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Do
you trust your boss? Do you trust your co-workers? Those questions were
two key components of a recent Maritz Poll conducted by Maritz
Research, an employee
satisfaction research firm, and the results paint a dire outlook of
American workforce attitudes toward employers. However, the hospitality
industry at least came away from the study with a slightly better
outcome.
According to the poll, employees across all industry segments cite a
lack of trust in not only senior leaders, but also direct managers and
co-workers. Only 11 percent of employees strongly agree that their
managers show consistency between their words and actions. In addition,
only 7 percent of employees strongly agree they trust senior leaders to
look out for their best interests, and only 7 percent strongly agree
they trust their co-workers to do so. Approximately one-fifth of
respondents disagree that their company’s leader is completely honest
and ethical, and one-quarter of respondents disagree that they trust
management to make the right decisions in times of uncertainty.
“What we found out was that the state of workplace trust and
engagement, not surprisingly because it is reflected in other surveys
as well, is at what we consider an all-time low,” Rick Garlick, senior
director of consulting and strategic implementation for the Hospitality
Research Group at Maritz Research, says. “It’s really kind of bottomed
out in terms of people having such poor trust in not only their senior
leaders, but also their managers and their co-workers.”
Garlick says threats of layoffs and downsizing have only exacerbated
the problem. “We were looking at how all of this economic upheaval, the
layoffs and so forth, actually affected employee attitudes and
ultimately the delivery of guest service,” he says. “In times like
these, trust is a critical issue. Companies need their best people more
than ever to be engaged and productive. But, often, this process starts
at the top. You’ve got to maintain credibility with your workforce as a
means of getting them to totally buy in to the mission and vision of
your company. Anything less fosters a disengaged workforce that puts
self-interest at the top of its list of priorities.”
The news from the survey wasn’t entirely bad. In cases where management
trust was, in fact, strong, the study found that employees were
significantly more committed to working for their companies. More than
half of respondents (58 percent) with strong trust in their management
were satisfied with their job, while only four percent of respondents
with weak trust in management cited they were satisfied with their job.
The study also revealed that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of
respondents with strong trust in management would be happy to spend the
rest of their career with their present company. This compares to only
7 percent of respondents who have weak trust in management. More than
half of those surveyed (51 percent) with strong management trust would
invest money in their company if they could versus only 6 percent of
those surveyed with weak management trust. Only 3 percent of
respondents with weak management trust look forward to coming to work
every day. For those with strong management trust, 50 percent said they
look forward to coming to work everyday.
Trust in Hospitality
While the survey suggests there is room for improvement across all
sectors, the hospitality industry seems to have some advantages over
others. For example, hospitality employees (14 percent) are more likely
than other industry segments (9 percent) to rate their company as a
“fun place to work.” Hospitality sector employees also tend to rate
their companies better on customer service-related issues. For example,
more than one-third (34 percent) completely understand how their work
impacts customers’ experiences, compared to only 23 percent in other
industries. Also, 20 percent believe they have the authority to respond
promptly to customer problems and requests, versus just 15 percent of
respondents in other industries.
Approximately one-fifth (21 percent) of hospitality respondents believe
their customers would rate the service they deliver as excellent,
compared to only 14 percent of respondents in other segments.
However, there is room for improvement. Only 15 percent of employees
agree that their company has the policies, systems, and procedures in
place to deliver outstanding customer service.
“With the hospitality industry taking one of the biggest hits due to
poor economic conditions and negative perceptions, it is promising that
employees feel positive about the connection of their daily work to
customer service issues. But, it is still not a rosy picture when it
comes to engagement. The results show that a lack of trust runs rampant
in this sector as well, which impacts employees’ perceived long-term
career development opportunities, co-worker relationships, and
productivity levels,” Garlick says.
Still, he says, the very nature of the hospitality industry workplace
environment helps contribute to better scores in the poll.
“One of the things we found out is that cooperation and collaboration
is critical to success in the hospitality industry, more so than other
industries,” Garlick says. “The team element is much more prevalent in
the hospitality industry.”
Another factor contributing to more successful employee engagement in
the hospitality industry is the work environment. “You get more
immediate feedback in the hospitality industry,” Garlick says. “One of
the things that fosters mistrust in the workplace is when people aren’t
talking. When an employee doesn’t know how he or she is doing, they are
left to their own devices to wonder if they are doing a good job.”
Cultivating Trust
Unfortunately, the weak economy has forced companies to cut costs and
formal recognition programs were frequently sacrificed. More than
one-third of respondents to the Martiz Poll said that their company
scaled back or eliminated their recognition program in the past year.
There is some data, at least from the employee’s perspective, to
suggest these cuts have had an impact on the quality of service they
deliver to customers. Among employees whose companies kept recognition
programs intact, 25 percent strongly agreed their customers would rate
their service as excellent. Among those whose companies cut back on
their recognition programs or never had one, only 14 percent strongly
agreed customers would rate service as excellent.
“So many hotels are more operationally focused where the emphasis is on
doing the most with the least, trying to control costs to the greatest
extent possible, and putting heads in beds. That’s what I would call an
old-school model of hospitality management,” Garlick says. “What
happens is that you’ll often find hotel employees frustrated by the
systems and policies that are put in place that are actually not
customer friendly.”
Garlick says that the study shows that managers must remain consistent
to enhance satisfaction among their employees. “You need to make sure
that people understand when they’ve done a good job and reinforce that
notion,” he says, “so you continue to facilitate trust and engagement
that’s critical to good customer service.”
In the end, trust and engagement breed success.
Key Findings
- Only 11% of employees strongly agree their direct managers words and actions are completely consistent.
- 20% of
respondents disagree that their company’s leader is completely honest
and ethical, and one-quarter of respondents disagree that they trust
management to make the right decisions in times of uncertainty.
- 63% of
respondents with strong trust in management would be happy to spend the
rest of their career with their present company. This compares to only
7% of respondents who have weak trust in management.
- 51% of
respondents with strong management trust would invest money in their
company versus only 6% of those surveyed with weak management trust.
- Hospitality employees (14%) are more likely than other industry segments (9%) to rate their company as a “fun place to work.”
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