By Anil Mishra – Corporate – Manager HR, Lords Hotels and Resorts
The world of hospitality as we know it has changed dramatically since the global pandemic began, and work place learning has been one of the hardest hit areas. Imagine a crisis that forces your company’s employees to change the way they work almost overnight & our industry is such that, it cannot operate on work from home model, especially operations part. Despite initial fears that the pressure would be too great, you discover that this new way of working could be a blueprint for the long term. That’s what hotels around the globe are finding as they respond to the COVID 19 pandemic. The crisis has accelerated the levels of digitization to help reduce avoidable physical interactions. This has meant finding ways to reinvent work and changes in the way workers perform them.
The pandemic changed the key formula for maximizing operational efficiency, optimum utilization of available resources, bringing the concept of cross utilization to the forefront. When the coronavirus waters ebb, the landscape is likely to show some of the same problems that human resource leaders in the industry have long struggled with—low wages and high turnover, a lack of diversity in the higher ranks, and the need to recruit and retain capable talent. But the virus has also remade businesses, including in some ways that present new opportunities. Remote work is more common. Jobs now come with greater flexibility. And job descriptions are broader. Lords Hotels and Resorts have initiated a dedicated multiple training program for its team & leaders across the country. We have designed & introduced the new covid compliant SOP’s, training manuals, cross training program & to do checklist for entire operations team, the programme aims to gear up all our leaders for a post lockdown scenario to ensure the safety of guests and to instill confidence amongst guests. Cross-training/ upskilling/cross-utilization/virtual trainings/ virtual meetings with senior management both formal & informal had always been one of the most important strategies as the industry struggles during these uncertain times. Our leaders are trained in a broader variety of tasks so they could perform multiskilled jobs. By ensuring the above we have ensured that both – The group and the leaders experience many benefits.
Motivated associates learn new skills while at the same time make themselves more valuable to the team. They are more open to understanding numerous operational roles. They also gained a better understanding of how the operation works on the other side of the door, through cross-training, and the impact they have on one another. This program also provided our leaders with opportunities to get to know their seniors better, opening them up to more growth opportunities. Employees who can carry out more than one job are frequently more valuable to businesses.
Our group has enhanced its safe stay initiative Karona Safe Rahona Safe after the second wave of COVID-19 & through this we have done our part of planning for future sustainable organization& ensured that we adapt & thrive. The new protocols includes enhanced cleaning and sanitization of all touch points, training sessions on hygiene, sanitized and considerably reducing need for physical contact throughout the stay to mention a few. These protocols will be reviewed regularly and certified by experts. Other protocols such as social distancing, contactless check in, sanitization, in room dinning, thermal screening of guest, allotting room to the guest after 48 hours of the previous check-out to mention a few were already in place earlier. Lords Hotels and Resorts have set the benchmark for hospitality by providing new product innovations and services to meet guests’ evolving needs. With 57 hotels across 13 States, we focused that team doesn’t loose focus and be more digital & more human.
