Supervisors able to show authority and respect to their staff are true team leaders! Share on XHousekeeping is a skill on it’s own – but managing a team of housekeepers, whether small large, is a completely different ballgame. Being in charge of people, being a mentor and supervisor is a skill. And it requires much more than all of the valuable housekeeping knowledge you may already have.
Luckily, there is specific training you can undertake to work on the exact skills you will need in a role as a housekeeper supervisor, head housekeeper or housekeeping manager. Taking training like this will give you more confidence, but also a deeper understanding and skills to directly apply to your job.
Training like this will also be relevant for people who might already be in management but are having difficulties with the team. Training will give you the insight in what to work on and what to improve.
How does training help the mentoring process for housekeeping supervisors?
Being a housekeeping supervisor is much more than just someone who creates schedules, books in the rota’s and finds replacements when people are ill. As a supervisor, manager or head housekeeper you will be looked up to as a source of inspiration and motivation: a mentor in the field. Training will work on your skills, but also of you understanding more what is required of you.
Leadership
As a supervisor you are required to show leadership. Good leadership is finding a balance between showing authority, getting respect and having a friendly relationship with your team. Do not get confused, as this is not about becoming their friends. Leadership is established by making clear rules and setting boundaries. You will not tolerate people being late. However if you know someone is having a tough time at home. You should call them in for a chat so they can speak about it in a safe personal space, and you could consider decreasing their workload for a certain period of time.
Leadership also means standing behind your team and being their representative. If the Principal of the household, or the General Manager of the hotel has a complaint or issue with housekeeping. You will be the one taking this difficult meeting on behalf of the team as their representative, instead of individual members of the team having to do this.
Respect
Gaining respect from the team is not easy, but it will come with you being fair and consistent. Important is here to not only tell people off when they make a mistake, make sure you give a lot of praise when things are going well. You can consider having a ‘housekeeper of the month’ for someone who has done their work outstandingly well that month – and they would get a little present or bonus. This way you create a positive work environment where people will be motivated to do well, instead of just being scared to be told off.
Confidence
Being a mentor can be intimidating. It requires confidence from you in your skills. And also the confidence of you making the right decisions for you and the team. This comes with experience, but also with being prepared. Make sure that at the beginning of each week and month you have all the schedules clear, you are up to date on who is available to work and who isn’t, so that there will be no rota surprises.
Schedule in weekly team meetings so the housekeeping team can voice concerns, and it gives you an opportunity to troubleshoot anything that has been brewing. Also schedule in monthly, or quarterly individual review chat with each housekeeper to discuss the things they have been doing well, things they can improve on and give them a space to voice any concerns or questions too. This way you keep an open and clear connecting with the whole team so you should always be on top of any issues.
What are highly recommended topics for supervisory training?
Training is an excellent opportunity for you to practise skills to become a more confident leader of your team. And also to be able to offer that mentor role to your team for guidance and inspiration. Training can be tailor-made to your needs. However recommended topics for training would be the following:
- Hierarchy
- Organisation, Planning and Eye for Detail
- Problem Solving
- Time Management
- Teamwork
- Body Language
- Routines & Schedules
- Interviewing New Staff
- Creating an employer’s handbook
- Budgets
- Inventory
- Purchasing
- Hiring and Firing
- Staff Communication
- Ambience
- First Impressions
- Finishing Touches
How Can Polo & Tweed Help?
Polo & Tweed are an expert in the training of housekeeping supervisors. We provide tailor-made, concrete training to make them confident, fair and skilled supervisors, managers and mentors. There are small group courses as well as private courses. Here our trainers will create training exactly for your needs, backgrounds and setup. The training can be suited for anyone. From a housekeeper who wants to get higher up and become a supervisor or head housekeeper. To experienced industry professionals who want to check, improve and fine-tune their skills.
Our training team would love to chat with you about all the different options we have. Please get in touch here. And we will look forward to speak to you and make you a more confident, skilled and highly achieving housekeeping supervisor!