n I hired new maids, I was careful to check their references and make sure that they had the work ethic that I was looking for.
Hiring an entire new staff for any area of a property's operation is a difficult and time consuming task, and housekeepers are a critical part of a property's business. By simply imposing my housekeeping procedures onto the existing staff, I probably increased, rather than decreased, their resistance to change. These were workers who were adjusting to new owners and managers, and who were in the process of trying to understand the expectations that we had. Upon reflection, I wondered if I had involved the housekeepers in the change process if I would have been able to keep more of them on staff and prevent having to go through the hiring process repeatedly.
After talking to several housekeepers who remained at the property throughout this period, I discovered that they agreed that the housekeeping procedures, while effective, were simply imposed from "on high" and left them out of the process. They found that they resented the new owners and managers and perhaps even wanted to see us fail, although none admitted to actually sabotaging the operation.
I decided that when faced with such far-reaching employee problems in the future, I would use a participatory decision making process which would involve the employees directly in the processes I expected them to implement. I had no intention of relinquishing all control, but would try to listen to their suggestions and see if we could collectively find solutions to the problem at hand.
I also decided that improved communication would facilitate better employee relations, particularly since the staff often has interactions with guests that as an owner, I am denied. Guests will sometimes make suggestions to clerks and maids that they do not make to management, often in the course of everyday conversation. Since repeat business is the cornerstone of...