Our clients understand the cyclical nature of the hospitality industry and seek to maintain profitability in a constantly changing business environment by equipping their on-site management teams with state-of-the-art tools. As the largest and most controllable expense at any hospitality related business, labor cost is a central area of focus. An effective labor management system is invaluable for maintaining desired quality levels while achieving labor savings.
Heath & Company uses a “train the trainer” concept in which client personnel participate actively in the Labor Management System (LMS) implementation process and learn to become trainers themselves.
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LMS Sponsor. We recommend that a single senior leader assume overall responsibility for the labor management system. This role is typically filled by the resort’s Director of Finance, General Manager, Resort Manager or Human Resource Director. The LMS Sponsor chairs the weekly labor management meeting, spot checks LMS information to insure compliance and accuracy, reviews labor management reports and initiates corrective action. The post-training time commitment for the LMS Sponsor is one to two hours weekly. |
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LMS Champions. One representative each from the property’s key divisions undergoes intensive labor management training. Typically, LMS Champions have the following qualifications: |
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Above-average communication skills |
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Above-average computer skills
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Good understanding of operations within their divisions |
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Future growth/leadership potential within the organization |
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LMS Stars. Maintaining the labor management system requires a modest level of administrative work including system maintenance and the distribution of various reports at specified times. We recommend selecting two individuals for backup capability when one individual is unavailable. The time commitment for an LMS Star is typically about one hour daily during training and then approximately two hours weekly thereafter. |
LMS Training includes but is not necessarily limited to the following:
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Forecasting. Most hotels and resorts adequately predict customer volume for annual budgets and monthly forecasts. However, payroll dollars are spent in the weekly forecast that department managers use to schedule employees. Accurate weekly forecasts for all key business indicators are central to effectively managing labor and material costs.
Forecasts for guestroom occupancy and banquet business volume tend to be reasonably accurate. However, forecasting for food & beverage outlets are more challenging. Additionally, managers need feedback to improve future forecast accuracy. This comparison of actual volume to forecast is the final critical step in ensuring forecast accuracy.
To upgrade forecasting systems at our client hotels we: |
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Provide the property with access to our customized web-based GamePlan® forecasting tool for spa, golf and each food and beverage outlet |
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Provide individual training to select managers to use the GamePlan® tool to forecast weekly volume for their departments
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Provide written training materials for new managers to be able to gain familiarity with the forecasting tool
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Staffing Guides. We work closely with the local management team to upgrade existing staffing guidelines or, in their absence, develop new guidelines for each job classification to reflect operational requirements. Specific areas addressed include: |
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Providing the property with our customized web-based PeakPerformance® labor productivity tool configured for each resort department |
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Refining staffing guidelines to insure that quality standards are maintained in the most cost-efficient manner possible
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Ensuring that the labor standards developed for each workgroup are accurately input into the PeakPerformance® tool
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Ensuring that the standards are accurate and are being correctly employed |
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Scheduling. Heath & Company’s TeamWork® is a user-friendly automated scheduling tool designed to maintain quality levels and achieve financial objectives by making it easy to schedule employees working in multiple departments and schedule and track contract employees.
TeamWork® is fully integrated with Heath & Company’s other OnTrack™ Performance Tools. Senior management can track scheduled hours, dollars and productivity in an easy-to-use format. Our scheduling efforts include: |
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Providing department managers with access to Heath & Company’s TeamWork® web-based scheduling module |
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Training users to schedule employees to achieve productivity and financial targets based on forecasted volume developed in the property’s GamePlan® forecasting tool and staffing guidelines from PeakPerformance® |
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Implementing reporting mechanisms to compare scheduled hours to standard so that appropriate adjustments can be made before employee hours are wasted |
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Time & Attendance. Heath & Company’s suite of productivity tools works hand-in-hand with all of the major time & attendance systems. Our work with respect to time & attendance includes: |
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Review time & attendance procedures to ensure that labor hours are accurately recorded and that employee timecard edits are completed on a timely basis |
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Develop, document and provide procedures to effectively transfer hours from the time & attendance system to PeakPerformance® |
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Management Information. Department managers need timely and useful feedback on the accuracy of their forecasts and the effectiveness of employee scheduling. To provide timely and accurate management information, we:
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Ensure that the labor management reports produced by the PeakPerformance® system are properly configured and that they reach the appropriate individuals in a timely manner |
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Configure and provide secure access to our custom InsideView® productivity windows displaying actual and standard labor utilization related to concurrent business volume on a daily, weekly and monthly basis |
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Test and validate reporting systems to ensure accuracy. |
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Follow-Up.To protect the client’s investment in the labor management system, we return to visit each client property following implementation. During each visit, we:
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Meet with the property’s senior managers to discuss their concerns and any challenges they have encountered in using the system and in adhering to the agreed-upon standards |
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Meet with department managers as appropriate to: |
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Identify and illuminate any difficulties the managers may have in meeting the standards and/or using the system |
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Ascertain the causes for any significant variances between actual hours and standards hours |
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Understand the rationale for any modifications to the original standards made since the initial installation |
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Work with management to develop an action plan to rectify any identified deficiencies in the system or the standards |
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Success Factors. The complete and spirited cooperation of on-site management is critical to the success of the labor management system implementation. The Heath & Company team works closely with local management, keeping them fully informed of our entire work program throughout the course of the assignment. |