Ahmed adds: “It is also difficult because some places have a minimum wage and there’s a lot of paperwork involved for Filipinos to come out [because of] restrictions from the government etc. For instance, Bangladesh and Nepal have restrictions.”
Ahmed also reveals how housekeeping managers struggle to attract Emiratis or nationals to work in their departments.
“We have around 20 Emiratis working in the hotel in HR, front office, and security.
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“I wanted to have an Emirati lady in my department, and I interviewed at least six people before I got somebody,” she said. “Many said they would come and even signed a contract but never showed up.
“I’m very lucky with one colleague I have; she’s a floor supervisor and she won a Team Leader award last year.” In order to continue filling vacancies, Sudhakar says he uses methods such as incentivising his team to recommend people they know in the industry.
“I have 68 people in my department alone. If someone refers a person and they are hired, and if they perform well after six months, the person who referred them gets some money, so that helps.”
With the high turnover rate, it’s little surprise that housekeeping departments have to constantly train staff to ensure guest satisfaction. Increasing guest expectations also adds pressure when it comes to monitoring employee performance.
“In order for staff to offer personalised service by going the extra mile and understanding customer needs, there’s a lot of training involved,” says Sudhakar.
“The language barrier is always a challenge in housekeeping. So training to make them understand how to satisfy customer needs and make sure they leave happy is essential.
“We have a programme at our properties called ‘Empowerment’. They feel proud when they complete the training. Those days of telling a customer that you’ll check with a manager and come back to them are gone.
“If you have something that can help with a guest’s request, then you can go ahead and provide it, and then inform the supervisor what was done to make the guest happy.
We have the guest experience index, which is tracked to see how well we, as a team, are serving the customers.” Ahmed adds that it is also important to ensure all guest complaints are resolved before they check out.
With most operators using a centralised database across their global portfolios, Ahmed also asserts the importance of noting any issues, complaints, preferences, or feedback on the database to help the team prepare for the next time the guest checks in.
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