How can you effectively recognize and reward outstanding hotel team performance?

1 Identify your objectives

Before you start recognizing and rewarding your team, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure your hotel's success? How do you define outstanding performance for different roles and departments? What are the behaviors and attitudes that reflect your hotel's vision and mission? By setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART) objectives, you can align your recognition and reward system with your hotel's strategy and culture.

2 Choose appropriate recognition and rewards

Recognition and rewards can take many forms, ranging from verbal praise to bonuses, incentives, and opportunities for growth. However, when selecting the best recognition and rewards for your team, you need to consider frequency, timing, relevance, and personalization. For example, some recognition and rewards should be given regularly to reinforce positive performance and behavior, while others should be given occasionally to celebrate significant achievements. Additionally, the recognition and reward should match the level of the performance or behavior demonstrated. Lastly, it is important to ensure that the recognition and reward reflect individual preferences and needs. Surveys, feedback, or observation can help you learn more about your team's recognition and reward preferences.

3 Communicate your recognition and reward system

To ensure that your recognition and reward system is fair, transparent, and consistent, it's important to communicate it clearly and frequently to your team. You can use staff meetings, newsletters, emails, posters, or intranet to inform them about the criteria, process, and benefits of the system. For example, they need to know what are the standards and expectations for outstanding performance and behavior, how are they measured and evaluated, who is eligible and responsible for recognition and rewards, how are recognition and rewards delivered and distributed, what are the timelines and deadlines for recognition and rewards, what are the benefits and outcomes of recognition and rewards for the team and the hotel, how do recognition and rewards support the hotel's goals, values, and culture, as well as how do recognition and rewards enhance the team's engagement, motivation, and satisfaction.

4 Solicit feedback and improve your recognition and reward system

Your recognition and reward system is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring and improvement. To assess the effectiveness and impact of your recognition and reward system, you should collect feedback from your team and other stakeholders, such as guests, managers, or owners. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or performance reviews to determine satisfaction levels, motivation levels, and performance levels related to recognition and rewards. This will allow you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your system and make necessary adjustments to ensure it meets the needs of your team and the hotel.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?