As Will Guidara says, ''Make it Mandatory''
While forcing our team to do things they don't want to do might sound like the wrong thing to do, some people definitely need some inspiration and others, need some time to settle and deep dive into the team's dynamic.
In luxury, daily communication, presence, collaboration and training is important, and while you will always have some people taking initiative you have others that probably are not ready for that, though that doesn't mean they are exempt from supporting the team and being present.
If you have worked in Luxury operations, you know the meaning of Briefing or Pre-shift. This is the moment when all employees meet before the shift starts. It's a daily mandatory meeting where for example in a hotel, you discuss how many arrivals, in house, departures, VIP for the day, special guest requirements, events, news, complaints, and any other relevant information so that everyone is prepared. This is a moment where people talk about incidents, clear the air and share ideas.
The benefits of the ''Briefing'' go beyond simply communicating information, the briefing is an opportunity to center the team, to put everyone in the right mind space to work, to allow the team to reconnect with the purpose and the place. To make sure everyone is ready because at times our team doesn't come ready, and I'm not necessary talking about grooming, which is important to check here too, but mentally. At times our teams have something in their minds, and you notice they are upset and not ready to give their 100%. The briefing helps you catch this before the guest does, and give a hand to your colleague, or simply, for that day, change his task into something less demanding.
Good managers make the briefing inspiring, fun and productive, while others make it a boring task wasting the only time you have to really align your team to the culture and make sure you are developing them.
Here are my own briefing practices:
➕ When asking the team about complaints and issues from the day before, let them also come up with the solution. This helps them focus on the solution not in the problem.
➕ Ask the team to share something they did the day before that made them proud of themselves. This helps with confidence and inspire them to do more.
➕ Craft daily guests experiences together and use this time to brainstorm with the team on how to surprise guests. Make this moment a creative lab. This fosters collaboration, creativity and pushes them to focus on the guest.
➕ Make it mandatory to be grateful, and here is where everyone should add a daily thank you note to a colleague in their ''mailbox'' appreciating something specific they did for them the day before. By the end of the week, they should have found at least 1 thing to thank each member of the team. This is surprisingly impactful in team building, communication, and has been the fastest way to fix tension and selfishness, while promoting a gratitude and positive mindset.
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