QUALITY IN PRACTICE 7} Jn 1992, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company became the first hospitaBty organization to roceive the Malcolm Baldrige Nalione! Quality: Award. The hotel iedus~ try is a very competitive business, one in which con- service, Attention to amployce performance an formation technology are two of the company’s many strengths that helped it to achieve superior quality ‘The Ritz-Carlton operates from an easy-to- understand definition of service quality that 1s ag- gressively communicated and internalized at all Tevels of the organizstion. Its “Three Steps af Ser- vice,” motto, and eredo, shown in Figure 2.5, are instilled in all employees. To provide the personal ized service demanded by customers, the human- resource function works closely with the other ‘operational functions. Each hotel has a director of human resources and a training manager, who are assisted by the hotel's quality leader, Each work rea has a departmental trainee that is responsible for taining and cerifying new employees in his for hor unit. Ritz-Cartn ses a highly predictive Jharactor trait recruiting” instrament for clotormine ing candidates’ fitnost for each of 120 jab positions New employees recive two days’ orientation in jy senior excentives demonstrate Ritz-Carlton methods and instill Ritz-Carlton values. Three weeks later, managers monitor the effectiveness of Uke struction and then conduct a follow-up trainings ses sion, Later, new employees must pass written and ‘skill-demonstration tests in order to become certified. in their work areas. SERVICE QUALITY AT THE RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY susets plow high emphases on relishility, timely delivery, and value. Ritz-Cariton focuses on che priveipal concerns of its main cx-storers ane st te provde chem with highly personalized, caring ena visor conducts a quality Tine-p meeting and brie. Meissen eeieee ve ed treoming, certified as quabty engincers capable of idontiying waste in mete works Through these anc finer mechanisins, employes receive more than 100 hours of quality ecaeation aimed at fostering a cone tratment to premium service, solving problems, set ting stinteyie quality plans, and. generating, "new ions Employees are emposvered to “move heaven and earth to satisfy a customer,” to enlist the aicl of other employees to resolvea problem swiftly, to spend ap to $2000 to satisfy a best, to decide the business terms of a sale, 10 be involved in sctting plans for thelr particular work area, and to speak sith anyone in the company resarding any problem. ‘The Rit/-Carlfon uses information technology om 2 daily basin to gtr amet use cust omner-satistaetion Gd qualsiyrelaiod data. fnformation systems. ine Lokee" coy omplagee and provide crtict Tecponcive dats on pucct preferences, quantity of ere oa psedne aed oor cnet or rariartiee for quality ieeprovernent Tes Gussl profiling yotern records the Individual preferences Of the hundreds Sr thousande of guests oho hve sinyed least three times at ang of tie hotels It gives frontdesh Employees mnmeiate necexs to auch information as 54 Part) the Caualty System whether the guest smokes, whether he or she prefers wine or a rose in the evening, and what kind of pil low he or she prefers These are only a few of Bitz-Carlton’s quality Practices and the results have been impressive. At the time of winning the Baldrige Award, customer satisfaction was upwards of 95 percent. Employee turnover was 48 percent, in an industry wh, axerage is more than 100 pereent. One hundrad per cent of key group accourts were retained in 2991, The number of employees ‘weded per guest room during preopening activities of a new hotel wes re~ duced 12 percent. Within a 3-year period, Ritz Carlton reduced the number of labor-hours per guest room by 8 percent, Housekeeping costs per ‘occupied room were reduzed from $7.90 to $7.30 in less than one year. The average time required to cleara room was decreased from 30 to 28.5 mrimites, e the and elevator waiting tine was meduced by 33. per cent, Departmental prali:s pet awailable guest 00m warly five times che industry average. One le sen the hotel has learned is now t@ underestimate the dea improvement value of even one elfort. RITZ-CARLTON is a fedorally ropéstoned) trate- wark of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Key Issues for Discussion 1. What are the benetits ot cruiting instrument to dhe con 2 chatectertrait re- 2. In what ways docs irfermation tech mo.ogy sup- port the company’s vahuos? 3. What productivity impro sare cited? Have the company’s quality efforts hact a direct impact on productivity? An indirect impact? Explan