The Fine Art of Managing Transition

New hotel management can be difficult, Paul Russell of the Luxury Academy gives advice to lead you through the process.

The ink is dry on the contract and there’s a new name on the door. You’ve just acquired your hotel and you’re ready to put your vision to work. How do you bring your team on board and help them through the transition?

Acquiring the hotel was the easy part; the finance, administration, inventory, organising the utilities, all of which may have presented the odd hurdle or two, but they’re known quantities with known solutions. As any hotel owner knows, the success of the venture depends on the people who make it possible: the staff.

Taking over a going concern is a little like entering a story halfway through. When a new owner arrives, that story will change. How to rewrite the script and keep everyone in tune? What are the challenges? And how should you meet them?

Murmurs and acquisitions
While you’re busy managing a smooth takeover, it’s been business as usual at the hotel – up to a point. As soon as news of a change in ownership trickles into the hotel staff room, the journey from rumour to fact begins – rarely a smooth journey. Uncertainty creeps in under the door: will my job be safe? Will it change? Will my hours, terms, conditions, pay be altered?

A rumour mill at full throttle has momentum on its side, one rumour begetting another, until the hotel team is working in a miasma of doubt, anxiety and suspicion. Even hard facts, when held up to the light, are shadowy and blurred at the edges. The questions remain: who are the new owners? What do they intend? And if things were going well, why the change in ownership?

The problem with all this is that a new owner steps into the hotel with barely an inkling of the sotto voce murmurings that have, by now, taken on a life of their own. There may be signs – slippages in standards, perhaps a rise in absence and lateness – but they won’t be immediately obvious.

Avoidance of doubt
Nothing dispels doubt more efficiently than clear communication. It’s best to establish this as soon as possible, preferably before the ink is dry on the contract. As soon as the property is secure, open communication channels with staff as soon as practical.

• Meet the managers: Schedule a meeting with the management team at the hotel. Once the takeover has a human face and a human voice, managers know who they will be working with – an important first step in dispelling uncertainty.
• Fact-finding: The meeting agenda could include an overview of what’s happening at the hotel: what’s working well, what’s working less well, and what may be on the horizon.
• A new chapter: Start to sketch in the details of any changes you’ll be making to the hotel. If staff are involved in the change process from the start, they are more likely to positively participate.
• People-watching, part 1: This meeting is an opportunity to see how the management team interacts with each other. Disagreements and dysfunctional relationships will be kept well hidden, but the clues are there – uncomfortable silences, averted eyes, fidgeting, folded arms and so on.

Managing transition
Soon after the initial meeting, follow up with a whole-team meeting, including the management. It’s best to do this as soon as possible.

• Meet the team: The purpose of this is to establish honest, open, two-way communication between you and the staff. Make sure the manager has an active role in this meeting and present a united front.
• Questions and answers: The primary purpose of this meeting is to settle the burning questions, the ones people worry about more than any other: are jobs secure, and how will they change. Answer as openly and clearly as possible, using direct language – save metaphors for another time.
• People-watching, part 2: This is another opportunity to see how the hotel staff function as a team. They’ll be watching you closely for non-verbal clues too.

Change and resistance
Apart from death and taxes, life has two more certainties: things change, and change will be resisted. Much depends on how it’s managed. Using a blunt tool to hack away at the things you want to change will probably get you there in the end, but at a cost. It may be better for everyone to start at the edges and work your way in.

However small the change, there’s likely to be resistance. Long-serving staff may be entrenched in particular ways of working and see no reason to change them. Other changes may impact on staff in ways that worry them – some may be taking on more responsibility (or losing some).

The key, as always, is open communications. Explain:
– What the change is.
– Why it’s needed.
– How it will happen.
– Who will benefit.
– When it will happen.
– Where it takes the hotel next.
– What extra training, if any, will be provided.

Aim to set change in a wider context. If staff understand the narrative of change, they’re less likely to be resistant to it.

A question of morale
Transition inevitably affects morale. Rumour and uncertainty create tension, which in turn has an unsettling effect on staff morale. Communicating openly is one vital step to letting in the light; another is to use simple incentives and rewards.

• Acknowledging the fact that transition isn’t easy is a surprisingly effective way of forging a bond between you and your team.
• Drawing up a training plan points to a future.
• Recognising effort and praising it boosts confidence.
• Spoken appreciation and simple reward schemes can work wonders.

Bring everyone on board as early as you can, work closely with the management, and try to be on the ground as often as you can; you’ll be seen to be available, active, and involved. Always bear in mind that whilst you have made a huge investment in the hotel, so have your staff – and everyone wants it to succeed.

For more information, please visit http://www.luxuryacademy.co.uk