Effective Interdepartmental Communications

Week 2

Subject : V0206 – Administrasi & Operasional Kantor Depan Year : 2009

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Subject

• Role of the front office in interdepartmental communications• Front office interaction with other departments in the hotel• Role of Total Quality Management (TQM) in effective communication

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Objectives:

On completion of this lesson, the students will be able to:- Apply inter-departmental communications and

to create effective communication with other departments in a hotel

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Interdepartmental Communication

BANQUETS

FRONT OFFICEF&B

HUMAN RESOURCES

CONTROLLER

MARKETING & SALES

MAINTENANCE

HOUSEKEEPING SECURITY

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Marketing and Sales:1. Provide data on guest histories to marketing

and sales - details concerning each guest’s visit – to be used for marketing for marketing campaigns, develop promotions, prepare mailing labels, and select appropriate advertising media

2. Process requests for reservations for sleeping rooms from marketing and sales

3. Offer good first impression to the public4. Relay messages to marketing and sales5. Meet information requests of guests for

meetings, seminars, and banquets

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Housekeeping:1. Receive housekeeping room status from

each other 2. Report potential house count (a report of

the number of guests registered in the hotel) to each other

3. Relay guest requests for amenities and supplies to housekeeping

4. Report room sales projections5. Relay accurate housekeeping status6. Relay security concerns to front office

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Food and Beverage: 1. Relaying messages to food and

beverage2. Record accurate information on

vouchers and subsequent postings3. Reporting predicted house counts to

food and beverage so that F&B can schedule employees and predict sales

4. Processing requests for paid-outs from food and beverage personnel

5. Inter-face with point-of-sale terminals

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Banquets:1. Relay information to guests about scheduled

events for banquet department2. Process payment of guest charges for

scheduled events for banquet department3. Prepare daily announcement board and

marquee for banquet department

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Controller:1. Provide a daily summary of financial

transactions through a well-prepared night audit for the controller

2. Provide information for billing and maintenance of credit card ledgers via the PMS to each other

3. Verbally communicates between the front office and controller departments as they share a common concern of guest hospitality and when there are finances concerned.

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Maintenance1. Provide room status to

maintenance2. Relay information on

requests for guest room maintenance

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Security1. Maintain guest security – fire

safety, emergency communication systems, and routine investigation of guest security

2. Alert for people who don’t belong in the lobby and impel front office staff to report inconsistencies with the security department.

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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Human Resource Management1. Rely upon front office staff to do

initial screening of candidatesa. Distribute application formsb. Directions to personnel office

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel

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The Role of TQM in Effective Communication

• TQM was developed by W. Edwards Deming in the early 1950s

• He offered a new way to American manufacturers to improve the quality of their products by reducing defects through worker participation in the planning process

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The Role of Total Quality Management (TQM) In Effective

Communication

Total Quality Management as a management

technique that encourages managers to look

with a critical eye at processes used to produce

products and services.

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2005_4th/Nov05_QAReturn.html

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• The most important aspect of TQM in the hotel industry is the interaction, cooperation and communication among departments in the hotel

• This management technique focuses on ways everyone can work together to discuss issues and problems and resolve them as a team

The Role of TQM in Effective Communication

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• The interaction of employees in a group setting and/or on a one-on-one basis to determine:

“What is the root of the problem?”and

“How can we achieve the end result?”

The Role of TQM in Effective Communication

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An Example of TQM in Hotel

• The GM has received numerous complaints about the messy appearance of the lobby – furniture and pillows are out of place, ashtrays are overflowing, flowers are wilted, and trash receptacles are overflowing

• The FO Manager recruits a TQM team, which consists of a front desk clerk, a maid, a waiter, a cashier, and the director of marketing and sales

• The team meets and discusses how the lobby area could be better maintained

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• The maid says: her colleagues are overworked and are only allotted 15 minutes to clean up the public areas on the day shift

• Front desk clerk says: he would like to go to the lobby to straighten the furniture and pillows, but he isn’t allowed to leave the front desk unattended

• S&M Director says: she is embarrassed when a prospective client comes into the hotel and greeted with such a mess. She has called the housekeeping to have to the lobby cleaned but is told “It’s not in the budget to have the lobby cleaned several times a day”

• The team members realize that the untidy lobby does create a poor impression of the hotel and the situation does have to be remedied

An Example of TQM in Hotel

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• The team decides to look at the elements in the situation

• The team discussion encourages each person to understand why the maid can’t straighten the lobby every 2 or 3 hours and why the desk clerk can’t leave his post to take care of the problem

• Team members start looking at one another with more empathy and are slower to criticize on other matters

• The issue of the messy lobby resolved and what’s more important, the team members developed a way to look at a challenge in a more constructive manner

An Example of TQM in Hotel

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Review Questions 2

1. Give some examples of how the front office is responsible for communication with other departments, with hotel guests, and with the public

2. Explain the concept of TQM3. The most important aspect of TQM is the interaction that

occurs between frontline employees and their supervisors and the interaction of employees in a group setting. Explain the meaning of those sentences.

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THANK YOU AND HAVE A GOOD DAY