Middle Management in the Hospitality Business:Road to Improved Customer Satisfaction

David L Jones, PhDProfessor and Programme Director –

Hospitality BusinessSingapore Institute of Technology

Agenda

• Understanding Gen Y – Our future leaders …. middle managers

• Changing expectations and/or perceptions …. Hospitality Business

• Road to customer satisfaction improvement

Secret Formula

25 + 24 = 18

Secret Formula25 + 24 = 18

Grandpa!!

Reality versus Expectation

Generation Gap

Baby Boomers

Gen Y

Change Expectation or

Change Perceptions?

Traditional Baby-Boomer Values

• Long hours• Pay your dues• Do shift work• Start with peeling potatoes and cutting carrots….

.. or making beds

Gen Y Perceptions

• Silicon Valley reality• Start-up mentality• Non-hoteliers success in hospitality

When Expectations and Perceptions Don’t Match …. Middle Management Gap

Transitioning the Expectations

• No longer a trade or skill based industry….. now a business …. a big business!

• Owners are financially focused– Developers don’t call it a hotel, to them its an asset

Hospitality is Big Business

Who is in the Hospitality Business C-Suite?

• C-suite has changed …. where is the hotelier?– Lawyer (Marriott)– Finance (Hyatt – MBA, Hilton)– Economics (IHG, FRHI)

• Not hospitality grads …. why not?

Who is in the Hospitality Business C-Suite?

• C-suite has changed …. where is the hotelier?– Lawyer (Marriott)– Finance (Hyatt – MBA, Hilton)– Economics (IHG, FRHI)

• Not hospitality grads …. why not?

Answer: Teach Hospitality Business!!!

What is Hospitality Business?

Business is a system of interconnected, interactive parts

Educational Pathway to Business

Operations Management Business

Changing Our Perception to Hospitality Business

Fresh Grad

Fresh Grad

Future Leader …..

…. Middle Manager

SIT HB Degree Student Profile

• Average age = 22, which means they’ll be 24 or 25 when they graduate

• All will have at least 1 year of industry internship/work experience, one already has 5 years

• Future will be more industry experience as older students return for degrees

• Candidly, SIT grads will have more experience than most faculty teaching them at other universities

Pathway to Middle Management

Operations Management Business

What? How? Why?

Subjective Objective

Middle Management Preparation

• Need to understand the business – business acumen• Passion to follow the companies• Understand the mindset of an owner• Know how to defend customer service for profit

HB Graduate Characteristics

• Burning desire – passion for the industry• Specialized knowledge– Customer and ownership

• Goal orientated – have a vision• Action orientated – willing to put theory into practice

They will be ready!

Take a Risk!

• Drop the fear of failure• Give a transparent career path• Empower the future leader …. soon to be middle

manager

Transparent Talent Management Process

Talent acquisition

Talent development

Talent retention

Context• Hospitality industry

• Employees vs employers

Malcolm Leong - Head, Revenue Management & Distribution, Far East Hospitality Management

Transparent Talent Management Process

Talent acquisition

Talent development

Talent retention

Context• Hospitality industry

• Employees vs employers

Malcolm Leong - Head, Revenue Management & Distribution, Far East Hospitality Management

Set a Timeline

RM Analyst Director RM

Vice President of

Revenue Optimization

Designing a Career Path – Revenue Management Example

Doris Inkman, Regional Director of Revenue, FHRI Hotels Asia Pacific

Road to Improved Customer Satisfaction

Filling the Middle Management Gap

The Service Profit Chain

Source: An exhibit from J. L. Heskett, T. O. Jones, W. E. Sasser, Jr., and L. A. Schlesinger, “Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1994, p. 166.

The Service Profit Chain and Middle Management

Source: An exhibit from J. L. Heskett, T. O. Jones, W. E. Sasser, Jr., and L. A. Schlesinger, “Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work,” Harvard Business Review, March-April 1994, p. 166.

Middle Management Gap Business Acumen

Big, Global Business with Service at the Core

Hospitality Business Middle Management is Key

Facts About Gen Z – 1998 or later• Can’t recall a time before Google• Or smartphones• Wear watches that’s primary function isn’t to tell

time• Never had the feeling of holding a paper map in their

hands• Favorite apps are Snapchat, vine and Instagram• FOMO – Fear of Missing Out

Joe Mele, ehotelier.com