Any company must follow a system to control the quality and hotels or hotels companies are not less. These control quality through operating manuals, also known as SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). In this post we will talk about a system that allows us to determine whether the SOPs have been implemented correctly in the hotels and, therefore, whether they accomplish the quality that the hotel or company determines. This system is audits and grosso mode, they aim to evaluate if the service is uniform and/or if the SOPs are correct.
During last summer, the hotel factory entered to the world of audits performing several of them in different hotels. Here are a few points to consider for an audit.
First, you have to do some previous work identifying the points to be reviewed during the process. The hotel factory created a checklist for each process and department with the aim of measuring the degree of implementation and compliance of SOPs.
Then, audits in situ at the hotel were made to see at first hand how the employees work.
During the realization of them, one of the main points to consider when auditing is to get the trust of the employees, since it is very important that they play their role without feeling pressured. As discussed above, what is evaluated is whether PCOS are followed, whether they adapt to the reality of the hotel and whether there is uniform service.
Another important aspect is to obtain the highest quality, representativeness and objectivity in the results. To do this, several samples of the interactions of various employees with the guests must be collected, always in a place that allows to see and hear clearly the conversation between employee and guest without the latter being able to feel uncomfortable during the process.
After the audits in situ, qualitative and quantitative results can be collected. Qualitative results are all feedback from employees on possible changes or improvements and all those negative and positive aspects that have been observed during the audits. Quantitative results are the results obtained through the checklist, hotels get a score by process, department and by hotel. This quantitative result allows a comparative report between different hotels.
It is recommended to perform at least 2 audits per year, one at the beginning of the season and one at the end of the season to know if the follow-up of SOPs has been improved and determine if any changes should be made to them or any specific training during the low season.
SOPs audits are an important aspect to consider by companies, as it allows you to determine whether the established process is correct and whether it is followed by employees. At the hotel factory we have extensive experience in operational management and consulting, so we can advise our clients on the development of efficient SOPs, and suitable for the different dimensions of their company, and in the realization of audits. If you have any questions or would like to know more about this new segment, please feel free to contact us.
