1 Today’s Guiding Message Sequence
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY Today’s Guiding Message #1 We start the new cycle with our Mission Statement . . . the guiding light that should be allowed to underpin every decision we make in the course of our daily work. Let’s bring this to life today in all of our briefings as this is the foundation of our company’s DNA. Suggest focus on the “enhancing both the physical and human environment in which we operate” - a great day for reviewing whether our environment lives up to the Mission Statement goal. And if it doesn’t let’s hustle to get it there! Our MISION Statement
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 3 Today’s Guiding Message #2 As we get into this, our hotel’s Vision statement, let’s take a minute to look at our own personal Vision Statement. Ask ourselves the question, our career, where and who do we want to be in 5 years’ time? For open hotels, today please review specifically how your Vision Statement can be used as the guiding light to every decision, i.e., does this decision support our Vision? If yes, decide to proceed. If no, go back and review one more time. When every decision and at every level, guest-related or Associate-related, is made in complete alignment with the hotel’s Vision Statement, every decision has the chance to take us one small step closer to achieving our Vision. Your VISION Statement
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 4 Today’s Guiding Message #3 I – INNOVATION We welcome change and encourage new ideas, are constantly open to new opportunities, and adapt to our environments and available resources to turn situations to our advantage. Innovation requires non-traditional decision-making and at times can lead to failure. But it leads to differentiation, which drives growth. Those are uncomfortable prospects for leaders, but the hard truth is this, big Innovation requires the active engagement of a leader. This is a great time to review everything we do and how creatively, we could do it better, more imaginatively, more efficiently, more impressively, etc.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 5 Today’s Guiding Message #4 D – Diversity We appreciate and celebrate difference, with the philosophy that difference and its recognition fosters mutual respect, enriching development in all areas. Our group currently has generated careers for over 9’500 Associates from more than 50 nationalities. Within such a diverse working environment where all peoples of all different unique backgrounds 'melt together' and assimilate, we much resemble a gigantic salad bowl where everyone retains their culture, language, background, etc. but yet everyone is together much in the way a salad is. Diversity issues are not limited to demographic factors, they extend to gender, ethnicity, age, management styles, and the implementation of the business model as well. Respect for each other’s values is the key to Diversity in the working environment. “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968) most visible spokesperson/leader in US civil rights movement from 1954 until his death in 1968. “Diversity: the art of thinking independently, together.” Malcolm Forbes (1919 –1990) entrepreneur most prominently known as the publisher of Forbes magazine.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 6 Today’s Guiding Message #5 E – EMPOWERMENT We defend what we own, achieving this sense of ownership through being empowered to make independent decisions, make mistakes, and effect change To empower is to encourage associates to make suggestion or opinion enabling them to be brave, be bold, and be quick to improve operation efficiencies of current activities enhancing overall productivity, service delivery as well as to keep guests engaged.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY Today’s Guiding Message #6 A– ACCOUNTABILITY We hold ourselves accountable to our guests, associates, colleagues, shareholders, and to the physical and human environments in which we operate, and deliver what we promise. Accountability is taking ownership of everything we do. Our work is not just a job, it is a responsibility that everything we do is done well, everything we believe needs improvement gets improved, every commitment we make is met. It is a responsibility to the colleagues with whom we work, to the guests whom we serve and to the company which empowers us to succeed.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 8 Today’s Guiding Message #7 L – LEARNING We encourage continual and lifelong learning, harnessing talent and prioritizing people development, towards work-life quality. Why LEARNING Encourage life-long learning that helps all to be successful in a rapidly changing world. How to LEARN • Attend trainings, conduct trainings • Actively search for other learning opportunities • Keep an open mind to new tasks and new ways of doing things; try out new ways of doing things • Share your knowledge and skills with new colleagues • Ask questions, search for answers
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 9 Today’s Guiding Message #8 S – SYNERGY We believe that collective success is far superior to that of any individual’s; a spirit of collaboration is core to our business composition and global success. In the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen R. Covey, Habit 6 – SYNERGIZE …….. Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn't just happen on its own. It's a process, and through that process, people bring all their personal experience and expertise to the table. Synergy means "two heads are better than one." Together, they can produce far better results that they could individually. Synergy lets us discover jointly things we are much less likely to discover by ourselves. It is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one equals three, or six, or sixty--you name it. When people begin to interact together genuinely, and they're open to each other's influence, they begin to gain new insight. The capability of inventing new approaches is increased exponentially because of differences. Valuing differences is what really drives synergy. Do you truly value the mental, emotional, and psychological differences among people? Or do you wish everyone would just agree with you so you could all get along? Many people mistake uniformity for unity; sameness for oneness. One word--boring! Differences should be seen as strengths, not weaknesses. They add zest to life.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 10 Today’s Guiding Message #9 Our Roots 1-Take Pride In Your Appearance Always Maintain a professional image Take pride in your personal appearance and ensure your uniform and grooming is immaculate at all times. Ensure that every area of the hotel is presented at its best. When you joined the hotel profession, you joined the perfection business! Taking “Right First Time” and applying it to our environment and ourselves. Nothing out of place, everything looks perfect, from the freshness of the flowers to the shine on the marble floors. But not only everything, ourselves too . . . grooming to impress, uniforms immaculate and a sense of energy and alertness in our deportment . . . all inspires the guests to say . . . ”I made the right choice of hotel – feels great!”
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 11 Today’s Guiding Message #10 Our Roots 2-Smile and Greet Always greet and welcome every guest and colleague with a smile. A smile is the universal welcome. First impression is key in establishing a warm rapport with guests and fellow associates. Always greet and welcome each other with a smile. A recent international customer services survey result listed the 20 shocking customers’ service facts and statistics. It makes every business engaged in service industry to rethink its customer service process. Let me share me with you some of the findings: - 78% of the surveyed customers said that competent service reps are most responsible for a happy customer experience - 70% of buying experiences are based on customers, how they feel they are being treated. - 55% of customers will pay more for a better customer experience.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 12 Today’s Guiding Message #11 Our Roots 3-Address the Guest by Name Always use the guests name, especially when greeting, during interaction, and when bidding farewell. The use of a guest name is sweet music to their ears! A natural human trait, we like it too! We know we want to use the guest name but this doesn’t always come naturally. So best way is to make a special effort every time we hear the guest name, to immediately use it, e.g., guest says “my name is Wong, I have a reservation”, our response . . . “good evening Mr. Wong, your table is . . . . . “. By immediate use of the name, it shows respect for the guest, displays our own professionalism and at the same time helps us to remember the name for use throughout the interaction. Name for a guest is as important as brand for a company. Name associates with one’s personal identity, culture, society of origin, family values ...etc. The more you use it the more important and valued your guest will feel. When addressing guest by name, we shall address by last name or family name unless the guest requests to be addressed by first name or given name.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 13 Today’s Guiding Message #12 Our Roots 4-Pay Attention to Guest Needs Always anticipate the guest needs, and always strive to exceed the guest’s satisfaction. Never say ‘No’. Pay attention to guest needs is the critical ingredient to creating memorable guest experience. We need to drive ourselves to pay detail attention to guest needs at every guest interaction. Take a moment to put yourself as the guest – this basic would most certainly be our own expectation if we were the guest. Let’s walk the talk and put into practice, not just today but every day, every interaction. It’s interesting . . . when we as a customer in any situation ask and what we ask for is delivered as requested. It doesn’t register as special. But . . . if we don’t ask but someone else anticipates our need, that that’s a “delighter”. That’s the key to paying attention to guest needs, anticipating instead of waiting to be asked. For corporate officers, “guest” means those in our various teams that seek support, could be hotel teams, could be office colleagues. Support is our role and our goal. Let’s go out there and anticipate our guests’ and colleagues’ needs . . then deliver to exceed expectations!
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 14 Today’s Guiding Message #13 Our Roots 5-Escort the Guest Another perfect opportunity to engage, build relationship and then . . . sell! Always escort the guest rather than giving directions. Whilst escorting guests, let’s not forget that guest may be defined not only as an in-house guest, but every person we interact with in our working life. In seeking to provide such superior service at every interaction, we do so to continually create great people interaction experiences and be recognized as such. Thus, those “guests” include hotel guests, F&B outlet clients, people attending functions, even an individual on the street who comes in to ask directions. To all of these, we have the opportunity to live this Banyan Tree Root and in so doing, create a wow experience to guests.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 15 Today’s Guiding Message #14 Our Roots 6-Answer Calls Within 3 Rings Always answer with a friendly voice and helpful attitude. All telephones should be answered within 3 rings. Follow standard telephone handling guidelines. Where possible, avoid keeping callers on hold and if doing so, keep them informed every 30 seconds on call status. Be it an internal or external call, caller may not be a paying customer but has the ability to be in the future, if suitably impressed by the manner in which we handle the call. The impression created on the telephone is considered as an indication of service delivery throughout the organization. Super-positive impressions generate great image and future customers. Some may say ‘internal’ not important! Really? They are important! The person calling will for sure be needing assistance and that assistance will in turn contribute to a guest’s experience.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 16 Today’s Guiding Message #15 Our Roots 7-Be On Time Always observe punctuality in all areas of work Workplace Effects - Lack of punctuality may lead to resentment, as co-workers who are on time compare themselves to late-comers - Being late throws you out of the loop, as you may miss important information - When leaders are late, it sends and irresponsible message to associates, who may lower morale; when leaders are punctual, it exhibits a work ethic to aspire to . Being on time means being ready and prepared, so it’s not about arriving on shift just one minute before the shift starts, it’s about arriving with enough time to mentally and physically prepare ourselves for the great work ahead.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 17 Today’s Guiding Message #16 Our Roots 8-Own the Complaint Win back the guest – drive their loyalty to the brand. Always take ownership of any guest issue, address, and resolve the complaint to the guest satisfaction, and replay all information to all concerned departments. Take personal ownership / accountability and follow up with each guest request, if possible. A warm relationship-building feeling of customer service beyond expectation. And the follow-up . . . yes, it averted a “right first time” failure of a forgotten instruction. Without ownership and follow up, we would have had a guest complaint and loss of confidence in our ability to achieve perfect service delivery.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 18 Today’s Guiding Message #17 Our Roots 9-Be Detail-Oriented Always pay attention to every detail in your work and while attending to the guest. “Little things mean a lot.” Remember that details make the difference and that it is a way to exceed guest's and colleague’s expectation and to enhance service quality. You do it when speaking to guests and colleagues and whenever you are giving service to guests and colleagues. You can do it by listen attentively, not just with your ears but with your eyes! be very observant – the surroundings and in particular, the body language of the person with whom you are communicating. Be alert and check, double check, and triple check. Don’t assume, clarify your understanding. Pay attention to guest information. And be thorough in following standards.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 19 Today’s Guiding Message #18 Our Roots 10-Identify and Report Defects Always identify and report defects to your Department Head Be alert and take involvement to identify and report defects of our environment. Be initiative in proposing improvement actions and involved in ideas and suggestions for continuous improvement. The most progress an organization can make is when it is able to capture the ideas of the associate in the workforce and use the expertise of those ideas to make significant improvements. As we all want to see improvement in our operation, encouraging our team members to be involved in giving ideas and identifying what needs to be improved is a great way to go.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 20 Today’s Guiding Message #19 Our Roots 11-Maintain Cleanliness and Safety Standards Always apply standards for cleanliness and safety in your work area. We are committed to maintaining a work environment that promotes cleanliness and safety for our guest and associates. Ensure that safe practices are used by all and report suspicious circumstances immediately to your superior. Be fully conversant with the hotel emergency and safety procedures. It's a good day to do a thorough patrol of entire hotel premises and check safety measures are in good order. If you spot things that are not right, put them back in proper order as per group / statutory standards. Do not put our guests and associates safety at risk.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 21 Today’s Guiding Message #20 Our Roots 12-Protect Your Workplace Always Protect The Property Of The Company, Our Guests and Our Colleagues Be a great place to stay, a great place to dine, and a great place to work . . . can do only if there is a well safe-guarded environment. It takes each and every associate’s role to protect the place. Be alert and report to your supervisor any unusual incident and suspicious individuals that you see in the hotel as well as practice security measures. Take care of everything in your work place.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 22 Today’s Guiding Message #21 Our Roots 13-Make Teamwork Your Responsibility Always start with yourself by thinking as a Team, working as a Team and being together as a Team. We are committed to working together to achieve better and faster results. The essence here is teamwork throughout the organization; teamwork amongst the leaders, teamwork within the departments and teamwork between the departments. That teamwork is achieved through common and absolute commitment to delivering outstanding visit experiences to every guest without concern of whose job it is, etc., just getting the job done for our guests. Enjoy your work. Deliver the best for our guest internal and external as always.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 23 Today’s Guiding Message #22 Our Roots 14-You Have a Right to Training Training is a right, it is also a privilege Training improves 3 things: Skills, Knowledge and Attitude, it helps your career and makes you be more effective and efficient. Go for training when you need it and when you are assigned to.. Then you will discover your true potential and remember, attend required trainings, ask for training that will help you do your job, attend training with a desire to learn and put into practice what you learn.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 24 Today’s Guiding Message #23 Our Roots 15-Know Your Products Always know all products and services in your department and your hotel. Product knowledge is vital. Know your hotel, its history, facilities, operating hours and rates/prices. Know our sister properties as well. The game here is to make sure that once we have a guest, we ensure that we maximise at every opportunity service excellence is delivered which in return (but reasonably) amount of money he spends in the hotel. So for a room guest, it’s upselling at front desk (types of suites), selling him a breakfast rate package, selling a starter when he orders his room service dinner, a second drink in the bar, make sure he’s aware of the spa service, butler service…, etc.
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 25 Today’s Guiding Message #24 Our Roots 16-Sell, Sell, Sell! Our livelihood revolves around this message, we are ALL Sales People. Sales is not just the responsibility of the Sales or Reservation Sales Departments. We all have the opportunity to be sales people. We can Upsell guests to a higher category of room than they originally selected, we can sell more Spa persuading our guest to try out our iconic Spa offerings, we can sell that extra glass of coke, a dessert, etc., etc. Outside of the hotel we can talk positively about the hotel, influencing possible Wedding bookings, etc. There is no end to what we can sell! Best practices: Upsell programs in Reservations Sales, Front Office, Food & Beverage, etc., etc. The most successful Upsell programs are tracked daily, results shared daily, energized at briefings daily, reported to senior leadership daily and high performers appreciated daily – a simple thank you goes a long way! Lots of small upsells collectively make a BIG impact . . . on our revenue and in turn, this can also extend to our Service Charge. If we all sell, we all benefit!
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 26 Today’s Guiding Message #25 Our Responsibility-Our Environment Resource Conservation Objective: ONE new resource conservation initiative each year
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 27 Today’s Guiding Message #26 Our Responsibility-Our Environment Environmental Protection Objectives: ONE environmental awareness event and FOUR community cleanup events each year
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 28 Today’s Guiding Message #27 Our Responsibility-Our Community Educational Support Objective: Support THREE new Seedlings every two years
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 29 Today’s Guiding Message #28 Our Responsibility-Our Community Engagement Objective: FIVE guest engagement opportunities each year
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 30 Today’s Guiding Message #29 How do you showcase I AM WITH YOU to guests and colleagues? Now is your turn to show your experience!
© COPYRIGHT, BANYAN TREE MANAGEMENT ACADEMY 31 Today’s Guiding Message #30 FIVE QUALITIES OF OUR BRAND AMBASSADOR FOR SERVICE How do you demonstrate the Five Qualities with your team?