Here's how you can sharpen your problem-solving skills for success in the fast-paced hospitality industry.

One thing I have found helpful is to understand the value of my role. Every guest experience is valued through the emotional experience be it positive/negative from when they start communicating with our hotel team. Every guest communicates an expectation in their bookings and ensures to tell us their obvious preferences from when they first make their bookings. The most common mistake we do is, not reconfirming prior to theit arrival or serving the food or beverage, to understand their expectation and preference. This communication part of reconfirming sets an emotional connection, and already introduces the service confidence for both the guest and hotel team. This is one of the many ways to show empathy.

Creative thinking is an important part of human nature, hence everyone has creative thinking capacity. Most times, staff are not encouraged to exercise this problem solving method, due to one of these reasons; no authority. When an organisation emphasises more on policies and procedures, it sends a message to the employee that if and when guidelines are breached, I will be cautioned/disciplined. Automatically, this stops employees to provide a quick solution for a simple problem, to waiting for authorisation and following the procedures to help guests efficiently. Constant trainings and role plays will upskill employees to build confidence in communicating directly with guests to resolve issues or communicate a possible solution.

How we communicate with our teams is how our teams will communicate with guests. It is important for us to consistently communicate and encourage team discussions during shift briefings, monthly meetings, etc. A team is developed when they sense that their manager trusts them to provide guest service and be problem-solvers. When there is a negative feedback, this feedback needs to go back to the staff members to analyse and provide possible solutions, readily applicable

Hotels lately have been changing systems processes and SOPs to improve their business operations, work more efficiently. Training development and implementation must be the focus for every change be it process, system or standard operating procedures. Systems if they are remotely accessed and fixed, a crisis management workflow must be in place for all employees to follow.

Sharpening your problem-solving skills is crucial for success. One effective way to enhance these skills is by reflecting regularly. Take time each day to review challenges you've faced, analyze your responses, and identify what worked well and what didn't. This practice not only helps you learn from past experiences but also prepares you for future ones. Ask yourself: What was the problem? How did I approach it? What could I have done differently? By consistently engaging in this self-reflection, you develop a proactive mindset, improve your decision-making abilities, and become more adept at handling the dynamic demands of the hospitality sector. Start today and see the difference it makes!

This is an important part of every learning situation. Most importantly, the problems experienced are used as live examples for the purposes of learning and engaging the team so they understand that our actions and communication will determine the recommendation