1. Monitor Work Operations
SITXMGT001A

2. Monitor efficiency and service levels
Organizations are places where groups of people work together to achieve a common goal, or goals
The organizations, in which we work today are very different places from the traditional organizations of ten or twenty years ago
These changes can be both exciting and unsettling for people
Those most likely to adapt to change are those who are multi-skilled and who are open to learning new skills and doing things differently

3. Monitor efficiency and service levels
The roles of managers and supervisors have also changed
It is not common now for a worker to have both management and operational responsibilities and to be part of a work team
Managers are often responsible for staff who have multiple tasks and who move between jobs and tasks
Content-free managers are common – they have not necessarily been trained in or worked directly in the department or area they are managing

4. The culture of an enterprise
All organizations have a culture or a mind-set or a particular way of operating
The culture could be:
Supportive of staff
Customer-oriented
Friendly
Comfortable
Casual
Total quality management in focus/nature
Blaming
Negative
Stressful

5. Ensure workplace operations support organization goals and quality assurance initiatives
Management have responsibility for ensuring that operations in the establishment support the overall enterprise goals and quality assurance initiatives
This pre-supposes that goals, objectives and targets do in fact exist, and have been communicated to the appropriate staff/managers

6. Enterprise goals and quality initiatives
Many companies have a way of operating that is called total quality management
All employees are involved in continually improving the level of service, productivity and customer satisfaction
TQM is a positive thing for organizations to be, or strive to become

7. Enterprise goals and quality initiatives
Requirements of a TQM organization:
Full top-down management commitment, support and understanding of TQM philosophy
Right work systems and processes
Team work and involvement of all members of staff
Identification and meeting of customer needs
Prompt identification of problems and issues, making prompt adjustments

8. Enterprise goals and quality initiatives
Why monitor progress and adjust plans?
Benefits are:
Things are more likely to happen as planned
Management and staff actually know what’s going on in the business
Problems are identified and corrected
Service and/or product are consistent over time
Work operations fit with work goals
Staff feel supported and involved
Customer needs are met

9. Enterprise goals and quality initiatives
What is monitored in a quality environment?
It is not only about inspection and checking procedures and work done
Focus should be on building quality into every aspect of work operations and continuous improvement
It is not about blaming individuals, but seeking better ways to do things

10. What is monitored in a quality environment?
Any aspect of work operations can be monitored with a view to improvement, e.g.:
The procedures or systems that exist (e.g. bar or restaurant procedures)
The workflow (order in which things are done, e.g. cleaning a hotel room)
Whether or not there are gaps or overlaps in service provision
The workload of staff (underworked or overworked at different times)
The times it takes to do a task or job
The job design of individual staff (whether their jobs are challenging or interesting enough)
The level of customer satisfaction with the service or product provided

11. Identify quality problems and issues
Anticipate problems - be able to read ahead, observe behaviour and systems that can result in problems (e.g. predict that on public holiday, your staff will be overloaded, therefore roster extra staff)
Correct problems as they happen – be able to identify and correct problems as they occur (e.g. kitchen hand dragged a leaking carton of food through the kitchen, resulted in a slip/fall, the problem was identified immediately and a quick decision was made to always use a solid-base trolley for transport of food from the kitchen area to stores
Correct problems after the event – sometimes it is not possible to anticipate problems or to solve them as they happen; the advantage might be that you have more time to review, reflect, consult and then make changes (customer complaints about no change available at the reception area increase)

12. Steps in monitoring Work out what needs to be monitored
Not everything can and should be monitored all the time
Areas that show early warning signs that things are not going according to plan
Areas of critical activity (high revenue raising streams, areas that are subject to intense legal scrutiny)
Areas that are due for review
Decide on methods or measures to use
Observation, checklists, surveys, reports, flowcharts, bench marking, brainstorming
Compare what is happening with what should be happening
Take appropriate action
Make necessary adjustments to improve the level of service, productivity or customer satisfaction

13. Method of monitoring Reports Customer feedback
Using a pretend customer
Walking about the premises and observing what takes place, what and how could be improved
Use of checksheets/checklists to tick off whether or not required service points are being adhered to by front line staff when they interact with customers
Brainstorming – staff contribute any thoughts and ideas to improve particular aspect of service or introducing a new initiative
Staff input and review – ask those directly involved and concerned

14. Adjust procedures and systems
In order to improve efficiency and effectiveness
Changes in the internal and external environments impacting on workplace operations:
Management changes
Organizational re-structures
Introduction of new equipment
Recruitment practices
Economic climate
Trends in customer preferences

15. Developing standards and plans
Response times (e.g. answering telephone before it rings X times, return a phone call to someone who has contacted us within X minutes/hours, every guest will be greeted and presented with a menu within X minutes of entering a restaurant)
Service guarantees (e.g. if it is not here within 15 minutes, it is free, it we don’t check you in within 2 minutes, it is 20% off the bill)
Pricing guarantees (e.g. staff must offer the lowest available price to all comers/callers rather than starting on top and working down)
Product quality (e.g. discount, extra service, extra product, free XYZ if the product fails to comply or live with up to expectations)

16. Developing standards and plans
Document presentation standards (e.g. neat, clean, presentable menus, in-room reading materials, letters, forms, invitations, reports – font, format, type size, layout, American vs. English spelling etc.)
Personal presentation standards (e.g. required dress, personal presentation, hygiene requirements)
Complaint management – every complaint is an opportunity to rectify a problem, make a long- lasting customer relationship, but has to be dealt with quickly, properly and fully; customers want to have their complaint treated seriously, acted on quickly and be apologized to

17. Further approaches to adjusting procedures and systems
Approaches to staff
Train and educate of staff
Involve staff in planning and implementing quality improvements
Build a team spirit
Efficient communication means
Promote environment of open communication and feedback
Encourage and recognize innovation and teamwork
Recognize the right of staff to understand their responsibilities and give them opportunity to suggest improvements

18. Further approaches to adjusting procedures and systems
Approaches to customers
Make the customer a ‘member’ of the company or a guest of the company as opposed to a ‘customer’
Reward faithful customers
Communicate with customers in a way to promote goodwill, trust, satisfaction
Identify customers’ unstated needs
Ensure customers’ needs and reasonable requests are met
Provide friendly and courtesy assistance without having to be asked

19. The most serious problems found in service companies
Difficulties in contacting staff (frustrating for guests to see staff ignoring them, talking amongst themselves)
Lack of information about the service
Unclear or incomplete price information
Unclear or incomplete deals (specials, deals or packages which at the end are something completely else => betrayed customers)
Handling of complaints (not handled respectfully)
The content and form of the bill (correct and clear charges lead to quicker payments)

20. Customer orientation and customer care for continual quality improvement
To improve the delivery of quality customer service levels:
Give benefits to key customers
Systematize customer complaints and learn from them
Train staff in customer care
Give staff the authority, discretion and resources to make quick decisions
Stimulate employees to be creative in developing customer care activities
Invest in meetings and regular contacts with customers
Make it easier for customers to complain

21. Consult colleagues
Encourage staff to feedback all relevant comments from customers (guests won’t make formal complaint, but will speak in front of staff)
Do not shoot the messenger
Agenda items (regular meetings, compulsory, meeting minutes)
Written protocols (everyone is aware and have clear instructions)
Documentation (for staff to complete in writing if they do not feel comfortable with delivering verbal feedback)

22. Plan and organize workflow
Your role as a manager is to:
Motivate staff
Determine workloads
Schedule work
Prioritize work
Organize workflow
Delegate work

23. Assess current workload
Focused and motivated staff are more productive
Beyond earning an income, staff want to contribute to the organization and see it
You as a manager can increase their job satisfaction by:
Taking an interest in their development (both at work and outside it)
Being clear to them about how you judge and measure their performance
Caring about their safety, health, well-being, taking visible steps to safeguard them
Treating them personally, respectfully, using good manners, listening to them
Giving them achievable objectives
Giving them positive feedback and encouragement (especially when they fail to perform, so that they learn that trying is the important aspect)

24. Motivating factors Not always incentives and rewards, but also:
A sense of achievement
Recognition for a job well done
Enjoying the work itself
Having responsibility
Having opportunities for advancement

25. What is workload?
Workload is an amount of work an employee is required to do in a set period of time
As a manager your task is to ensure that employees are not under-utilized, or overloaded with too much work

26. What is workload? Ways of determining what is an appropriate workload:
Work it out over time through practice and observation (‘suck it and see’ approach)
Ask staff for their feedback (did they feel stressed, under pressure, or did they enjoy being flat out)
Be aware of all other factors that may intrude on a staff member’s time and build on their workload (undertaking duties for other staff members, other departments, special guests etc.)
Prioritize tasks into primary and secondary tasks done during quiet times

27. Schedule work
Scheduling work means planning, prioritizing and allocating tasks to be done in a specific period of time and by whom
Work out priorities
Work out the most appropriate workflow (consider timing requirements, physical availability of physical and human resources, layout of facility, equipment etc.)
Assess the staffing levels and appropriate workload for individual staff members (based on your knowledge about individual abilities and capacities)
Decide on delegation of tasks

28. Prioritize work
Prioritizing means deciding on and placing tasks in their order of importance
Basic steps:
Involve staff in the process wherever possible
Make three lists:
Essential tasks that absolutely, positively must be done no matter what, with no excuses, no exceptions
Non-essential tasks, but which add quality to the performance of the department
Tasks that would be nice to do, but not essential or important
Compare the lists with the overall goals and objectives
Adjust the lists, allocate work and take action to achieve the lists in priority order

29. Assisting staff to prioritize their own work
Ensure a private and quiet time to sit down
Talk with them about their position duties, the goals
Ask them to separate/identify the most important tasks they do (provide advice, direction, comment with the aim of staff becoming competent in managing their workload)
Assist them to consider how they will do these tasks, and the priority order they will allocate to each of them
Assist them to come up with a work plan to use as the basis for the actual implementation of their plan
Set a time to review their plans and their progress on a regular basis
Bear in mind that the aim is to get staff to prioritize their own work, so resist the normal temptation to do it for them; doing it for them is certainly a quicker option, but it will not teach them how to think for themselves, and you will have to keep repeating the job for them forever

30. Organizing workflow Workflow is the order in which work is best done
Organizing this involves determining the logical sequence of tasks
The aim is to make sure that the job is done efficiently and effectively
Take into account:
How long each task should take
Recognize staff needs and award requirements such breaks
Number of staff to best achieve the result/task
OHS requirements
The most logical order of tasks to avoid duplication and gaps in service
Suggestions of staff who are actually doing the job
Useful tool is a flowchart

31. delegation Make sure you are clear about the task
Explain why the task has to be done
Choose the right time to inform staff and do not hurry the explanation/delegation
Provide clear instructions, explain all steps
Continually check if the employee has any questions and encourage them to ask questions
Continually check if the employee genuinely understands what is being said/shown
Give them positive feedback – make them positive and confident

32. Delegation problems
Age differences – you as a younger person are trying to delegate to an older person
Experience differences – where you as a relative new-comer to industry are trying to delegate to an old-hand
Gender issues – where the opposite sex takes exception at you trying to ‘tell them what to do’
The basics remain constant:
Treat people with respect, explain your requirements, solicit questions, answer them truthfully, thank people for their cooperation

33. Assess workflow and progress
Regular meetings with staff covering:
Overall feeling of personal performance
Reasons why targets were/were not attained
Relationships with other staff that appear to be beneficial or a hindrance
Problems with equipment and process
Timeliness that appear too tight/loose
Problems with patrons
Resourcing issues

34. Assess workflow and progress
Meeting can be an opportunity for you as a manager to share your views on how the worker is progressing:
Compliments and complaints from patrons
Compliments and complaints from other workers
Specific instances where you have observed non- compliance with procedures etc.
Specific examples of outstanding work performed

35. coaching
Coaching can be seen as a process of providing positives (including feedback) to an employee
The purpose is to reinforce knowledge and skills that have been developed through other training
Principles of coaching are:
Involvement
Understanding
Listening
Changing the situation
Changing the employee’s perception of the situation
Changing the individual’s skills

36. Provide timely input Ensure staff is not under-utilized or overworked
Keep management informed of progress against goals
Advise management on staffing needs
Inform them of any difficulties you are having (with staff, patrons, equipment, suppliers, authorities) or any needs you are not able to meet (targets, budgets, deadlines)

37. Provide timely input
Reasons why you can’t guarantee a smooth and trouble-free workflow from your unit:
There is actually too much work to do
There are problems in other areas or outside
There are unreasonable demands on your unit
Your staff have not been provided with the necessary training to do their job effectively and efficiently
The wrong staff have been hired/engaged in the first place
You have equipment breakdowns

38. Provide timely input The best ways how to notify the management:
Choose an appropriate time to do it
Decide on method of communication (in person, meeting, orally, or in writing)
Be very, very clear about the problem and/or the needs
Spell out in detail how you have tried to address the issue (include how and why you think your efforts to-date have failed)
Come up with possible recommendations that would improve the situation

39. Maintain workplace records
Workplace records are an important part of any work environment
They should be accurately completed and maintained within the required timeframes
There can be legal and financial implications if records are not kept up-to-date

40. Maintain workplace records
Examples of records in hospitality industry:
Staff records
Performance records
Fire safety checks
OHS checks and reports
Security records, Incident register
Customer comments and feedback forms
Orders, Receipt of goods documentation
WorkCover claims, Insurance
Lease agreements and renewals
Banking details
Equipment maintenance records, Linen cleaning
Subcontracting agreements and compliance documentation

41. Maintain workplace records
Staff records
a) Overall records that relate to staff as a whole
Staffing roster
Training details
Annual leave planning chart
Salary and overtime payments
WorkCover records

42. Maintain workplace records
Staff records (cont)
b) Individual staff records related to individual staff
Position description
Letter of appointment
Signed contract
Performance review records
Copies of certificates held by the employee
Leave records
Record of uniform orders
Training schedule
Direct salary deduction details
WorkCover claims

43. Maintain workplace records delegate and monitor completion of records
When dealing with these records it is important to maintain confidentiality and to ensure the privacy of individual staff
Keep the records up-to-date and easily accessible when needed
Managers of a work area is unlikely to personally attend to all of the records, but they are accountable for their accuracy
Delegation involves: finding appropriate person, making sure the person is capable or trained to take on the task, ensure that confidentiality is maintained at all times, training the person in the tasks required, monitoring the process on a regular basis

44. End of Presentation Do you have any questions
End of Presentation Do you have any questions? Thank you for your attention 