The Hotelier Middle East Executive Housekeeper Forum took place on May 3. During the event, the region’s best housekeepers discussed pressing issues, as well as ideas regarding best practice for housekeeping teams in the Middle East.
The “Empowering Your Housekeeping Team to Shine” panel discussion looked at how executive housekeepers can take charge of their team’s progression and training. Moderated by Pamini Hemaprabha, Emirates Palace executive housekeeper, regional rooms specialist and master trainer; the panel was made up of three additional executive housekeepers: Radisson Blu Residence Dubai Marina room division manager Anushya Paramasivam, The Address Hotel Boulevard executive housekeeper Lakmal Mawella, and Hilton Dubai The Walk executive housekeeper Kishore Kumar Pemmasani
During the discussion, the housekeepers agreed that in order to help staff achieve their own goals, it is important to first understand what that staff member personally wishes to achieve in the short and long term.
“Coaching and one to one mentoring is very important to develop them and to understand where they should go, and what path is right for them. You need to understand what the person wants in two to three years,” said Lakmal Mawella.
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Commenting on Hilton procedure, Kishore Kumar Pemmasani said: “We have a best practice system called Journey Map. Each person has their own abilities. You need to find where they need to go, and who are the people who need to be involved to help them get there. We have now developed this approach across all departments.”
“I have an open door policy for my staff. Trust is important. We all started as room attendants,” Pemmasani added.
Anushya Paramasivam added that the Radisson Blu offers 30, 90 and 120 day reviews to staff, designed to ascertain what the employee's goals are, and then to help encourage the employee to achieve them. Exposure to bigger hotels with more rooms, she added, presents different day to day challenges, which can help develop staff. “Send them on a task force. Interaction with other property helps them to grow,” she advised.
The housekeepers agreed that cross training between other departments within the same hotels can also be positive.
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