how many rooms or functions will be booked for that day; initial forecasts are made months in advance, then recalculated several weeks in advance, one week in advance and finally in detail the night before.

·         Historic Occupancy trends, actual rooms’ sales for the period tracked over a number of years.

·         Special events such as conventions or trade shows and holidays.

Typically, a next day room forecast is sent to housekeeping daily between noon and 2 p.m. This information is the basis of the following day’s schedule. If check outs will be heavy, extra staff has to be scheduled. Check out rooms must be thoroughly cleaned before the next guest occupies them. Employees should check schedules at the beginning and end of their shifts because scheduling refinements are ongoing.

Technology plays a useful role in making sure the housekeeping department has the latest occupancy and reservation information. Computer links from the front office can update the information in the housekeeping department instantaneously and the staff member doing the scheduling can respond accordingly.

A TEN DAYS SCHEDULING FOR NEW ROOM ATTENDANTS

DAY 1 ORIENTATION

·         Tour of all public space, employee space and sample guest rooms.

·         Department goals and mission statement.

·         Introduction of department staff.

·         Expectations of performance.

·         Scheduling, time clock, breaks.

·         Safety procedures including chemical use.

·         Safety procedures including keys.

·         Lost and Found.

 

DAY 2,3,4,5 (ASSIGNED TO TRAINER FOR SKILLS TRAINING)

·         Use of protective equipment.

·         Stripping of daily cleaning.

·         Emptying waste cans and ash trays.

·         Defrosting refrigerators.

·         Making a sofa bed.

·         Making a bed.

·         Making a roll away bed.

·         Checking underneath bed.

·          Dusting furniture, drawers, pictures, sills.

·         Cleaning lamps, checking bulbs.

·         Checking TV remote and channel sticker.

·         Cleaning waste baskets.

·         Cleaning window frames and windows.

·         Cleaning upholstered chairs.

·         Placement of furniture.

·         Cleaning and locking adjoining doors.

·         Cleaning the telephones.

·         Setting the time on digital clocks.

·         Proper paper supplies and placement.

·         Cleaning the bath tub tile and chrome fittings.

·         Cleaning the grout.

·         Cleaning the toilet seat and base.

·         Cleaning bathrooms, walls, floors.

·         Cleaning the vanity counter, sink, and stopper.

·         Cleaning bathroom lights.

·         Folding towels, tissues and toilet paper.

·         Placing clean glasses and ice bucket.

·         Proper bathroom amenities and placement.

·         When to replace toilet paper, soaps.

·         Vacuuming carpets.

·         Pulling beds and furniture.

·         Placing hangers and laundry bags.

·         Checking condition of iron and boards.

·         Cleaning coffee machine and restocking.

·         Cleaning finger prints on doors and walls.

·         Cleaning air vents and corners for cobwebs.

·         Proper placement of drapes.

·         HVACs’ settings.

·         Changing status of room.

·         Special needs of stay over guests.

·         Procedure for rooms with pets.

·         Order of completing assignments.

·         Do not disturb handling.

·         What if phone rings while in room?

·         Cleaning hall area near room.

·         Emptying a vacuum.

·         Handling keys.

·         Fulfilling guest requests.

·         Limiting access to guest rooms.

·         Making maintenance reports.

·         Making notes for missing linen and furniture.

·         Lost and found.

·         Package passes requests.

·         Late, absent procedures.

·         Inspection routine.

·         Entrance/Exit use.

·         Care of cart and supplies.

·         Lunch break procedures.

·         Safety rules on guest floors.

·         Communicating with other workers.

 

DAY 6 -10 FULL ROUTINE

At the conclusion of the day five, the trainer should review the checklist with the room attendant and the supervisor to assess progress and receive feedback from the employee. Beginning day six, the room attendant should also be assigned a short set of rooms, perhaps eight. Then each day assign two more until the new hire has gained confidence and proficiency. Generally speaking, under the guidance of a trainer, a new hire should be able to clean 16 rooms a day by the end of the second week.

Developing Employee work schedule:

• A schedule should cover a full work week, which is typically defined as Sunday through Saturday.
• Schedules should be posted at least three days before the beginning of the next work week.
• Days off, vacation time and requested days off should all be indicated on the posted work schedule.
• The work schedule for the current week should be reviewed daily in relation to the occupancy data. If necessary changes to the schedule should be made.
• A copy of the posted work schedule can be used to monitor the daily attendance of the employees. This copy should be retained as part of the department’s permanent records.

 

Parameters to Consider

• Shift Types: Most hotels operate 24 hours a day and these hours are covered in three shifts. Each shift’s duration is 9 hrs. and these shifts are normally scheduled to overlap by an hour with the next shift to facilitate handovers and takeovers.
• Straight Shift: This type of shift extends for a period of 9 hrs with a break of 1 hour. For example the morning shift and evening are both straight shifts.
• Night Shift/Graveyard Shift: A standard shift is actually a type of straight shift that normally starts from 10 p.m. and concludes at 7 a.m.
• Break Shift/Split Shift: This type of shift is split into two sessions that add up to a regular shift of 9-10 hours. This includes a break of 3-6 hours.
• Rotating Shift: An employee may be given a particular shift for a week or two, and then changed over to the next shift. This rotation is done to ensure that all employees get a fair share of all the shifts.

 

Other Scheduling Concerns

• Overtime: Employees may be asked to work overtime when there is a shortage of staff. This entitles the employee for double and/or compensatory off. Overtime must be avoided as it decreases productivity and increases labor cost.
• Alternative Scheduling Techniques: Getting the right job staff for various job positions is challenging and it is wise to sometimes consider alternative scheduling techniques to accommodate and retain good staff. Alternative schedules vary from the typical 9-5 work hours. These schedules may attract the right kind of people out of those who find it difficult to fit into a 9-5 job. The alternative scheduling options are discussed below.
• Part time: Part time employees do not work 9 hours a day like full time employees. They may work only 4-5 hours per day. In the housekeeping department, the ideal example of a part time position is that of a florist.
• Flexi Time: In this kind of scheduling, an employee can work anytime according to his/her convenience and is paid accordingly.
• Compressed Work Schedules: An employee working 9 hours a day and 6 days a week puts in 54 labor hours a week. If the employee wishes these 54 hours can be compre4ssedwithin 5 days a week, that is, the employee would be required to work nearly11 hours day and get 2 days off to compensate.
• Job Sharing: A full time job may be shared between two part time employees. The part time employees involved usually work in different shifts. Job sharing is advantageous in cases where one partner resigns from the job and leaves. At such a time, the other employee stays and trains the new partner.

 

Legal Aspects of Scheduling

The executive housekeeper must be aware of certain legal aspects- The Shops and Establishment Act and the state labor rules-while drawing up schedules for employees. Some important issues are as follows:

• Work Hours: Hours of work foe employees should not exceed 9 hours per day.
• Break for Rest: The break for rest is usually half an hour. Continuous work should not exceed 5 hours without a break.
• Holidays and Days Off: The employer should prepare a list of closed days at the beginning of each year and the same should be displayed in a conspicuous notice.
• Work Spreadover: The work spread over of an employee should not exceed 11-14 hours in a day and not more than two breaks should be given.
• Child Labor: No child should work in any establishment.
• Work Environment: Employees should be given clean, safe and favourable conditions to work in.
• Maternity Leave: Women should be entitled to maternity leave. Nursing women should be given an extra break for feeding their infants if the establishment is running a crèche.

WORK SCHEDULE

 A work schedule is a document that lists the actual tasks to be carried out by an employee in a particular shift and the time frame in which to undertake each task. The document includes the following:

Ø  The position of an employee

Ø  The area of operation

Ø  The time at which the employee has to perform the allotted task

Ø  Timings of meals, breaks and any special jobs

Ø  Time for tidying equipment and closing up

 

Work schedules must be written in simple language and have a concise form. Since the amount of work in a day may take longer than the length of one shift, several work schedules need to be compelled for use in one day. The number of schedules made for a given area is thus an indication of the number of staff required to clean that area on a particular day. The schedules should be handed over to employees when they report for work.

 

Sample Work Schedule

                                                            Position: Houseman              Area: Lobby

Time                                                               Activity

7.00 a.m.                                 Report to work, collect equipment and supplies.

7.10 a.m.                                 Clean glass doors.

                                                Dry mop floor at the entrance.

                                                Damp mop the entrance, including steps.  

                                    Sweep porch area.

                                    Damp dust lounge area.

                                    Damp mop the lobby floor.

                                                Disinfect house telephones.

                                                Discard old flower arrangements.

9.30 a.m.                                 Vacuum clean carpets.

 

10.00 a.m.                               Coffee Break

10.15 a.m.                               Dry mop floors.

                                    Damp mop the lobby floor.

                                    Clean glass windows.

                                    Sweep porch area.

                                    Damp mop the entrance, including steps.  

1.30 p.m.                                 Break for lunch.

2.15 p.m.                                 Damp dust lounge area.

                                                Disinfect house telephones.

                                                Dry mop floors.

3.45 p.m.                                 Wash and put away cleaning equipment and supplies.

                                                Report back to the head houseman.

4.00 p.m.                                 Go off duty.

 

 

DUTY ROSTER

Periodicity Planning

A duty roster can be prepared on a weekly, monthly or bimonthly basis, but it has been proved that a monthly duty roster, which is crosschecked everyday and updated by the leave-in-charge, works the best. A monthly duty roster also increases accountability towards one's job as it becomes easy to measure performance.

Responsibility Planning

The responsibility of preparing the roster should not only be that of a senior team member but should be shared by all on a rotational basis. This brings in empathy among team members. When each one experiences the difficulty of pleasing everybody and meeting the demands of a 24-hour business, the understanding among team members increases.

Leave Planning

Annual leave planning must be done at the beginning of the year. A simple format can be found in picture 1.

Holidays should also be planned likewise at the beginning of the year taking into consideration that everyone must get holidays on turns and festival holidays should be based on religion. Also, if there is a majority of staff belonging to a particular religion a separate planning should be conducted for distribution turn wise. For example, Holi to Asha and Diwali to Shekhar. All this looks complicated but if the formats are pre-prepared and the system of making and updating is automatic, then it becomes easy. The efforts are worth it as it saves us from unnecessary union issues and staff dissatisfaction. If there are requests after the rosters are out, do not change it. If there is a genuine need, then instead of involving yourself in the process let the concerned person change it with another notifying you of it through a duty/off change slip.

 

 

Double Duty Planning

In this day and age there are very strict manpower limitations almost everywhere, to the extent that the corporate human resources division (HRD) regulates the manpower needed for all units. There is accountability towards increase in manpower if required. But there are times when there is need for more manpower, which can be achieved only through double duties. There must be a separate roster for double duties, which should be made along with the monthly duty roster. See picture 3 for what it should ideally look like. Double duties are very tiresome. So, they have to be planned very carefully (preferably by prefixing it to an holiday) and discontinued as soon as the need is over. For example, in hotels it depends on the occupancy. Double duty payments should be made very regularly to keep the morale high of the staff and to avoid any union issues. If all the above can be taken into consideration and the monthly roster out on the notice board on time then there should be no reason for the staff to feel disgusted with the working hours or charge the seniors with partial behavior which can act as a major performance deterrent.

Key Points

• Respect the choices of holidays of team members and pleasantly surprise them with rosters based on them without them asking for it. It is not a very difficult thing to do and can bring about a lot of happiness in the department.
• Counsel staff regularly who absent too often, always behave obstinately regarding offs/holidays, avoid doing double duties on a regular basis. Most importantly, record the counseling sessions with the HRD. Very often we counsel staff but do not record it anywhere. Remember, by not doing this very important step you are setting an example to all the performers that even non-performers can thrive in the work place. Involve the union at each step before the concerned person makes an issue out of the counseling. Likewise, there should be small incentives for staff with zero absenteeism and they must be appreciated openly in front of fellow colleagues. The planners as discussed above should be out at the beginning of the year itself.
• During high occupancy, there must be motivational sessions and celebrations for good business done by a very senior person to keep the morale of the staff high. For example, the general manager in a hotel can do it.

SWING TEAMS

Swing / relief teams, although not assigned to a regular division of hotel, are as accountable as regular teams for performance and for the condition of jointly used equipment on the days they are scheduled to work in a given division. This helps resolve problems that come up for eg., GRA’S on occasion complain about the condition of their section after returning from their scheduled day’s off, or about their maid’s cart, vacuum cleaner, or other equipments. Such complaints are often resolved when the regular GRA knows exactly who will be cleaning in the section when the regular team is off. Problems are much easier to talk out when the same workers face each other and are held accountable for the condition of jointly used equipment.

 

As another example, let’s consider the regular GRA on the red team who works in section 1, five days each week. When the red team is off, swing team 1 woks in the red division, and Jane from that swing team regularly works in Mary’s section. On a different day, swing team 1 relieves the yellow team, and Mary and Jane both work in the hotel. Both of them, as well as their supervisor, thus have the opportunity to talk about section 1 and to discuss and resolve any problems. Also when credits are offered for the condition of section 1, the red team and swing team 1 receive equal place.