Catering Manager a Transplant Hospital, Describe Organizational

¶ … catering manager a transplant hospital, describe organizational formal systems assessment / appraisal, informal practices. Also, explain identify ways ensure fair objective suggest ensure.

Catering manager: Reviewing staff performance

As a catering manager at a hospital, it is vital to ensure that high-quality staff members are retained and that critical performance benchmarks are achieved regarding speed and quality of service. Hospitals operate on a very strict schedule in terms of meal service: it is essential, sometimes medically essential, that patients are served on time. Employees and organizational processes must be continually reviewed in terms of their ability to prepare and serve food according to plan. When these processes are found to be lacking, employees should provide feedback, even if external consultants are brought in to aid in the process of evaluation and improvement. Periodic inspections should be conducted of the facilities and work stations for cleanliness. Adhering to standards of cleanliness is required by law: restaurants and dining facilities must adhere to public health codes. Hospitals often have a higher standard, given that fragile, ailing patients may be more vulnerable to food-born illnesses.

At most hospitals, patients order their meals at the beginning of the day, and the staff fulfills their requests. Patients are given a selection, which may reflect personal tastes, but also medically prescribed diets. The staff may have to provide food for patients with low-sodium, low-calorie, high-calorie, and bland diet requirements, as well as children's meals. Some patients may require small, frequent meals rather than large ones. The ability to coordinate such a varied array of foods demands that staff remain on-task, and that members focus on fulfilling their specific functions without getting distracted.

The need for coordination in food services is one reason that 'team' assessments have grown in popularity. It is not enough that a worker is efficient. He or she must also work well with others. Peer assessments are often incorporated into performance reviews, as part of this emphasis on coordinated activities (Alternative performance reviews, 2011, Toolpack Consulting). Often, individuals who are members of the same work team may possess a keener understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their colleagues. Of course, there is the obvious danger of personal bias affecting the review. To mitigate this tendency, peer reviews should require full, written commentary (as opposed to merely a numerical scale) and should be supplemented with other types of review processes. Manager, peer, and team-based assessments are three methods of input often used in performance reviews. They should contain qualitative as well as quantitative components, and the employee should also be asked to submit a self-appraisal of his or her own strengths and deficits.

'Customer' (in this case, patient) reviews are another important source of input about organizational and employee competence. Unlike a restaurant, it is difficult for patients to reject their meals once they are ordered, and send them back. Asking customers to submit review cards enables the catering staff to understand why patients may be dissatisfied and how to remedy these deficits. For example, if a large percentage of the patients complain that the hospital's diet meals are too bland, creating a more flavorful and spicy low-calorie meal plan might be warranted.