PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLIED ETHICS

Dr. Jose S. Valles Jr.

 TECHNIQUES IN
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT STAGE 4
INTELLECTUAL
ATTRIBUTES OF
PERSONALITY
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME

1. Appraise the connection between stress and emotions.

LESSON
What is Intellectual Personality ?
Intellectual personality is feelings, behavior,
beliefs, attitudes, and ways of reasoning, evaluation
and a decision making that people utilized when they
face with a cultural phenomenon-social, political –
religious, historical, economic and then accept or
reject it.
Recitation

In your own assessment what kind of personality

do you have and explained.
Intelligence
The ability to solve complex problems or make decisions with
outcomes benefiting the actor, and has evolved in lifeforms to adapt to
diverse environments for their survival and reproduction.
 TYPES
OF
INTELLIGENCE
1 . Logical Mathematical Intelligence
- Perhaps the most obvious of the nine types of intelligence, logical-
mathematical intelligence refers to someone’s ability to solve mathematical
problems, spot trends and patterns, and understand relationships.

• You’re good with numbers and confident taking on tasks that involve quantifying things, such as
math and arithmetic questions.
• You enjoy performing experiments and conducting your own investigations
• You enjoy playing logic and strategy games
• Your curiosity drives you to ask cosmic or deep questions
• Great careers for people with logical-mathematical intelligence include mathematician, economist,
auditor, accountant, scientist, tactician, computer analyst and technician
2. LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE
- gauges someone’s ability to use

• You’re good with numbers and confident taking on tasks that involve quantifying things, such as
math and arithmetic questions.
• You enjoy performing experiments and conducting your own investigations
• You enjoy playing logic and strategy games
• Your curiosity drives you to ask cosmic or deep questions
• Great careers for people with logical-mathematical intelligence include mathematician, economist,
auditor, accountant, scientist, tactician, computer analyst and technician
- What Makes a Good Leader?

1. Leaders Create a Vision - A vision is a realistic, convincing and attractive

depiction of where you want to be in the future. Vision provides direction,
makes priorities clear, and provides markers for success.
2. Leaders Work Well With a Team - Leaders cannot achieve their vision without
other people's contributions. It's a leader's ability to motivate and collaborate
with people that helps them to deliver that vision. As such, much of effective
leadership relies on people skills.
3. Leaders Enable Success - Enthusiasm can run high at the start of a new project.
But it's down to leaders to guide their team toward the finish line and equip
them with the right tools to get there.
- What Makes a Good Leader?
4. Leaders Are Flexible - Leaders need to be adaptable – learning how and when to
adjust focus, and embracing change themselves
- Three Things Leaders Don’t Do
What we need from leaders has changed over time. The following have
been associated with leadership in the past but are no longer always seen,
or desirable, for leadership today:

1.Separating leadership and management.

2.Demonstrating big and bold personality traits.

3.Standing at the front and top of a hierarchy.

LEADERSHIP STYLE
1. Democratic Leadership (Participative or Facilitative Leadership)

-Democratic leadership is exactly what it sounds like — the leader makes decisions
based on each team member‘s input. Although a leader makes the final call, each
employee has an equal say in a project’s direction.

Democratic leaders often have the following characteristics:

•Inclusive Why this leadership style is good for the team:
•Collaborative The democratic leadership style is one of the most effective because it encourages everyone to
participate in all processes, share their opinions, and know that you will hear them. It also
•Effective communicator encourages employees to be engaged because they know you will hear their feedback.
•Empowering Potential challenges for leaders with a Democratic style:
Reaching a consensus can take considerable time, resources, and communication with a
•Supportive and empathetic democratic style. It can also impact decision-making because some team members may not have
•Trust-building the right expertise to make critical decisions.

•Emotionally intelligent
2. Autocratic Leadership (Authoritarian, Coercive, or Commanding Leader
-Autocratic leadership is the inverse of democratic leadership. In this leadership
style, the leader makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to
them.
Autocratic leadership is typically characterized by:
Why this leadership style is good for the team:
This type of leadership is most effective when a company makes difficult decisions that don’t
•Centralized decision-making benefit from additional input from others who aren’t fully knowledgeable on the subject.
•Direct and top-down Responsible parties can make a decision and give employees a clear sense of direction, and it can
communication also make up for a lack of experience on a team.
•Minimal delegation
Potential challenges for leaders with an Autocratic style:
•Limited autonomy for Most organizations can’t sustain such a hegemonic culture without losing employees, which can
team members significantly lower morale and creative problem-solving.
•Emphasis on hierarchy An example of authoritative leadership gone bad could be when a manager changes the hours of
and status work shifts for employees without consulting anyone.
Other challenges with autocratic leaders include:
•Resistant to feedback or criticism •Intimidation
•Micromanagement
•Over-reliance on a single leader
3. Laissez-Faire Leadership(Delegative or Hands-off Leadership)
- If you remember your high-school French, you'll accurately assume that laissez-
faire leadership is the least intrusive form of leadership. The French term
“laissez-faire” literally translates to “let them do.”

Some key characteristics of laissez-faire leadership include:

Why this leadership style is good for the team:
In a young startup, for example, you might see a laissez-faire company founder who makes no
•Limited guidance, direction, major office policies around work hours or deadlines.They might put complete trust in their
employees while they focus on the overall workings of running the company.
and feedback
•Minimal interference Potential challenges for leaders with a Laissez-Faire style:
Although laissez-faire leadership can empower employees by trusting them to work however
and control they'd like, there are downsides. It can limit team development and pose a challenge for new or
inexperienced employees who would benefit from guidance as they get ramped up. Roles and
•High autonomy responsibilities can also become unclear, and it can build a culture of working in silos where
people might work autonomously rather than as a cohesive group.
and freedom
•Empowerment and trust
4. Strategic Leadership
- Strategic leaders sit between a company's primary operations and its growth
opportunities. This form of leadership requires vision, competitive awareness,
and adaptability.

•Accountability
•Productivity Why this leadership style is good for the team:
This is a desirable leadership style in many companies because strategic thinking supports
•Collaboration many types of employees at once. Strategic thinking supports many employees at once, so it’s a
desirable style for many companies. It encourages visualization, planning, and making the most
•Transparency of existing resources, and it can motivate employees.

Potential challenges for leaders with a strategic leadership style:

Leaders who work strategically might take on too much and risk thinking too far into the future
of possibilities while missing critical present-day issues. It’s important to learn how to delegate
with this leadership style and share the weight of decision-making.
Compromise, communication skills, and consistent outreach are also essential.
5. Transformational Leadership
-Transformational leaders gain the trust and confidence of their teams, encourage
team members, and lead employees toward meeting company goals.
Transformational leadership also always improves upon the company’s conventions
and motivates employees to grow and further develop their skills.

Why this leadership style is good for the team:

This is a highly encouraging form of leadership where employees are supported and encouraged to see what they’re capable of.
When starting a job with this type of leader, all employees might get a list of goals to reach and deadlines for reaching them. The
goals might begin quite simple, but as employees grow and meet their goals, leaders will give them more tasks and challenges to
conquer as they grow with the company.

Potential challenges for leaders with a Transformational style:

Transformational leaders can lose sight of everyone’s individual learning curves in place of the company's goals. Employee burnout
can also become an issue, so it’s important to work with your team to update benchmarks.
6. Transactional Leadership
-Transactional leadership is based on reward and punishment to motivate and direct
the behavior. These managers set specific rules and standards, and they closely
monitor their employees’ performance. They tell employees they can expect rewards
if a goal is met. However, they may require more 1:1s or check-ins if people aren’t
meeting goals.

Why this leadership style is good for the team:

Transactional leaders can offer helpful clarity and structure of expectations, which can help employees feel safe because they
understand expectations. Employees also have a clear view of what they get in return for meeting business goals.

Potential challenges for leaders with a Transactional style:

This style is more about using rewards to motivate and less about building relationships with employees, coaching, and
developing team morale. Keeping a diverse team engaged can be hard if only some are reward-motivated, and it can lead to
low creativity and fear of punishment.
7. Coaching Leadership(Conscious Leadership)
-A coaching leader focuses on identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of
each member of the team and developing strategies that will enable teams to work
better together.
This style is similar to strategic and democratic leadership, but it emphasizes
individual employees' success.
Why this leadership style is good for the team:
This leadership style can motivate employees as they
A manager with this leadership style might feel supported on the team. It recognizes that each
employee is unique and can build diverse and
help employees improve on their strengths by:
exciting teams where each employee offers
something different.
•Giving them new tasks to try
•Offering guidance Potential challenges for leaders with a coaching
style:
•Meeting to discuss constructive feedback It can take a lot of time to develop employees with a
coaching style, but mentoring isn’t effective for
every employee.
8. Bureaucratic Leadership
-Bureaucratic leaders follow the rules. Unlike autocratic leadership, they might
listen and consider the input of employees, but they might reject input that doesn’t
align with company policy or past practices.
A manager with this leadership style might Why this leadership style is good for the team:
This leadership style can be challenging for some,
but it has many benefits. It lowers the risk of
Some key features of bureaucratic favoritism and replaces it with central duties, job
security, and predictability.
leadership include:
Potential challenges for leaders with a
•Centralized decision-making bureaucratic leadership style:
Employees might not feel as controlled as autocratic
•Strict adherence to rules and procedures leadership, but there can be a lack of freedom in how
•Clear chain of command much people can do in their roles. This approach can
•Limited autonomy shut down innovation and is not the right fit for
companies chasing ambitious goals and quick
growth.
9. Visionary Leadership(Affiliative Leadership)
-Visionary leadership focuses on future and long-term goals. They aim to inspire
and guide their team towards the achievement of a shared vision. This type of leader
encourages collaboration, emotional intelligence, and teamwork. They also foster a
culture of innovation and change, encouraging individuals to embrace new ideas
and approaches.
Why this leadership style is good for the team:
Teams can do more and enjoy their work more if they have a vision to work toward. This type of leader offers
vision statements and other tools to inspire and motivate teams to engage at work.

Potential challenges for leaders with a visionary style:

Visionary leaders can skip over day-to-day issues to focus on long-term ideas, missing roadblocks that could build
up and cause problems in the future. Another common challenge is hyper-focus on a single goal, which can impact
consideration for other ideas that may be just as valuable to the business.
10. Pacesetting Leadership
-A pacesetting leader sets ambitious standards and expects employees to meet those
goals in the exact manner they’ve laid out. These leaders expect productivity and
high-quality outputs from employees, and they may step in to ensure things are
done correctly and on time. Why this leadership style is good for the team:
Skilled and experienced teams often thrive under this kind
Some characteristics of a of leader. They use the abilities of motivated and competent
team members and make meeting goals feel urgent and
pacesetting leader include: exciting.

•High performance standards
•Leading by example
•Results-oriented
•Preference for speed and efficiency
Potential challenges for leaders with a pacesetting style:
Pacesetting leaders can sometimes create a high-stress
workplace environment if goals are unrealistic, which can
overwhelm and demotivate teams. This can impact
engagement and lead to burnout, where people struggle to
meet goals and perform as expected.
11. Situational Leadership
-Situational leaders change their management style to meet the needs of the
situation or team. It suggests that effective leaders must adapt their leadership style
to match the readiness and development levels of their team members
This leadership style involves analyzing specific situations, assessing the
competence and commitment of individuals, and adjusting the leadership approach
accordingly. It is proactive and recognizes that change is the only constant.
Why this leadership style is good for the team:
Situational leaders are great communicators and use team feedback to make decisions. They also analyze market
changes and can quickly evaluate and update processes to ensure success. This can create strong relationships and
help employees see and feel their value to the business.

Potential challenges for leaders with a situational style:

Leaders need a high level of expertise in all business processes and functions to make decisions, and they must be
able to pivot quickly. It’s important to remember long-term goals and meet immediate needs; not every leader can
do this effectively.
GROUP DYNAMICS
What is Group Dynamics?
The social process by which people interact and behave in a group environment is called group
dynamics.
Group dynamics involves the influence of personality, power, and behaviour on the group
process.

There are two types of groups:

1) formal groups who are structured to pursue a specific task

2) informal groups who emerge naturally in response to organizational or member interests.
Group Structure and Size
Effective group performance depends to a large extent, on the size and
composition of the group. A group may consist of as few as two people
(giving credibility to the statement that “two heads are better than one”),
or as many as three or four hundred. In order to be effective, group size
should be kept to a minimum without jeopardizing workload and goal
achievement. Larger groups increase the possibility of conflict due to
the variety of viewpoints, few opportunities for the development of
social relationships, a decrease in participation levels, and lack of
opportunity for individual recognition.
Group Development
The appointment of individuals to a group based on their compatibility, diversity, or expertise does not assure
effectiveness in achieving group goals. A group is initially a collection of personalities with different
characteristics, needs, and influences. To be effective, these individuals must spend time acclimatizing themselves
to their environment, the task, and to each other.

1. Forming: At this first stage of development, members are preoccupied with familiarizing themselves with the task and to other members
of the group.
2. Storming: At this stage, the group encounters conflict as members confront and criticize each other and the approach the group is taking
to their task. Issues that arise include identification of roles and responsibilities, operational rules and procedures, and the individual need
for recognition of his or her skills and abilities.
3. Norming: At this point, members start to resolve the issues that are creating the conflict and begin to develop their social agreements. The
members begin to recognize their inter-dependance, develop cohesion, and agree on the group norms that will help them function
effectively in the future.
4. Performing: When the group has sorted out its social structure and understands its goals and individual roles, it will move toward
accomplishing its task. Mutual assistance and creativity become prominent themes at this stage. The group, sensing its growth and
maturity, becomes independent, relying on its own resources.
5. Adjourning: During this phase, the group will resort to some form of closure that includes rites and rituals suitable to the event. These
may include socials and parties, or ceremonies that exhibit emotional support or celebration of their success.
Group Functions
Three functions that influence the effectiveness and productivity of groups are task functions, maintenance
functions, and self-interest functions.

1. Task Functions - This is the primary reason for the establishment of a group. To achieve the task, they must
have members that fulfill some or all of the following roles:

a. Initiating : by proposing tasks or goals, defining problems and suggesting procedures for a solution;
b. Information Seeking : by requesting facts, seeking relevant information, and asking for suggestions or
ideas;
c. Information giving : by offering facts, providing information, stating beliefs, and giving suggestions or
ideas;
d. Clarifying ideas : by interpreting and clarifying input, indicating alternatives and giving examples
e. Bringing Closure - by summarizing, restating, and offering solutions
f. Consensus testing - by checking for agreements and sending up ‘trial balloons’.
2. Maintenance Behaviour - Each group needs social-emotional support to be
effective. Some members of the group will take the lead in providing this
support which consists of the following:
a) Encouraging: by showing regard for other members and providing positive
response to their contributions;
b) Improving group atmosphere: by expressing group feelings, sensing
moods and relationships, and sharing feelings;
c) Harmonizing: by reconciling differences and reducing group tension;
d) Compromising: by admitting errors and looking for alternatives;
e) Gate-keeping: by attempting to keep communications flowing, facilitating
the participation of others, and suggesting procedures for sharing discussion;
f) Standard setting: by reminding members of group norms, rules, and roles
3. Self-interest Behaviour - This third function displayed by some individuals, members
generally takes away from group performance and affects task achievement at the expense of
the group. Activities that identify self-interest behaviour are as follows:

a. Dominating and Controlling : by displaying lack of respect for others, cutting them off,
not listening, and restating other members’ suggestions with a different meaning;
b. Blocking : by stifling a line of thought, and changing the topic either away from the
point of view or back to his or her own interest;
c. Manipulating : by providing self-serving information, or a single point of view designed
to achieve a decision that is consistent with their position;
d. Belittling : through put-downs, sneering at other’s point of view, or making jokes about
another member’s contribution;
e. Splitting hairs : by nit-picking, searching for insignificant details that delay a solution,
or undermining another person’s point of view.
GROUP NORMS
Group Norms
In the early stages of group development, a substantial amount of
time is spent on setting social standards and acceptable group
behaviour. These standards are referred to as group norms and can be
both formal and informal. Norms are not individual behaviours, but
are collectively held expectations of how a group will function. For
example, a new member who joins a group may initially search for
clues about what type of behaviour is acceptable.
Roles

There are two kinds of roles present in groups. The first is assigned roles. These
include titles such as chairperson, secretary, manager, treasurer, etc. The second
kind is emergent roles and arise as a result of group social or emotional needs.
They include confidant, group clown, gossip, mentor, or scapegoat. Two factors
that impact the effectiveness of organizational roles are role ambiguity and role
conflict. Role ambiguity occurs when a person is unclear of what is expected of
him or her, instructions about performance are not clear, tasks are assigned
without context or if a supervisor’s actions and instructions send contradictory
messages. Role Conflict occurs when a group member feels his or her job
overlaps with others, or if the job description is unclear.
Status

Most organizations have ways of giving status or rank to members

depending on any number of factors. In many cases, these status
symbols reinforce the authority, hierarchy and reward system within
the group. Obvious examples include the move from a cubicle to an
inner office to a window office, and finally, to a corner office, and as
an individual moves through this progression, authority, decision-
making, and prestige also increases. These symbols are meant to
increase motivation (Maslow’s esteem needs), as a reward for loyal
and productive service, and as an acknowledgment of the level of
decision-making accorded the individual.
Cohesiveness

One of the primary factors in group performance involves group

cohesion. The ultimate role of groups is to come together as a unit and
perform with professionalism and dedication. A group that can work
as a unit, share tasks and recognize the contributions of its members
will meet with more success than a group mired in conflict, role
ambiguity, and lack of motivation. Group cohesion makes it attractive
for members to belong, attracts high performers, and provides
opportunities for individual recognition within a group setting.
Cohesion may result from internal successes, high social-emotional
support, or external threats.
Support
Any team or group will need support if it is to be effective. While the
successful sports team requires training camps, coaching, and team
discipline, other work teams have the same needs. First, there must be a
recognition of the need for training. Members bring individual skills to the
group that may need to be adapted to maximize their contribution to the
group task. How are the skills complimenting each other? Is there an
overlap and duplication? Is there a skills gap that must be addressed?
Second, there may be a need for team-building skills. Is there a need for
adaptation from a former environment? For example, a nurse who enters a
new institution will need to become familiar with new procedures being
used in that environment and the members of the unit that he or she will
interact with.
Transactional Analysis
Participation in groups is a social transaction between individuals and is called transactional analysis. These
interactions were identified by Eric Berne in the 1950s as ego states. There are three ego states which Berne
identified, they are parent, adult and child.

1. Parent: Individuals who operate from a parent state may display a protective, nurturing,
controlling, critical, or guiding role. They may refer to policies or standards by stating
“You know the rules, now follow them”.
2. Adult: Individuals displaying this approach will appear to be rational, calculating, factual,
and unemotional. Decision-making relies on research, facts, data processing, and
estimating probabilities.
3. Child: Individuals displaying this behaviour reflect emotions similar to those of
childhood. It may be rebellious, spontaneous, dependant, or creative and is often
recognized by its emotional tone. Like a child, this state looks for approval and immediate
rewards.
TEAM BUILDING
TEAM BUILDING
- is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define
roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks.
- Over time, these activities are intended to improve performance in a team-based environment.
Team building is one of the foundations of organizational development that can be applied to
groups such as sports teams, school classes, military units or flight crews. The formal
definition of team-building includes:

• aligning around goals

• building effective working relationships
• reducing team members' role ambiguity
• finding solutions to team problems
FOUR APPROACHES TO TEAM BUILDING
Team building describe four approaches to team building:

Setting goals - This emphasizes the importance of clear objectives and team goals. Team members become
involved in action planning to identify ways to define success and failure and achieve goals. This is intended to
strengthen motivation and foster a sense of ownership. By identifying specific outcomes and tests of incremental
success, teams can measure their progress. Many organizations negotiate a team charter with the team and
(union leaders)
Role clarification - This emphasizes improving team members' understanding of their own and others'
respective roles and duties. This is intended to reduce ambiguity and foster understanding of the importance of
structure by activities aimed at defining and adjusting roles. It emphasizes the members' interdependence and the
value of having each member focus on their own role in the team's success.
Problem solving - This emphasizes identifying major problems
Interpersonal-relations - This emphasizes increasing teamwork skills such as giving and receiving support,
communication and sharing. Teams with fewer interpersonal conflicts generally function more effectively than
others. A facilitator guides the conversations to develop mutual trust and open communication between team
members.
EFFECTIVENESS
The effectiveness of team building differs substantially from one organization to another. The most effective efforts occur
when team members are interdependent, knowledgeable and experienced and when organizational leadership actively
establishes and supports the team.
When teams are assembled, team dynamics are huge in terms of creating an effective team. Dr. Frank La Fasto identifies five
dynamics that are fundamental to team effectiveness. The five dynamics of effectiveness within teams are given below.

1) Team Membership
· Team Membership is the members that make up the team.
2) Team Relationship
· Team Relationship is the relationship team members have with each other and how they interact and coexist.
3) Team Problem Solving
· Team Problem Solving is the members within a team coming to a conclusive yet innovative solution to the problem at
hand.
4) Team Leadership
· Team Leadership is the leader of the team and the qualities and traits they must possess to lead a team effectively.
5) Organizational Environment
· Organizational Environment is the environment from which a team works in and can directly correlate to team
effectiveness.
 TECHNIQUES IN
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT STAGE 3
(Guest Relations in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry)
WHAT IS GUEST RELATIONS?
Guest relations in the perspective of the hospitality industry, can be defined as
a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer or guest satisfaction
– an act that results in the realization or solicitation of a positive experience
derived from the acquisition of a product or service, the ultimate goal is to meet if
not to exceed guests’ expectations.

Customer Relations is a field of specialization. Many may claim that they are
experts in this field but then again, no one may claim that one knows everything
about customer relations. In an ever-changing nature of customer, based on taste,
wants, and needs, one can only be assured of the fact that there is always
something new around the corner. The trick is to know
how to keep up.
THE NATURE OF GUEST RELATIONS
The predisposition of hospitality professionals and guests are shown in this simple diagram. The guest simply has needs;
the hospitality professional is simply trying to run a business. The trick is, for the hospitality professional not to over-do, or over-
step boundaries that places a limitation in doing guest services, each side has a somewhat solid perspective on the subject matter.

From the guest’s point of view, this is what is owed to them, degrees and variations may exist specially in each individual’s
guest’s perspective on what is of value to them.
From the hospitality professionals’ point of view, we simply want to turn a profit without losing an arm or a leg. Their
movements are limited by the size of what they value most.
In layman’s terms, the grid below simplifies what each side wants and the solution each may or may not be willing to take.

YOU GUEST
WIN = LOSE
LOSE = WIN
LOSE = LOSE
WIN = WIN
 In a YOU WIN, and GUEST LOSE situation, should you end up winning an argument with
a guest, you may have triumphantly shown your point to the guest, who scurries back to a corner
defeated. Oh, sure the guest deserves it, after all, the guest lied and wasn’t truthful to you, so you
should really stick it to them, where it hurts.

The mindset of winning and not compromising can be good and yet at the same time could
be a pitfall that makes you actually lose more value than what you have gained. You might have
gained financially in this little skirmish, but you may have really lost. This cannot be counted by
a financial medium but can be quantifiable in terms of media mileage.

Let’s make it simple, guests lose, guests get bad experience from their stay (bad being
relative only to the guest’s point of view) which in turn the guests tell other people what you
made them experience. These other people tell other people bad before you know it, it becomes
a full-blown pandemic, with your property on the receiving bad end, of course this may not
always ne the outcome but it could be.
There are guests and there are GUESTS, most are fair, but some may be quite unfair,
literally.

A staff for instance gets a check for items missing from the mini-bar and the guest disputes and refuses to pay
for its entirety. This is a dilemma. How can you collect from a person who does not want to pay? Some options
come to mind such as, let’s insist that the items were there in the mini bar when the guests checked in and now they
are not there anymore when the guest checked out. This is rather very naive but in case you might have forgotten
the guest just disputed the amount stating, in fact that “NO, I DID NOT TAKE ANYTHING FROM THE MINI
BAR!”

What do you do? Blacklist the guy or better yet, call the police to deal with him. Questions come to mind such
as, is the lodging property willing to write off the charge? If the amount is negligible, then perhaps it is possible, but
what if you are dealing with a very large sum?
If you, the hospitality professional should lose, the question is how much value did you lose and if you win, the
question is how much value did you win?
If you appear to have lost, how much value did you really part within favor of the guest?
Despite the benefits, many companies are still not fully exercising the use of these tools and services to align
marketing, sales, and service to best serve the BIGGER PICTURE.
If YOU like to win, you may get the upper hand on the situation by convincing the guest, on the perception of
having the deal, but in most realities, this may not be the case.
GUEST RELATION SKILLS
In the lodging industry, it is safe to say that our guests pay for our salary; therefore, we must also anticipate their needs and
provide for them. Guests expect one or either of the following.

1. Teamwork - is the strength and backbone of any organization, the seamless

interaction, and singular focus of its team member will be the pathway to
success, believe in your people and make your people believe in themselves.
2. Job Knowledge and Consistency - This runs on the assumption that more often
that people care to admit, some areas or departments on the lodging properties
often on more than one occasion does not know what the other is doing. Simply
placed in a perspective, the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
Although a simple “assembly line procedure can readily rectify this problem” by
improving methods in communication and policies which govern process and
movements of service.
Did you give your guest a brick wall or a choice ?
Simply saying, “I don’t know” or giving a blank stare will not do immaculate things for
your property’s image. This might come as a surprise for you, but guests will appreciate
honest straight to the point answers, more so, even if you didn’t know the answer to the
query, simply reply “I do not have that information with me right now, but I can get it for
you”

Guests do not like brick walls in front of them, DON’T PROVIDE THEM WITH
ANOTHER. These walls may come in the form of an employee who does not have full
or complete knowledge of what it is your organization is selling, thereby creating
inconsistencies or discrepancies in product or service turn out, the customer or guest ends
up repeating themselves in relating their concerns, like a squirrel running around the
bush, and practically going nowhere.
 Remember, a positive aspect of your personality is that it is always interactive,
proactive and reciprocation.

Customers look to Front Line Personnel for inquiries that require answers, only to get none.
The objective here is not to ensure that as Front-Line Personnel one must know everything, well,
if not everything, at the very least one must know how to acquire information for its
implementation. When one says no, you just put up a brick wall in front of the customer or
guest, but if as hospitality professionals one finds out for the customer on how to make his
“request” a reality, then an alternative is presented, and not a brick wall. This way, it is more
focused on the fact that it shows you having the willingness to do something. The greatest sin in
customer service is not focused on the knowledge of your product only but also the short
sightedness in saying “no” or “I don’t know” to your customers. You create frustration in your
customers which in turn will make you lose them, for certain. One must be effective in this field;
a good foundation will complement on how and what kind of experience does one effectively
deal with customers or guests.
In the hospitality industry a wide array of knowledge is needed to keep up with the needs of your customers. This
knowledge base will be a repository of information on everything that may concern customer service and their
needs, easily accessible to both. A singular mind - set and knowledge base will empower staff members in doing
their jobs without losing sight of an organizations common goal. This may not only be limited but may include the
following.

1. Operational Policy and Product Knowledge, these are guidelines and mechanics on how the company works, usually
established through a comprehensive training program. How can Front Line Personnel sell products and services when they do
not even know what it is they are selling?

2. Market Segments, in as much operational policy and product knowledge go to the top of the list, knowing which product to
sell and who to sell to is equally important. One cannot sell something to a person who does not need it or cannot afford it.

3. Guests expect to have their inquiries answered promptly and expeditiously. In fairness, it does not mean that you have to
be a know-it-all. Plainly speaking, you simply do not know everything, however, your behavior between your interaction and
your guest, can be a factor when it comes to addressing your guests needs.

4. Customers like to be in control of things or at least have the perception of control. A company may establish
empowerment to its customers by creating interactive measures that allow the company to hear out or listen to what the
customer needs through feedback centers like an interactive web-based customer feedback program, wherein you can hear out
positive or negative reviews about one’s product and/or services.
5. Courtesy and empathy are feathers on your personality care, an example to the testament of a positive, proactive,
interactive, and reciprocal personality. The goal here is to capture the customer’s perspective concerning their needs, how does
one sell something? Find out what that customer needs and fill in that need. This is the most effective by practicing feedback
management at the point of interaction. What customers hate is having to wait for results especially if it is concerning a
complaint about lodging property’s product or service.

6. Implementation of a real-time feedback mechanism will allow your company to deliver much needed action to your
customer’s concerns. Realization in the completion or addressing over customer concerns must be focused at the conclusion
or every significant interaction, and to hoteliers. This is a defining moment of truth.

7. What happens if there is no positive ending to this interaction? An escalation workflow mechanism must be in place to
escalate the problem to a person in authority which can address the problem, rather than disappoint the customer because of that
first contact of your inability to address their problem. To clarify, a secondary interaction with a higher authority regulates the
capabilities of the Front Line as escalation also translates to failure on their part to address the issue effectively.

8. Empowering employees is geared in improving the customer’s experience, as a lodging property is not summarily selling
rooms, food, beverages and other services. These are just by products of what really is the hospitality industry’s main products.
We are in the business of selling experiences.

9. Everyone wants respect; and believe it or not most of you may demand it but only a few of you ever compromise in
giving it away for free. Courtesy translates to respect. Walk for a few steps in your guests shoes, to get that feel of things on
what may really need.
10. The approachability of your organization, the ease in which your guests are able to reach
you and reap the benefits which you can provide them is what sets the tone of a positive guest
encounter. Make your communications lines proactive, as this represents as a tether or a lifeline
to other respective departments in your company.
FEEDBACK