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The Impact of Employee Performance on Customer Satisfaction during COVID-

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Thesis · September 2021

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 I

LEBANESE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
MANAGEMENT

The Impact of Employee Performance on Customer

Satisfaction during COVID-19 in Hotels in Beirut

By
Ali Badreddine

A Graduation Project
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Hospitality Management

Supervised By: Mrs. Pascale Azzi

Academic Year: 2020 - 2021

Beirut – Lebanon
 II

LEBANESE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
MANAGEMENT

The Impact of Employee Performance on Customer

Satisfaction during COVID-19 Hotels in Beirut
By
Ali Badreddine

A Graduation Project
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Hospitality Management

Academic Year: 2020 - 2021 Beirut -

Lebanon

Defended on: 3/9/2021

Jury members:
Supervisor: Dr. Pascale Azzi
Examiner: Dr. Jamal Awada
 III

Acknowledgments

This project would not have been achieved without the participation and assistance of a large
number of people, whose names may not all be listed. Their contributions are deeply respected
and heartily appreciated. However, I'd like to express my sincerest gratitude and debt to the
following people in particular:

Dr. Pascale Azzi, Dr. Jamal Awada, Dr. Hussein Chible, Dr. Ali Khreis for their constant support,
kindness, and patience during this process.

I thank everyone of my relatives, friends, and others who helped me in some way, whether it was
morally or physically.
 IV

Dedication

I dedicate my senior project to my family and friends. I have a great sense of gratitude for my
family, whose words of encouragement and push keep me going strong at all times.

This senior project is also dedicated to all of my colleagues hoteliers who are always willing to
serve the world from the depths of their heart.
 V

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... III
Dedication.................................................................................................................................................... IV
List of tables................................................................................................................................................ VII
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. VIII
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... IX
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1
General Background.............................................................................................................................. 1
Objectives.............................................................................................................................................. 2
Research Questions .............................................................................................................................. 2
Significance of the Research ................................................................................................................. 2
Methodology Proposed ........................................................................................................................ 3
Outline of the Study .............................................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 1. Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Employee Performance............................................................................................................. 4
1.2 Customer Satisfaction ............................................................................................................... 6
1.3 Effect of Employee Performance on Customer Satisfaction..................................................... 8
1.4 Effect of Covid-19 Outbreak on the Hospitality Industry .......................................................... 9
Chapter 2. Research Context & Design .................................................................................................. 13
2.1 Research Context .................................................................................................................... 13
2.2 Research Design ...................................................................................................................... 14
2.3 Study Limitations..................................................................................................................... 18
Chapter 3. Findings, Analysis, and Results ............................................................................................ 20
3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 20
3.2 Results of the Employee Performance Survey ........................................................................ 20
3.3 Results of the customer satisfaction survey ........................................................................... 27
3.4 Discussion................................................................................................................................ 37
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 41
Appendix A .......................................................................................................................................... 48
Appendix B .......................................................................................................................................... 52
............................................................................................................................................................ 52
 VI

Appendix C .......................................................................................................................................... 55
 VII

List of tables

Table 1: Measurement items used in the employee performance survey………………………………..24

Table 2: Measurement items used in the customer satisfaction survey……………………………………25

Table 3: The relationship between the questions of the interview and the research
questions......................................................................................................................................27

Table 4: Opinion of the employees about the statements used in the employee performance
survey………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………36

Table 5: Opinion of the customers about the statements used in the customer satisfaction
survey………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40

Table 6: Correlation test between new standards make me less productive and new standards
have positive effect on my performance…………………………………………………………………………………..46
Table7: Correlation test between I’m afraid of being fired because of the low occupancy
percentage due to COVID-19 and the fear of being fired because of the pandemic affects my job
performance…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….47
 VIII

List of Figures

Figure 1: Age distribution of the respondents……………………………………………………………………….29

Figure 2: Gender distribution of the respondents………………………………………………………………..30

Figure 3: Marital status distribution of the respondents………………………………………………………30

Figure 4: Hotel in which the employee work………………………………………………………………………..31

Figure 5: Department in which the employee work………………………………………………………………31

Figure 6: Job performance during COVID-19………………………………………………………………………………………32

Figure 7: Age distribution of the respondents………………………………………………………………………..36

Figure 8: Gender distribution of the respondents………………………………………………………………….36

Figure 9: Marital status distribution of the respondents…………………………………………………………37

Figure 10: Customer has visited this hotel before………………………………………………………………….37

 IX

Abstract
The service industry is the leading component of major developed economies and dominates the
business world. Customer satisfaction is a critical component of an organization's success in
the modern service economy. Customers have changed as the world has evolved and continues
to change. Customers have a strong demand for high-quality goods and services at reasonable
prices, and businesses are constantly developing to improve overall performance, particularly for
their employees. The majority of businesses depend on their employees to provide excellent
customer service. The performance of employees in hotel industry will affect customer
satisfaction because they are in a direct contact with customers. The main objective of this study
is to determine the impact of employee performance on customer satisfaction during COVID-19.
The factors that will affect employee performance will be studied in this research, including
workplace stress, increased work standards, job insecurity, and a decrease in the number of
employees during COVID-19 and also study the impact the employees' performance on customer
satisfaction during COVID-19. There will be used quantitative approach to distribute two
questionnaires to employees and customers of three hotels in Beirut and qualitative approach to
do interviews with three HR managers of the three hotels in Beirut. The conclusion will show us
the factors that affect the employees' performance and how is the relationship between
employees' performance and customer satisfaction during COVID-19. So after analyzing the
results the factors that affect the employee performance are the job insecurity and the stress
symptomatology that they are facing in the work and outside the work, but the new standards
of COVID-19 have not a direct impact on employee performance, and also the relationship
between employees and customers during COVID-19 wasn’t sturdy as before.

Keywords: Employee performance, Customer satisfaction, COVID-19, New standards, Job

insecurity, Stress symptomatology
 1

Introduction
General Background
Employee performance management was first used as a source of income justification about 60
years ago. It was primarily used to calculate a worker's wages based on their performance
(Harmon, 2019). Employee performance does not have a clear, overarching theory. The
effectiveness in which organizations manage, grow, and inspire their employees is a critical factor
in how well they perform (Noordzij, 2007).

Customer satisfaction is a significant topic of customer research. Satisfaction has also played an
important role in the evolution of modern marketing theory. It served as a marketing objective
for meeting customer needs and expectations (Duddy & Revzan, 1947). Customer behavior
emerged as a separate area of study in the 1950s, and it was established in the 1960s, entering
a new era for the concept of satisfaction. In the classic consumer behavior models regarding a
customer’s purchasing operation, the value of satisfaction was recognized within the
consumption processes (Nicosia, 1966; Howard & Sheth, 1969; Hansen, 1972).

The world's economy was almost shut down instantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic (UNWTO,
2020). The pandemic has created an enormous threat to the hospitality industry. Community
lockdowns, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, travel and mobility restrictions, and other
strategies to flatten the COVID-19 curve have resulted in the temporary closing of several
hospitality businesses and a significant decrease in demand for businesses that were permitted
to continue to operate (Bartik et al., 2020). Even though hospitality industry is slowly recovering,
the COVID-19 crisis continues to have a significant effect on how businesses operate in the
hospitality industry. In the COVID-19 business environment, hospitality companies are required
to make significant improvements to their operations in order to ensure the health and safety
among their staff and clients, as well as increase customer willingness to patronize their business
(Gössling et al., 2020).
 2

Objectives
The study aims to investigate the relationships that exist between employee performance and
customer satisfaction during COVID-19, and how both the employee and the customer are
affected during COVID-19.

Research Questions
This study should be able to respond to the following research questions at the end of the study:

RQ1: What is the impact of employee performance on customer satisfaction

under COVID-19?

RQ1.1: What is the impact of new work standards adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic on
employee performance?

RQ1.2: What is the impact of job insecurity resulted from COVID-19 pandemic on employee
performance?

RQ1.3: How is the decline in the number of employees during COVID-19 affecting employee
performance?

RQ1.4: What is the impact of workplace stress faced by employees during COVID-19 on
employee performance?

Significance of the Research

There had been no research that investigated the relationship between employee
performance and customer satisfaction during COVID-19. This research is unique and a new
idea has to be studied in order to see how the relationship between employee performance
and customer satisfaction is affected during COVID-19.
 3

Methodology Proposed
Using the previous literature as a reference, two questionnaires were created and distributed
via Google Forms. The first one (refer to appendix A) was prepared and sent to the employees
of the hotels while the second one (refer to appendix B) was forwarded to the customers of
the hotels. Moreover, three interviews (refer to appendix C) were conducted with HR
managers of three hotels by phone due to the limitations imposed by covid-19. In order to
obtain accurate results, two approaches were used (quantitative and qualitative methods)
for the data analysis.

Outline of the Study

Along with the introduction, there are three additional chapters in this research: the
literature review, methodology, data analysis and discussion. Key terms including employee
performance, customer satisfaction, and COVID-19 will be defined and elaborated upon in
the literature review, and the relationships between variables will be attempted to be
established. In the methodology section, this research will discuss the data collection
methods chosen for this study, as well as the tools used and the theoretical framework
proposed. The results of the surveys and interviews will be presented and analyzed in the
data analysis and findings chapter to reach results. Finally, the conclusion will cover all that
has been presented in the research.
 4

Chapter 1. Literature Review

In this chapter, 4 parts will be introduced and explained that are connected to the study, first
part will explain the employee performance and measuring the performance skills of the
employees, in the second part the study will also explain the customer satisfaction and the its
theories, while the third part will clarify the impact of employee performance on the customer
satisfaction, finally the fourth part will demonstrate the effect of COVID-19 outbreak on the
hospitality industry and the elements that may affect the employee performance ( new
standards, job insecurity, stress symptomatology).

1.1 Employee Performance

Employee performance refers to 'a worker's planned job-related activities and how well those
activities were done'. However, it is so much more than that. Aguinis (2009) illustrates that “the
definition of performance does not include the results of an employee’s behavior, but only the
behaviors themselves. Performance is about behavior or what employees do, not about what
employees produce or the outcomes of their work”. Aguinis (2009) acknowledges that the
behavior of the employee affects his performance during the procedure of his task not at the end
or when finishing his job. Companies and organizations should focus on improving employee
performance by providing them with a variety of resources and skills to help them overcome with
new realities and challenges (Batarlien, Iinien, Vaiit, Apalait, & Jaranien, 2017). The world is in
changing every day that means that the companies and organizations should be updated by
everything new that can help to achieve more business, in the other hand to stay in the market,
training employees and providing them new and efficient supply will lead to a worthy business.
Donohoe (2009) has stated that “employee performance refers to how your workers behave in
the workplace and how well they perform the job duties you've obligated to them”.

1.1.1 Measuring Performance Skills

Many authors have proposed a variety of indicator categories for different performance
measurement approaches. The performance differs from an employee to another although
employee performance is measured by many methods including:
 5

 Management by objectives (MBO): it is a strategic management model that aims to

develop an organization's performance by clearly identifying goals that both management
and workers agree on. The term was invented by the management expert “Peter Drucker
in his book The Practice of Management, published in 1954.”
 360-degree feedback: it is also known as full-circle appraisal, multi-rater feedback,
multi-source feedback, upwards feedback, group performance review, 360-degree
appraisal, 540-degree feedback, all-round feedback, and peer appraisal. According to
Ward (2004) all these terms convey the same meaning. 360-degree feedback method is
defined by Epsinger and Lucia as “the feedback process which involves collecting
perceptions about a person’s behavior and the impact of that behavior from the person’s
boss or bosses, direct reports, colleagues, fellow members of project teams, internal and
external customers, and suppliers’ (Lepsinger & Lucia, 1997. p.6). Most multi-source
feedback techniques have been used with a development perspective (Fletcher, 2001).
This way of employee performance measurement has prospects like provides feedback
to employees from a variety of sources, develops & strengthens teamwork and
accountability…etc., and consequences such as focusing on employee weaknesses &
shortcomings instead of strengths, require a large degree of data collection & processing
in some cases…etc, (Barley, 1996).
 Key Performance indicators (KPIs): Several ways to analyze the employee performance by
using the universal key performance such as revenue per employee, profit per employee,
overtime per employee…etc, (Reketskiy, 2017).
 Comparative procedure: Griffiths (2009) has explained the comparative evaluation is
a technique of appraising employees by comparing and contrasting issues and traits of an
employee with another.
 Graphic rating scale: McKelvie (1978) has defined the graphic rating scale, a behavioral
method, is perhaps the most popular choice for performance evaluations. This type of
evaluation lists traits required for the job and asks the source to rate the individual on
each attribute. A discrete scale is one that shows a number of different points. The ratings
can include a scale of 1–10; excellent, average, or poor; or meets, exceeds, or doesn’t
 6

meet expectations, for example. A continuous scale shows a scale and the manager puts
a mark on the continuum scale that best represents the employee’s performance.
 Essay technique: (Defining and analysis of Performance Appraisal, 2015) in an essay
appraisal, the source answers a series of questions about the employee’s performance in
essay form. This can be a trait method and/or a behavioral method, depending on how
the manager writes the essay. These statements may include strengths and weaknesses
about the employee or statements about past performance. They can also include specific
examples of past performance. The disadvantage of this type of method (when not
combined with other rating systems) is that the manager’s writing ability can contribute
to the effectiveness of the evaluation. Also, managers may write less or more, which
means less consistency between performance appraisals by various managers.’

1.2 Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction reflects the satisfaction that customers received from doing business with
a company, in other words, it is how comfortable the clients are with their transaction and the
company's overall experience. Satisfied customers increase financial performance by increasing
existing customer loyalty, decreasing price elasticity, lowering marketing costs through positive
word-of-mouth advertising, lowering transaction costs, and improving the reputation of the
company (Ittner, 1998; Neely & Platts, 2005). In opinion of Parmenter (2009) stock outs, revenue
gained from top customers in a week, number of complaints, customer loyalty index, customer
lost, new customers, number of customers referrals, market share in term of customers, on-time
delivery, product quality, number of quality service guarantee issued and order frequency are
the measures of the customer satisfaction. One of the most important indicators of business
performance is customer satisfaction. It results to repurchase behavior (Bolton, 1998 & Fornell,
1992), positive word-of-mouth referrals (Oh, 1999), fewer complaints (Bearden and Teel, 1983;
Fornell et al., 1996), and a smaller set of alternative offers considered in purchase decisions
(Lapersonne et al., 1995). Accurate evaluation of customer satisfaction through accurate
consumer feedback is therefore important for the creation of successful management strategies
 7

coupled with enabling managers to introduce programs to enhance satisfaction. Some theories
related to customer satisfaction will be mentioned in order to understand customer satisfaction
clearly.

1.2.1 Customer Satisfaction Theories

The marketing and consumer behavior literature has traditionally suggested that customer
satisfaction is a relative concept, and is always judged in relation to a standard (Olander,
1977). Consequently, a number of numerous competing theories based on different criteria have
been postulated to explain customer satisfaction in the course of its growth. The theories include
the Comparison Level Theory, the Dissonance Theory, and the Contrast Theory and some others.

 Dissonance Theory: The Dissonance Theory suggests that a person who expected a
high-value product and received a low-value product would recognize the disparity
and experience a cognitive dissonance (Cardozzo, 1965). The presence of dissonance
creates pressures for its elimination, according to this theory, which could be
accomplished by changing the perceived difference. Thus, consumers are posited to
perceptually distort expectation-discrepant performance so as to coincide with their
prior expectation level" (Oliver, 1977, p. 480). This theory has not gained much
support from researchers, partly because it is not clear whether consumers would
engage in such discrepancy adjustments as the model predicts in every consumption
situation.
 The Contrast Theory: The Contrast Theory suggests the opposite of the Dissonance
Theory. According to this theory, when actual product performance falls short of
consumer’s expectations about the product, the contrast between the expectation and
outcome will cause the consumer to exaggerate the disparity (Yi, 1990). This theory
predicts that the performance of products below expectations would be valued lower
than it actually is. Thus, it is curious whether hypotheses held by these theories could be
accepted or rejected when applied in a field survey research study of hospitality and
tourism services (Oh & Parks, 1997). For instance, it is not clear if all purchasing decisions
result in dissonance in tourism and hospitality services.
 8

 The Comparison Level Theory: The Comparison Level Theory argues that there are
more than one basic determinants of comparison level for a product: (1) consumers'
prior experiences with similar products, (2) situational produced expectations (those
created through advertising and promotional efforts), and (3) the experience of
other consumers who serve as referent persons. This finding suggests that consumers
may give less weight to manufacturer-provided information, when they have personal
experience and relevant information about other consumer experiences (Yi, 1990).
The Theory of the Comparison Level implies that consumers could incorporate a variety
of different comparison levels into the experience of consumption. There is, however,
inadequate information concerning what standards that consumers bring into the
consumption experience are being confirmed and disconfirmed.

1.3 Effect of Employee Performance on Customer Satisfaction

Employee behavior affect customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction as a result of the employee-
customer interaction process (Emery and Fredendall, 2002). Employee satisfaction leads to
higher performance, which in turn leads to satisfied customers. Customers are more likely to be
helped by satisfied employees who have a more positive attitude and have good customer
service. This results in a more satisfying customer experience, higher customer loyalty, and
improved profitability. The correlation between employee performance and customer
satisfaction has been the subject of research. Business success is the ultimate result of the
employees’ good performance but it is reflected in customer satisfaction (Xu and Goedegeburre,
2005). Although there are three components that affect the employee performance which are
knowledge and skills, motivation & working environment, once one of these components is
affected, absolutely the customer satisfaction will also be affected. The working environment of
employees is thought to be a major factor in reducing attrition. However, the question is how to
increase employee engagement in the business. It's essential to find out what motivates each
employee in order to improve job satisfaction and motivate employees to deliver consistently
high performance levels while also increasing customer satisfaction. Forward-thinking businesses
are now wondering how they can relate employee engagement and customer satisfaction. As
 9

reported by (Bush, Rose, Faye, Ingram; 2001) there are three characteristics that affect the
customer satisfaction which are: reliability, empathy and expertise. Employees are more engaged
in activities that help them achieve the expectation of the customers when performance
expectations are clearly developed (Bowen & Waldman, 1999). According to Liao and Chuang
(2004), each employee's performance can add to the overall organizational effectiveness, which
can be measured by service quality from customers' perceptions, customer satisfaction, and
customer loyalty. An important relationship exists between employee performance and service
quality, according to several previous studies (Vannirajan & Manimaran, 2009; Pratyush & Berg,
2003).

1.4 Effect of Covid-19 Outbreak on the Hospitality Industry

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a group of enveloped, positive sense, single stranded RNA viruses with
a wide range of characteristics (Zumla, Chan, Azhar, Hui & Yuen, 2016). The COVID-19 pandemic
makes us deeply suspicious of the major global imbalances and threats that we collectively face
today (Sakketa and Koebner, 2020; Sumner et al., 2020). The coronavirus disease pandemic
(COVID-19) is still a tragic part in history. The pandemic's consequences are being felt on a daily
basis, and they go beyond physical health

1.4.1 New Standards

COVID-19 cause a variety of diseases affecting the respiratory, enteric, hepatic, and neurological
systems in humans, with varying degrees of severity (Chan, Lau and Woo, 2016). Two novel CoVs,
severe acute respiratory syndrome CoVs (SARSCoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV
(MERSCoV), have arisen in the last two decades and are responsible for severe human diseases
(Lau et al. 2007), The pathogen that causes COVID19 is SARSCoV2 (also known as 2019nCoV), is a
nCoV that was first identified in late January 2020. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO) new standards are created and should be followed by all the hotels. These standards
include:

 Washing hands frequently at least for 40 seconds.

 10

 Cover a cough or sneeze with a belt elbow or tissue and throw away the tissue in a
closet bin.
 Keep a safe distance between staff and guest at least 1 meter.
 Avoid hugging, kissing and hand shaking.
 Always staff should wear a mask (fabric or medical).
 A guest who have symptoms of Covid-19 should be isolated in a room alone and staff
entering his room should keep 1 meter distance at least with all the precautions.
 If staff develop Covid-19 symptoms he should immediately stop working and putted in
an isolated room.

Under the new COVID-19 setting, the Lead With Care program focuses on delivering care, trust,
and comfort to all Four Seasons visitors, staff, and residents. The new curriculum lays out simple
protocols that teach and inspire Four Seasons employees to look after their guests and one
another. According to the Four Seasons Hotel, Lead With Care enhanced health and safety
program provides: enhanced cleanliness, heightened guest safety and comfort and empower
employees. Kempinski Hotel Frankfurt is the first hotel in Europe to use two technologies
designed to provide employees and guests with the best possible protection against the
coronavirus (Neu-Isenburg, 2021). The first is UV-C radiation for surface disinfection, and the
second is an antimicrobial coating to prevent bacteria and viruses from developing in disinfected
areas. “Today, luxury has a whole new meaning,” says General Manager Karina Ansos, “as our
owner and the Kempinski Frankfurt management understand it. Five-star hotels must invest in
protecting the health of their guests and staff, and we are very proud to meet this expectation”
(Kempinski Health protection program).

1.4.2 Job Insecurity

Job insecurity is defined as the fear that one will lose their job and will not be able to retain the
job (Witte, 1999). COVID-19 is causing social, economic, and human threats (Gössling et al., 2021;
Hall et al., 2020) as well as medical uncertainty, which can contribute to negative employee
attitudes such as fear, anxiety, or stress. COVID-19, in other words, may be a real threat to their
own or loved ones' safety. Whereas, that COVID-19 has already transformed into a labor market
and economic crisis that has impacted both demand and supply, organizational transformation
 11

by downsizing has become a popular solution. Downsizing is a technique for decreasing labor
costs, often by reducing the number of workers or lowering wages, that will definitely affect the
performance of the employees which have tendency to lead to decrease in productivity,
streamline operations, and improve organizational competitiveness (Martin et al., 1995). As a
result, in order to stay competitive and retain employees during and after the pandemic, every
company should develop an effective COVID-19 response plan. When a pandemic strike, a
workplace may become a high-risk zone for virus infection, leaving employees feeling vulnerable,
anxious, panicky, and even burned out (Kim & Niederdeppe, 2013). Gallie (2017) stated that a
major reason why an employee fears job insecurity is the awareness in the reduction in staff by
the employers. Furthermore, if workers are pleased with their organization's focus and
commitment to meeting COVID-19 challenges, they will perceive improvement and be
encouraged to join the effort and promote the achievement of job objectives (Mao et al., 2020),
that means even during the pandemic the workplace that serve convenient environment to their
employees will obtain good performance and satisfaction of their internal customers. Workers'
performance and attitudes at work have been shown to be affected by job insecurity in previous
studies; when employees are uncertain about their job's future, they tend to withdraw
emotionally and behaviorally (Karatepe et al., 2020). Job insecurity, for example, is linked to
decreased job satisfaction, job involvement, and trust in an organization (Richter & Näswall,
2019); increased organizational strain; damaging health and well-being; creating stress, anxiety,
and depression (Chirumbolo & Areni, 2010); increased absenteeism (Jiang & Lavaysse, 2018;
Karatepe et al., 2020); and increased turnover (Hellgren et al., 1999).

1.4.3 Stress Symptomatology

Previous research suggests that a crisis has a significant impact on an individual's job and
psychological well-being (Wright & Hobfull, 2004; Griffin & Clarke 2011; Bakker & Demerouti
2018). According to Unal-Karagüven (2009), a crisis is an emotionally stressful and upsetting
situation in a person's life. The current outbreak of COVID-19 has created a crisis situation and a
significant shift in normal working conditions around the world, which has been accompanied by
widespread public concern (Kanupriya, 2020), which can define that new standards have been
created in the work place especially in the service sectors. Stress has been shown to have a
 12

negative impact on employee performance, productivity, and overall satisfaction. People who
are stressed are more likely to contract the COVID-19 virus, which is highly infectious (Anderson,
2020). Employees well-being and engagement should be the points of concern during the crisis
to ensure their physical as well as mental well-being, as the mounting stress of balancing work
and personal life responsibilities can lead to mental breakdown (Mirza, 2012; Smith et al., 2018).
In other words, Covid-19 have definitely affected the employee’s behavior, performance,
productivity, motivation and satisfaction. While the most of us are staying at home and avoiding
social interaction, some staff are not so fortunate. Janitors, domestic workers, housekeeping, and
office cleaning crews are among those most vulnerable to COVID-19. According to Occupational
Health and Safety (2020), cleaning crews are on the front lines of the global pandemic, since they
are in charge of deep cleaning, disinfecting, and scrubbing surfaces and places where potentially
harmful germs and viruses can be found.
 13

Chapter 2. Research Context & Design

In this research five research questions were asked. Two surveys, and three interviews were
performed to determine the interrelationships between variables and therefore answer the
research questions.

2.1 Research Context

Qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods are the broad categories of research
methods. Both approaches (qualitative and quantitative) have their own set of characteristics
and data collection techniques (Borich, 2016). Qualitative research is a form of data collection
that uses conversational techniques, such as open-ended questions. The majority of the answers
are non-numerical. This approach aids a researcher in comprehending what participants think
and why they think the way they do, included (one-to-one interview, focus group…etc.,). The
quantitative approach works with numbers and forms that can be measured. It investigates
events or data in a systematic way (Johnson & Turner, 2003). It provides answers to questions
about the reliability of relationships between observable variables in order to understand,
predict, or control a phenomenon, included (survey research, descriptive research and
correlation research) (Hesse-Biber, 2015). The term “mixed methods” refers to an emergent
methodology of research that advances the systematic integration, or “mixing,” of quantitative
and qualitative data within a single investigation or sustained program of inquiry (Morgan D.,
2002). The basic premise of this methodology is that such integration permits a more complete
 14

and synergistic utilization of data than do separate quantitative and qualitative data collection
and analysis.

There is not a lot of literature about the hospitality industry, which means that the topic of
employee performance has not gotten a lot of attention in that literature. The objective of this
study is to look into how hotel staff, especially front-line staff in Lebanese hotels, experience
their performance during COVID-19 and how that affects customer satisfaction. The study aims
to link between the levels of employee performance and the levels of customer satisfaction
during COVID-19.

The research method in this study is mixed between qualitative method and quantitative
method. First, it studied the level of performance as perceived by employees and then it linked
these perceptions to other factors affecting customer satisfaction during COVID-19. Two surveys
were made using Google Forms and distributed to the hotel’s employees and customers by social
media and email and three interviews were made by phone with 3 human resource managers.

2.2 Research Design

2.2.1 Design of the employee performance questionnaire

To be able to reach definitive results that will show whether hotel employees' performance is
affected during COVID-19. A web-based survey about the employee performance was distributed
to the hotel staff. The sample of this study is consisted of employees of five stars hotel in Lebanon
in all the departments.

This survey, was developed to measure employee performance and how it is affected by the
pandemic, it included, 16 questions in 5-point Likert scale, 5 multiple choice questions, 1 open-
ended question and 1 drop down were mentioned in this survey. Refer to (table 1).

Context Measurement Items

 15

 The new standards used during the

What is the impact of new work standards
adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic
on employee performance?
What is the impact of job insecurity
resulted from COVID-19 pandemic on
employee performance?
How is the decline in the number of
employees during COVID-19 affecting
employee performance?
What is the impact of workplace stress faced
by employees on employee performance?
Table 1: Measurement items used in the employee performance survey.
pandemic require more effort and
make me less productive
 The new standards used during the
pandemic have a positive effect on my
performance
 I feel reassured because of the COVID-
19 new standards used at the hotel
 The new standards used during the
pandemic increase stress at work
 I’m afraid of being fired because of the
low occupancy percentage due to
COVID-19
 The fear of being fired because of the
pandemic affects my job performance
 the number of employees in my hotel
has decreased because of COVID-19
 The stress I’m facing because of the
pandemic has a negative effect on my
job performance

Sample

The employee performance survey was made with the employees of three hotels. These hotels
are Kempinski Summerland Hotel&Resort, Lancaster Eden Bay Hotel and Movenpick Hotel.

According to the employee performance survey that was made with 59 employees, 64.4% were
male and 35.6% were female, 71.2% their age between 18-30 year, 25.4% their age between 31-
 16

45 year and 3.4% their age between 46-54 year, also 61% are in the food and beverage
department, 16.9% are in the front office department, 15.3% are in the housekeeping
department and 6.8% work in the administrative department, in addition to, 45.8% work in
Kempinski Summerland Hotel&Resort, 28.8% work in Lancaster Eden Bay Hotel and 25.4% work
in Movenpick Hotel. Plus, 72.9% are single, 23.7% are married and 3.4% are divorced.

Design of the customer satisfaction questionnaire

To be able to reach definitive results that will show whether hotel customer satisfaction is
affected during COVID-19. A web-based survey about the customer satisfaction were distributed
to the customers of three hotels.

This survey, is about the customer satisfaction, 14 questions in 5-point Likert scale, 4 multiple
choice questions, 1 open-ended question and 1 checkboxes question were mentioned in this
survey. (Refer to table 2).

Context Measurement items

Customer satisfaction  In my opinion, employee performance

Employee performance would be better if there is no COVID-
19
Table 2: Measurement items used in the customer satisfaction survey.

Sample

The customer satisfaction survey was made with the customers of three hotels. These hotels are
Kempinski Summerland Hotel&Resort, Lancaster Eden Bay Hotel and Movenpick Hotel.
 17

According to the customer satisfaction survey that was made with 41 customers, 53.7% were
male and 46.3% were female, 41.5% their age between 18-30 year, 34.1% their age between 31-
45 year and 24.4% their age between 46-64 year. Plus, 48.8% are single, 39% are married, 9.8%
are divorced and 2.4% are widowed.

Design of the interview

Three interviews were made by phone with human resource managers to help in answering the
research questions that have been proposed and to see the relation between the employee’s
performance with the customers satisfaction.

The sample of this study is consisted of employees of five stars hotel in Lebanon in all the
departments, the human resource managers working in the same hotels and the customers of
these hotels.

Interview also were done with 3 human resource managers included 9 open questions to relate
it to the surveys and analyze the answers. Refer to (table 3).

Context Measurement items

What is the impact of new work standards
adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic
on employee performance?
What is the impact of job insecurity
resulted from COVID-19 pandemic on
employee performance?
 Do the new standards of COVID-19
affect the performance of the
employees? How?
 Did the hotel terminate the work of
some of the employees because of
the pandemic? Would this raise any
concern for the remaining
employees (job insecurity,
 18

dissatisfaction…)? And how is this

affecting employee performance?
 If any of your employee get the
COVID-19, will you deduct from his
salary for the sick leave days?

How is the decline in the number of  Did COVID-19 increase the employee

employees during COVID-19 affecting turnover of the hotel?

employee performance?

 Does the service quality change

during COVID-19? How?
What is the impact of employee
 How do you think employee
performance on customer satisfaction
performance during the pandemic is
under COVID-19?
affecting guest satisfaction?

 Do you think the work environment in

What is the impact of workplace stress the hotel is more stressful because of

faced by employees on employee the pandemic? And how is this

performance? affecting employee performance?

Table 3: The relationship between the questions of the interview and the research questions.

Sample

The interviews were also made with the human resources managers of the three hotels. Nine
questions were asked for each manager, to answers of the research questions.

2.3 Study Limitations

There were some limitations to this research at the time it was conducted. The recent COVID-19
pandemic, have greatly reduced the number of respondents as the population, and thus the
 19

surveys, has been greatly reduced due to the large number of layoffs experienced by the
hospitality industry. Due to COVID-19 and since the researcher cannot go to the hotels for the
safety, 2 web-based questionnaires were sent to be filled by the customers of 3 hotels and the
employee also it took a lot of time to collect the responses especially the customer satisfaction
survey because it was hard to reach the customer and as the researcher said it is hard to go to
the hotels and let them fill it there, so some of them ignore to fill the survey and some employee
also didn’t fill it.

This study is new especially in Lebanon it is rare and hard to find information and there is no
other studies similar to this study.

Additionally, this research was intended to include one-on-one interviews with managers, but
due to the aforementioned reasons, this was done by phone, which created a barrier in
communication with these managers.
 20

Chapter 3. Findings, Analysis, and Results

3.1 Introduction
This chapter summarizes the information needed for the applied work, the sources used, the
data collection criteria, and the information evaluation procedures. This research
employs primary data that includes both qualitative and quantitative information. The
quantitative analysis was set through Excel, with each question being analyzed using
percentages, as well as a graph or a pie graph. After that, for each question in the surveys, a
textual descriptive analysis was appended. After that, interviews were explained with three HR
managers of three hotels. The analysis for each of the questions of the two questionnaires will
be presented in detail in the following sections of this chapter, followed by the correlation test
analysis, and finally the analysis of each of the questionnaires and interviews in order to
reach the answer to the main topic "The impact of the employee performance on the customer
satisfaction during COVID-19".

3.2 Results of the Employee Performance Survey

 Demographics
 21

Figure 1: Age distribution of the respondents

Figure 1 shows that the biggest portion 71.2% are between 18-30 years old, 25.4% are between
31-45 years old and 3.4% are between 46-64 years old.

Figure 2: Gender distribution of the respondents

Figure 2 shows that the number of male participants (64.4%) was higher than the females (45%).
 22

Figure 3: Marital status distribution of the respondents

Figure 3 shows that the majority of the participants are single 72.9%, the married are 23.7% and
divorced are just 3.4%.

 Employee information

Figure 4: Hotels

Figure 4 shows that approximately the half of the participants 45.8%, are working in Kempinski
Summerland Hotel&Resort, 28.8% of the participants are working in Lancaster Eden Bay Hotel
and 25.4% are working in Movenpick Hotel Beirut

Figure 5: Departments
 23

Figure 5 shows that more than the half of the participants 61% are working in the food and
beverage department, also 16.9% are working in the front office department, 15.3% are working
in the housekeeping department and just 6.8% of the participants are working in the
administrative department.

 Employee performance

Figure 6: Job performance during COVID-19

Figure 6 shows the participants are divided into 3 parts about the job performance during COVID-
19, 40.7% of the participants were their job performance didn’t affected during COVID-19, 33.9%
of the participants were their job performance affected negatively during COVID-19 and 25.4%
of them were their job performance affected positively during COVID-19.

After asking the participants, what was the biggest professional challenge you faced from the
beginning of the pandemic till now? And how did you overcome it?

Some of the participants didn’t face any problem during COVID-19 and they are working with
the same performance as before and a big portion of the participants faced challenges like
working under pressure, working more because of the shortage in staff, wearing mask always,
 24

financial problems that the finance department are facing, and employee in housekeeping
department are facing shortage in their products.

Please indicate to which extent do you agree with the following statements:
The following table has 16 statements that the participant would state their opinion about on a
scale from 1 to 5 (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree)

Strongly Strongly
statement Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
1-I’m doing
more than
what’s
5% 5% 22% 41% 27%
expected from
me

2-Collaboration
with others at
work is very 5% 5% 15% 44% 31%
productive

3-I have good

communication
5% 5% 22% 36% 32%
skills

4-My personal
goals align with
the
6% 14% 24% 34% 22%
organizational
goals

5-My hotel is
following
sharply the
3% 5% 18% 47% 27%
new standards
of COVID-19

6-The number 7% 5% 25% 41% 22%

of employees
 25

in my hotel has
decreased
because of
COVID-19

7-I’m working
more because
of the low
7% 10% 27% 37% 19%
number of
employees

8-I feel reassured

because of the
COVID-19 new 3% 8% 34% 42% 12%
standards used at
the hotel
9-The new
standards used
during the
pandemic
require more 3% 14% 25% 45% 14%
effort and
make me less
productive

10-The new
standards used
during the
pandemic 3% 8% 31% 36% 22%
increase stress
at work

11-The new
5% 17% 32% 36% 10%
standards used
 26

during the
pandemic have
a positive
effect on my
performance

12-Concerns
about COVID-
19 at work
3% 3% 22% 58% 14%
make my job
more stressful

13-The stress
I’m facing
because of the
pandemic has a
5% 10% 39% 31% 15%
negative effect
on my job
performance

14-I’m afraid of
being fired
because of the
low occupancy 5% 14% 42% 29% 10%
percentage due
to COVID-19

15-The fear of being

fired because of the
pandemic affects 3% 20% 26% 44% 7%
my job
performance
 27

16-The unpaid
leaves I’m
taking affect
my motivation
at work and
3% 19% 32% 32% 14%
have a
negative effect
on my
performance

Table 4: Opinion of the employees about the statements used in the employee performance survey

3.3 Results of the customer satisfaction survey

 Demographics

Figure 7: Age distribution of the respondents

Figure 7 shows that the following chart have the biggest portion 41.5% are between 18-30 years
old, 34.1% are between 31-45 years old and 24.4% are between 46-64 years old.
 28

Figure 8: Gender distribution of the respondents

Figure 8 shows that the number of male participants (53.7%) was slightly higher than the female
participants (46.3%).

Figure 9: Marital status distribution of the respondents

Figure 9 shows that approximately half of the participants are single 48.8%, the married are 39%,
divorced are 9.8% and widowed are just 2.4%.

 Customer loyalty
 29

Figure 10: Customer has visited this hotel before

Figure 10 shows that three fourths of the customers (75.6%) has visited their current hotel before
and the rest (24.4%) are their first time in their current hotel.

 Customer satisfaction

After asking the participants what this hotel can do to improve its services, customers was
divided into two categories. The first category is good with all the services of their hotels and
the second category suggested many things that had to be improved like more technology has
to be used, housekeeping has to be more faster, taking more social distancing especially at the
pool, reducing prices and do more offers, increasing healthy food variety on the menu, improve
the services at the room service…

Please indicate to which extent do you agree with the following statements:
The following section has 14 statements that the participant would state their opinion about on
a scale from 1 to 5 (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree)

Strongly Strongly
Statement Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
1-I’m
satisfied
with the
time it takes
- 2% 27% 56% 15%
to answer
phone
inquiries
 30

2-I’m
satisfied
with the
service
- 2% 20% 66% 12%
received at
the
reception

3-The check-
in process
was quickly - 7% 32% 49% 12%
done

4-The
concierge
was helpful
- 2% 44% 49% 5%
through my
stay

5-I feel
comfortable
- - 27% 54% 19%
in this hotel.

6-The room
upon arrival was - - 29% 39% 32%
clean
7-The hotel
food was
- - 17% 61% 22%
tasty

8-This hotel
follow the
new
- 2% 24% 59% 15%
standards of
COVID-19

9-I’m
satisfied - 5% 31% 44% 20%
with the
 31

COVID-19
standards
used in this
hotel

10-In my
opinion,
employee
performance
would be - 2% 31% 42% 25%
better if
there is no
COVID-19

11-In
general, the
hotel staff is
- 5% 15% 61% 19%
friendly and
helpful

12-The hotel
provides
value for 2% 5% 20% 66% 7%
money

13-In
general, I’m
satisfied
with the
quality of - 2% 22% 59% 17%
service
received at
this hotel

Table 5: Opinion of the customers about the statements used in the customer satisfaction survey
 32

After doing interviews with three HR managers of the hotels (Kempinski Summerland
Hotel&Resort, Movenpick Hotel Beirut and Lancaster Eden Bay), the responses on the 10
questions that were asked will be shown in this part, then it will be analyzed:

Q1: How did standards change due to COVID-19? In which departments are they implemented?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: new hygiene standards has been created, like clean and
disinfect surfaces frequently which are frequently touched, more cleaning detergents are
used in the laundry, in the housekeeping and by the steward employees, washing hands
frequently with water and soap and clean them with alcohol-based. In the housekeeping
department they always clean high-touched surfaces, when the area is occupied by young
children and in the high traffic area. All the departments are following the new standards
of the ministry of public health about COVID-19, especially the F&B, the Front Office and
the Housekeeping departments.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: the ALLSAFE Label is the new hygiene & prevention standards,
reinforced cleaning program in the public areas, sanitizers provided in keys public areas,
social distancing between all people and Employees given comprehensive safety &
hygiene training. This program officially includes all the departments and especially the
front of the house department.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: during COVID-19 standards have been changed in all the
customer service departments and not just standards between customer and employee
it is also between employees themselves. The canteen and the smoking areas have been
closed for the employees. The hotel is following the standards of WHO to prevent the
spread of COVID-19 in the hotel like always disinfecting all the surfaces, always wearing
mask, social distancing and avoiding the traffic of people. Banquet department has been
closed since last year, we are focusing specifically on the housekeeping department which
they are encountering COVID-19, F&B and Front Office departments are also vulnerable
to take COVID-19 but at a less percentage than the housekeeping department.

Q2: Do the new standards of COVID-19 affect the performance of the employees? How?
 33

 Kempinski’s HR manager: it is affecting the performance of the housekeeping employees

because they are taking a lot of time in cleaning the rooms which sometimes, the hotel is
facing a shortage in the housekeeping staff mostly at the check-out.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: new standards are keeping employee safe even if their
performance in some places is affected like more effort, less productivity especially the
Front Office and the Housekeeping departments they are facing problems but safety is
more important.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: literally the new standards are not affected any of the
performance of our employees but they are adapting with these new conditions and the
hotel is helping our employees for not being upset.

Q3: Did the hotel terminate the work of some of the employees because of the pandemic?

Would this raise any concern for the remaining employees (job insecurity,

dissatisfaction…)?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: last year, when the COVID-19 started to spread, the occupancy
has extremely decreased the hotel had to terminate some employees, it was an unusual
situation that we should deal with it so the HR department were been forced to take that
action. But this year all our employees are still working in the hotel, and nothing is
affecting now the psychology of the employees and their salaries.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: yes the hotel did terminate employees from all the
departments because of the situation the hotel went through, the HR department have
been forced to terminate employees but some of them are back to work and for now
employees have not to think about this problem we have tell them that the hotel are not
going to fire any of them because of the economic crisis, this will not actually remove the
feel of job insecurity because they have lived the experience before but they understand
that it was a strange situation and concerning their satisfaction the hotel satisfied the
employees to satisfied the customers, the hotel is satisfying the employee with financial
rewards, off-days and also by after the pandemic since there was no enough staff the
 34

hotel added responsibilities to let them feel they are important to the hotel and after that
feeling they will be motivated and their performance is getting better.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: no, the hotel didn’t terminate any of the employees since the
pandemic started, and the HR department are not looking to fire any of them, sure they
are feeling dissatisfied because of the situation we are living but for now the HR
department are not going to take any decision concerning the employees, and about the
job insecurity the hotel is trying our best to keep our employee satisfied with us and not
letting them feel the fear of terminate them and with hope that everything will be fixed
soon. So, since the hotel is working to keep the employee satisfied by telling them that
they will stay working and all their expenses are paid so the performance of the employee
hasn’t affected.

Q4: Did COVID-19 increase the employee turnover of the hotel?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: in the hotel, COVID-19 didn’t affect the employee turnover but
only in small percentage, the HR department are following a strategy to keep our
employee with us.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: absolutely yes, employee turnover rate last year was more
than any other past year and the HR department noticed this well in the F&B department
the turnover was very high.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: the employee turnover didn’t increase because of COVID-19, but
because the economic crisis since employee are traveling to work outside the country
because of the Lebanese lira fluctuation.

Q5: By how much the labor force decreased because of the pandemic?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: labor force has been decreased because of the economic crisis,
a large number of qualified have traveled to work abroad.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: labor force didn’t decrease of COVID-19 because hotels are
terminating their employee so there are always people who looks for jobs in hotels mostly
in these days now.
 35

 Lancaster’s HR manager: Especially hotel employees are traveling to work abroad this will
result a decrease in the labor force and difficulty in finding the required employee.

Q6: Does the service quality change during COVID-19? How?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: service quality is still the same, the hotel has made everything
possible to keep the service quality stable and also to keep the customers comfortable
while they are in the hotel so the management is trying to offer them all their requests.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: same quality nothing did changed and due of COVID-19 more
services have been done like sanitizing the rooms frequently, more concern about
customers and their orders and after asking all the customers at the end of their stay and
the majority are satisfied with the service quality received.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: the service quality didn’t change the employees are working
according to the standards, more effort is resulting by the employees because of COVID-
19 specifically by the housekeeping department.

Q7: Do you think the work environment in the hotel is more stressful because of the pandemic?
And how is this affecting employee performance?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: all the hotel employee are working in stressful environment
especially because of the economic pandemic where the employee doesn’t know when
the hotel will dispense with his services. But this does not affect in a straightforward way
the employee performance, but in an indirect way the employee starts to work harder to
stay in his current workplace.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: the management feel the feeling of pressure from the
employees it is a normal feeling in such situation they are living in a stressful society,
stress is either from outside the hotel or from inside because of the huge number of
problems each person is facing. But the HR department are working to keep each
employee comfortable while he is working to keep his performance stable, so
performance of the employees didn’t changed.
 36

 Lancaster’s HR manager: Hotel working environment is stressful like all other works but
the difference in hotels employees face a lot of people and the hotel can’t know if any of
the customers is carrying the COVID-19 this make fear for the employees but this has
nothing to do with their performance.

Q8: If any of your employee get the COVID-19, will you deduct from his salary for the sick leave
days?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: if any of the employee get the COVID-19 the hotel won’t deduct
from his salary for his sick leave days bet it will deduct from his sick leave days or from
their yearly vacation days.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: a number of the employees have got the COVID-19, the hotel
didn’t deduct from their salaries but just the transportation expenses and their annual
vacation.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: the majority of the employee have got the COVID-19 because of
the arrivals coming from abroad from the first of the pandemic they were accommodating
in Lancaster Eden Bay and many of them was carrying the COVID-19 but the hotel didn’t
deduct from any of their salaries all their salaries were paid.

Q9: Do the new standards of COVID-19 affect customer satisfaction? How?

 Kempinski’s HR manager: some new standards are affecting the customer satisfaction,
like putting face mask in the lobby, eliminate the breakfast buffet, close the pool, gym,
spa and restaurants (not offering shisha), that will definitely affect the customer
satisfaction, but these standards should be followed in the hotel to keep the employees
and the customers safe.
 Movenpick’s HR manager: everything has changed after the pandemic employees must
follow new standards even if their performance has been affected by these standards and
that in some places will conflict with the customer satisfaction but the hotel is obliged to
follow the standards and to tell the customers that the HR department are doing their
 37

best to let their stay be sweet and improving our services that he can feel that nothing
has changed for them.
 Lancaster’s HR manager: some managers are putting a big pressure on their employees
because of the low number of staff this will let them work in a stressful environment this
will decrease the power of the employee with will affect the service quality that will result
guest dissatisfaction.

3.4 Discussion
3.4.1 New work standards and employee performance during COVID-19
According to the findings in Table 4, there is a weak correlation (ρ= 0.47) was found between
“new standards make me less productive” and “new standards have positive effect on my
performance”, that shows that new standards of COVID-19 does not affect the hotel employee
performance. According to the interviews with the HR managers the new standards are very
essential and some managers are saying that it is affecting a little bit some departments and
other is saying that the new standards did not affect the employee performance that mean that
there is interdependence between the result of the survey and what did the HR managers said.

New
New standards
standards have
make me positive
less effect on my
productive performance
New standards
make me less
productive 1
 38

New standards
have positive
effect on my
performance 0.47 1
Table 6: Correlation test between “new standards make me less productive” and “new standards have positive
effect on my performance”.

3.4.2 Job insecurity and employee performance during COVID-19

According to the findings in Table 5, there is a correlation (ρ= 0.55) that was found between “I’m
afraid of being fired because of the low occupancy percentage due to COVID-19” and “The fear
of being fired because of the pandemic affects my job performance”, that shows that the
employees are afraid of being fired because of the low occupancy and this fear is affecting their
performance. According to the interviews with the HR managers two hotels out of three have
terminated their employees due to the low occupancy and one hotel have keep all their
employees. And after asking the HR managers if they deduct from the salaries of the employees
who have carried the COVID-19 the answer was no, they didn’t deduct from their salaries.

I’m afraid
of being The fear of
fired being fired
because of affects my
the low job
occupancy performance
percentage

I’m afraid of
being fired
because of
the low
occupancy
percentage 1

2The fear of
being fired
affects my
job
performance 0.55 1
 39

Table7: Correlation test between “I’m afraid of being fired because of the low occupancy percentage due to
COVID-19” and “The fear of being fired because of the pandemic affects my job performance”.

3.4.3 How is the decline in the number of employees during COVID-19 affecting
employee performance?
After asking in the employee performance questionnaire if the number of employees has
decreased in their hotel because of COVID-19, 37 answers were positive, 15 neutral and 7
negative that means that the majority said in their hotel there was a decrease in the number of
employees, and three different answers where noticed when asking the HR managers in the
interviews about how the turnover rate has increased during COVID-19, the Kempinski’s HR
manager said that there was a little bit increase in the turnover rate because their strategy was
to keep their qualified employees, the Movenpick’s HR manager has definitely noticed the
increase in the turnover rate during COVID-19 and especially in the food and department, the
Lancaster’s HR manager said that there was an increase in the turnover rate but not the reason
of COVID-19 it is because the economic crisis the employees are traveling to work abroad because
of the lira fluctuation. This mean that there is an increase in the employee turnover but not just
because of the COVID-19 there is also another reason that is the economic crisis.

3.4.4 Impact of employee performance on customer satisfaction under COVID-

19
After asking in the customer satisfaction questionnaire if the employee performance would be
better if there is no COVID-19, 27 answers were positive (more than the half), 13 answers were
neutral and one answer was negative that means that the employee performance from the
perspective of the half of the customer is affected under COVID-19. A question was asked for
each HR manager, after asking if the service quality has been changed during COVID-19 and how,
the answers was one for the three hotels that there was no change in the service quality and also
there was more effort done during COVID-19 like more personalized services were done for the
customers. This mean that there is a part of the customers that are not satisfied with the service
received during COVID-19 and the HR managers are saying that the service quality is still the
 40

same, so to know what is wrong with the service, a question was asked in the questionnaire about
what can this hotel do to improve its services during COVID-19, many suggestions were putted
by the customers.

3.4.5 What is the impact of workplace stress faced by employees on employee

performance?
After asking in the employee performance questionnaire if the stress that the employee is facing
during the pandemic is affecting negatively their performance, 27 answers were positive, 23
answers were neutral and 9 were negative, that means 27 employees are feeling stressed at work
that cause regress in the performance that led to unsatisfied employee that will also lead to
unsatisfied guest. So, after asking the HR managers about if the work environment in their hotel
is stressful during the pandemic and how it is affecting the performance of the employees, the
answer was approximately the same the HR managers know that the employees are working
under stress during the pandemic and there is many problems that each citizen is facing but this
does not affect the performance of the employee directly, and managers are work as much as
they can to keep their employees not working under stress and feel safe while working. This does
mean that not all the employees are satisfied at their work during the pandemic but their
performance does not affect directly because of the stress that they are facing.
 41

Conclusion
Introduction
Employee performance relates to how the employees act at work and how well they carry out
the tasks assigned to them and customer satisfaction refers to how successfully you, as a product
or service provider, meet your customers' requirements and expectations. During COVID-19
some factors has affect the employee performance that directly affect the customer satisfaction.
The main aim of this research was to investigate into the interrelationships between employee
performance, customer satisfaction, and COVID-19 in Beirut's five-star hotel industry. Two
quantitative and one qualitative approach was adopted for the purpose of this study.

The research questions were answered in a clearly way, after studying if employee performance
affect customer satisfaction during COVID-19 and 4 factors that may affect the employee
performance during COVID-19 (new work standards, job insecurity, decline in number of
employees and stress in workplace), the results shows that customer satisfaction was directly
affected because of the employee performance during COVID-19, and all factors that was
mentioned before affect the employee performance except the new work standards that shows
it does not affect the employee performance directly and his performance is still the same.

Managerial Implications

After analyzing the results of the study, some managerial implications have to be taken into
consideration in order to improve the situation of the hotels during COVID-19, the new work
standards have to keep applying because it does not affect the employee performance and
protect everyone from COVID-19. Job insecurity is one of the major things that affect the
employee performance and hotels has to keep their employees feel safe in their jobs to maintain
their performance. Decline in the number of employees affect the service quality totally, so
hotels have to keep their employees and not fire them to keep their service quality stable even
in low season. A huge number of customers are not satisfied with the service received during
COVID-19 because of the action taken by the hotels that affect the employee performance and
also that will definitely affect the customer satisfaction, so management have to work to keep
the service quality the same even if it will cost them a lot but they will keep their customers
 42

satisfied. Employees are feeling stressed during work but stress does not affect their
performance directly but even it can cause problems between employees and customers so
hotels have to work on this part to avoid any problem.

Recommendations

Some recommendation for the five-star hotels that was affected extremely during COVID-19,
always keep your employees satisfied to keep their performance good and stable and you will
have satisfied and loyal customers. Don’t let your employees feel that they are a reason of the
pandemic or deduct from the salaries because this will affect their performance and the
reputation of the hotel will be affected. Hotels can tight their cost especially during high season
so they can spend money in the low season, and they have to stay in the safe zone during COVID-
19 until it ends with the minimum possible loss.
 43

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Appendix A
Employee Performance Survey
This survey is part of a research project. Please take a moment to answer the questions. Your
answers will remain confidential. Thank you for your participation.
49
50
51
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Appendix B
Customer Satisfaction Survey
This questionnaire is part of a research project. Please take a moment to answer the questions.
Thank you for your participation.
53
54
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Appendix C
Interview Questions
Q1: How did standards change due to COVID-19? In which departments are they implemented?

Q2: Do the new standards of COVID-19 affect the performance of the employees? How?

Q3: Did the hotel terminate the work of some of the employees because of the pandemic?

Q4: Did COVID-19 increase the employee turnover of the hotel?

Q5: By how much the labor force decreased because of the pandemic?

Q6: Does the service quality change during COVID-19? How?

Q7: Do you think the work environment in the hotel is more stressful because of the pandemic?
And how is this affecting employee performance?

Q8: If any of your employee get the COVID-19, will you deduct from his salary for the sick leave
days?

Q9: Do the new standards of COVID-19 affect customer satisfaction? How?

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