[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]<\/p>\n
Coping With Chaos: How to manage your hotel workforce in uncertain times<\/strong><\/p>\n By Paul Feeney, President, Sanford Rose Associates<\/p>\n STUFF HAPPENS \u2013 and tends to happen when it is least convenient. That is the “chaos theory” of modern management, and modern managers need strategies for dealing with it.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Readers can complete their own lists. Perhaps, for instance, one of your direct reports is a definite “weak link” \u2013 but you are concerned that firing him or her will be approved, while hiring a replacement will not. Or you need to reduce headcount but have no weak links.<\/p>\n As the old saying goes, if there weren\u2019t problems, God wouldn\u2019t have created managers. And anticipating problems is at least half of the battle for solving them. The smart manager therefore, with the active participation of the organization\u2019s HR professionals, will do a little brainstorming to identify the “what-ifs” that may be lurking just around the corner. The even wiser manager will address existing issues and concerns as well.<\/p>\n When Active Duty Calls<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you know who belongs to a Reserve or National Guard unit? If not, that information is undoubtedly in personnel files, and members probably attend summer camp each year as well. Also, they may be looking pretty anxious these days.<\/p>\n Those who serve their country deserve the highest respect \u2013 and the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 (known as USERRA) ensures they receive it.<\/p>\n The Act, in brief, prohibits employers and their agents from denying employment, re-employment, promotion or specified employee benefits because of an employee\u2019s or job candidate\u2019s military service. Of particular note, employers must provide leave for military duty \u2013 with no limit on duration during times of war or national emergency. USER-RA also mandates prompt re-employment (in the same or similar job) when military service ends, unless the employer\u2019s business health has worsened drastically, accommodation of a newly acquired disability would create a significant hardship on the employer, or the employment left behind was of temporary duration.<\/p>\n Moreover, the returning veteran is considered eligible for the same pay increases and promotional opportunities that he or she would have received if military service had not occurred.<\/p>\n Any organization anticipating military leaves should consult with an employment lawyer, because there are nuances in the Act concerning matters such as benefits extension. Also, individuals in some states may be entitled to pay and benefits protection beyond that required by USERRA.<\/p>\n The departure of someone for military duty is like the departure of any other employee \u2013 i.e., disruptive \u2013 with the exception that the departing military employee will be returning. In a large corporation with many similar jobs, it should be relatively easy to shift workload for a year or two and then find an opening upon the person\u2019s return. Smaller organizations will not have the same “luxury” and may need to fill a vital position opening with a temporary or contract worker.<\/p>\n Other Unplanned Departures<\/strong><\/p>\n Once fired, most terminated employees admit they should have seen the handwriting on the wall: important meetings to which they weren\u2019t invited, files quickly thrown into desk drawers when the employee visited the boss, the awkward silences and averted eyes of fellow employees, etc.<\/p>\n If truth be told, when an employee quits (instead of being fired), most bosses likewise should have seen the handwriting on the wall: closed-door telephone conferences, unexplained absences, missed deadlines, a change in attitude or work ethic, etc. Barring the unexpected offer of the “perfect” job, most people leave for reasons that could have been discerned in advance, such as missed raises or promotions, personality conflicts, negative perceptions about the company\u2019s future and so forth.<\/p>\n There is no reason to wait until a valued employee quits then trying to do something about it. After-the-fact counter-offers typically don\u2019t work because they are blatantly transparent (“why am I suddenly worth a raise?”), reflect the inconvenience of an unanticipated departure (the project is only half-done) and generally do nothing to address the concerns that caused the employee to take another job. If you smell trouble, it\u2019s better to address the problem now. The concern one shows today can keep a minor irritation from becoming a major inflammation.<\/p>\n And on a larger scale, be sensitive to organizational morale in general. In a recent study, only half “It\u2019s Our Policy, Stupid”<\/strong><\/p>\n Repeated productivity studies have shown that corporate staff reductions reach a point of diminishing return, yet companies often keep cutting. Similarly, the survivors of corporate personnel reductions may well increase output for some period of time, but eventually it declines. Worse yet, a freeze intended to stop new job creation becomes interpreted to prohibit replacement hiring \u2013 and key positions go unfilled.<\/p>\n Sanford Rose Associates has watched some employers forego rational hiring, capital investment and other key decisions as individual managers, fearful of the economy and their own futures, become less and less inclined to take risk. Thankfully, that is not true of all organizations.<\/p>\n Imagine for example a team of five high-level individual contributors, who are responsible for a major product-development project. Corporate headquarters issues an edict that every work unit in the company will shed 10 percent of its personnel. The manager of the individual contributors faces a difficult decision, since she can eliminate 0 percent or 20 percent; half a person is not an option. Does she fight for the retention of all five or try to play the loyal soldier? Then suppose that a trusted executive recruiter informs the manager that a sixth individual with unique skills, whom the company has lusted after in the past, has expressed interest in changing jobs. Should the manager add to staff, replace staff or pass on the opportunity?<\/p>\n Nine times out of ten, mandates to control personnel or other costs are well intentioned; it\u2019s the application that gets so screwed up. Courageous managers will press for clarification of policies that make only partial sense and will fight \u2013 within reason \u2013 for exceptions to policy when less rigidity can produce greater reward.<\/p>\n Paul Feeney is currently the President of Sanford Rose Associates, an Executive Search Firm located in Butler, New Jersey. Sanford Rose Associates was founded in 1959, is a full-service executive search organization conducting retained and contingency searches through a network of 60+ offices worldwide devotes its practice to all areas of finance, accounting, general management, operations, technology, management consulting and project management for national and international searches. Paul has over 14 years of executive search management and corporate recruiting experience while working in New York, London and Prague. To contact Paul, please call 973-492-5424, fax 973-492-5422, e-mail pffeeney@sanfordrose.com<\/a> or visit www.sanfordrose.com\/wayne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to view the full article.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] Coping With Chaos: How to manage your hotel workforce in uncertain times By Paul Feeney, President, Sanford Rose Associates STUFF HAPPENS \u2013 and tends to happen when it is least convenient. That is the “chaos theory” of modern management, and modern managers need strategies for dealing with it. For example: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Coping With Chaos: How to manage your hotel workforce in uncertain times<\/strong><\/p> By Paul Feeney, President, Sanford Rose Associates<\/p> STUFF HAPPENS \u2013 and tends to happen when it is least convenient. That is the \"chaos theory\" of modern management, and modern managers need strategies for dealing with it.<\/p> For example:<\/p> Readers can complete their own lists. Perhaps, for instance, one of your direct reports is a definite \"weak link\" \u2013 but you are concerned that firing him or her will be approved, while hiring a replacement will not. Or you need to reduce headcount but have no weak links.<\/p> As the old saying goes, if there weren\u2019t problems, God wouldn\u2019t have created managers. And anticipating problems is at least half of the battle for solving them. The smart manager therefore, with the active participation of the organization\u2019s HR professionals, will do a little brainstorming to identify the \"what-ifs\" that may be lurking just around the corner. The even wiser manager will address existing issues and concerns as well.<\/p> When Active Duty Calls<\/strong><\/p> Do you know who belongs to a Reserve or National Guard unit? If not, that information is undoubtedly in personnel files, and members probably attend summer camp each year as well. Also, they may be looking pretty anxious these days.<\/p> Those who serve their country deserve the highest respect \u2013 and the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 (known as USERRA) ensures they receive it.<\/p> The Act, in brief, prohibits employers and their agents from denying employment, re-employment, promotion or specified employee benefits because of an employee\u2019s or job candidate\u2019s military service. Of particular note, employers must provide leave for military duty \u2013 with no limit on duration during times of war or national emergency. USER-RA also mandates prompt re-employment (in the same or similar job) when military service ends, unless the employer\u2019s business health has worsened drastically, accommodation of a newly acquired disability would create a significant hardship on the employer, or the employment left behind was of temporary duration.<\/p> Moreover, the returning veteran is considered eligible for the same pay increases and promotional opportunities that he or she would have received if military service had not occurred.<\/p> Any organization anticipating military leaves should consult with an employment lawyer, because there are nuances in the Act concerning matters such as benefits extension. Also, individuals in some states may be entitled to pay and benefits protection beyond that required by USERRA.<\/p> The departure of someone for military duty is like the departure of any other employee \u2013 i.e., disruptive \u2013 with the exception that the departing military employee will be returning. In a large corporation with many similar jobs, it should be relatively easy to shift workload for a year or two and then find an opening upon the person\u2019s return. Smaller organizations will not have the same \"luxury\" and may need to fill a vital position opening with a temporary or contract worker.<\/p> Other Unplanned Departures<\/strong><\/p> Once fired, most terminated employees admit they should have seen the handwriting on the wall: important meetings to which they weren\u2019t invited, files quickly thrown into desk drawers when the employee visited the boss, the awkward silences and averted eyes of fellow employees, etc.<\/p> If truth be told, when an employee quits (instead of being fired), most bosses likewise should have seen the handwriting on the wall: closed-door telephone conferences, unexplained absences, missed deadlines, a change in attitude or work ethic, etc. Barring the unexpected offer of the \"perfect\" job, most people leave for reasons that could have been discerned in advance, such as missed raises or promotions, personality conflicts, negative perceptions about the company\u2019s future and so forth.<\/p> There is no reason to wait until a valued employee quits then trying to do something about it. After-the-fact counter-offers typically don\u2019t work because they are blatantly transparent (\"why am I suddenly worth a raise?\"), reflect the inconvenience of an unanticipated departure (the project is only half-done) and generally do nothing to address the concerns that caused the employee to take another job. If you smell trouble, it\u2019s better to address the problem now. The concern one shows today can keep a minor irritation from becoming a major inflammation.<\/p> And on a larger scale, be sensitive to organizational morale in general. In a recent study, only half \"It\u2019s Our Policy, Stupid\"<\/strong><\/p> Repeated productivity studies have shown that corporate staff reductions reach a point of diminishing return, yet companies often keep cutting. Similarly, the survivors of corporate personnel reductions may well increase output for some period of time, but eventually it declines. Worse yet, a freeze intended to stop new job creation becomes interpreted to prohibit replacement hiring \u2013 and key positions go unfilled.<\/p> Sanford Rose Associates has watched some employers forego rational hiring, capital investment and other key decisions as individual managers, fearful of the economy and their own futures, become less and less inclined to take risk. Thankfully, that is not true of all organizations.<\/p> Imagine for example a team of five high-level individual contributors, who are responsible for a major product-development project. Corporate headquarters issues an edict that every work unit in the company will shed 10 percent of its personnel. The manager of the individual contributors faces a difficult decision, since she can eliminate 0 percent or 20 percent; half a person is not an option. Does she fight for the retention of all five or try to play the loyal soldier? Then suppose that a trusted executive recruiter informs the manager that a sixth individual with unique skills, whom the company has lusted after in the past, has expressed interest in changing jobs. Should the manager add to staff, replace staff or pass on the opportunity?<\/p> Nine times out of ten, mandates to control personnel or other costs are well intentioned; it\u2019s the application that gets so screwed up. Courageous managers will press for clarification of policies that make only partial sense and will fight \u2013 within reason \u2013 for exceptions to policy when less rigidity can produce greater reward.<\/p> Paul Feeney is currently the President of Sanford Rose Associates, an Executive Search Firm located in Butler, New Jersey. Sanford Rose Associates was founded in 1959, is a full-service executive search organization conducting retained and contingency searches through a network of 60+ offices worldwide devotes its practice to all areas of finance, accounting, general management, operations, technology, management consulting and project management for national and international searches. Paul has over 14 years of executive search management and corporate recruiting experience while working in New York, London and Prague. To contact Paul, please call 973-492-5424, fax 973-492-5422, e-mail pffeeney@sanfordrose.com<\/a> or visit www.sanfordrose.com\/wayne<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nof all employees were happy with their jobs, so how are things in your organization? Better than
\naverage, worse than average or about the same?<\/p>\n
of all employees were happy with their jobs, so how are things in your organization? Better than
average, worse than average or about the same?<\/p>