You're probably thinking that the director of finance sure makes enough noise about the numbers and schedules for month-end and the variances to forecast. He or she is very vocal at the department head meetings, always telling us what's wrong, what's late, what didn't work. You're also thinking that the owner's presence with their asset manager is obvious.
They are always getting the hotel to cut back; we make seemingly endless changes to standards and payroll all to drive the bottom line. The financial voice in the hotel is loud and it's almost always negative, never enough, always wanting more, an endless need to be fed. This is what happens to the voice for the money if we don't address the way in which we craft, package and deliver the money message.
What if the voice of the money had the same respect and understanding that the voice of the guest has? Or the voice of the colleague? It's possible to create the kind of environment where this is the case and it's built on understanding.
Before I go there and tell you what that looks like it's important to understand why the money needs a special voice and why it easily gets a bad rap if we don't take care to give it the proper voice.
Money, the P&L, the owner, usually gets a bad reputation because of three reasons:
To give money that kind of a voice requires a strategy and practices we need to adopt. The strategies foundation is open access to financial information.
Budgets, forecasts and actual results are all shared in your hotel. Managers and leaders at all levels are part of the creation of the budget, forecast and they share these updates regularly with their departments and colleagues. Success is celebrated and rewards for financial gains are shared.
The sharing part is critical, whatever that means in your business is uniquely yours. It could be profit sharing, bonuses, celebrations, it really does not matter as long as you are sharing the prosperity. In times of constraint when revenues decline, we now have a leg to stand on with our teams. Expenses and staffing need to be adjusted and no one likes to do this but an engaged team that knows what the score is will be much more willing to do their part if they know what's going on financially and if they feel like they are part of the team.
This is the only way to break out of the cycle that would otherwise have the money being the instrument that victimizes the workforce when we need them on board more than ever. We can't have our cake and eat it too. If we try, our colleagues and leaders will see through our double standard.
In writing this article, it occurs to me that this is the very core of our being in hospitality.
We're here to help people and we often associate that with helping the guests. The same is equally if not more important when it comes to colleagues. If we truly desire a team that actively looks after our guests then the formula is surely one that has the executive, leadership, owner and money looking after the colleagues. A large part of that looking after can be built on the money culture, making its voice one of caring and fairness.
All we need to believe is that looking after our colleagues and sharing resources results in one thing: Colleagues that look after their guests and this in-turn keeps them raving about your business and coming back. It's like perpetual motion.
Giving the money a voice in your hotel enables you the embodiment of values that no other pillar can. It creates an incredibly engaged team in your business, a team that respects you because of your openness. This team lifts your business up with many hands. The voice of the money can be kind and just, it need not be feared and kept in the dark for only a few.
Either way, its voice will be heard. It's up to you to decide what it will say.
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For more information about David Lund, visit hotelfinancialcoach.com
David Lund
David Lund is The Hotel Financial Coach, an international hospitality financial leadership expert. He has held positions as a Regional Financial Controller, Corporate Director and Hotel Manager with an international brand for over 30 years. He authored an award-winning workshop on hospitality financial leadership and has delivered it to hundreds of hotel managers. David coachs hospitality executives and delivers his Financial Leadership Training throughout the world, helping hotels increase profits and build financially engaged management teams. He speaks at hospitality company meetings, associations and he has had several articles published in hotel trade magazines and he is the author of three books on Financial Leadership. David is a Certified Hotel Accounting Executive through HFTP and a Certified Professional Coach.
David Lund
The Hotel Financial Coach
Phone: +1 415 696 9593
david@hotelfinancialcoach.com