Luxury Place B&B Management Cycle Plan

MANAGEMENT CYCLE PLAN

Management Cycle Plan

Introduction

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that the relevance of effective performance management cannot be overstated in as far as the ability of an organization to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive marketplace is concerned. To a large extent, in the absence of effective performance management, employees cannot be able to properly appreciate the objectives of the organization and work towards the achievement of the same. This text concerns itself with the development of a Performance Management Cycle plan for a bed and breakfast organization operating in New York. For purposes of this discussion, the organization will be assigned the name Luxury Place B&B.

Discussion

Luxury Place B&B is a small accommodation establishment located in eastern New York. The company, which was established in the year 2003, offers accommodation services as well as breakfast for a diverse cast of clientele. In essence, the organization targets persons looking for a family-like setting to spend the night or stay for a couple of days. At present, Luxury Place B&B has a total of 18 rooms – which makes it possible to establish close relations with guests and attend to their specific needs. It is important to note that like is the case with other establishments working in the hospitality industry, Luxury Place B&B was negatively impacted by the COVID-10 pandemic. Over the last few months, the company has been seeking to ‘jump-start’ its operations in a marketplace that is yet to fully recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is on this basis that there is a clear need to have in place an effective performance management system. It should be noted that as Alder (2018) points out, effective performance management benefits organizations in multiple formats. Indeed, in the words of the author, performance management has been shown to result in “improved organizational performance, employee retention and loyalty, improved productivity…” (Alder, 2018, p. 113). It therefore follows that one of the strategies that ought to be implemented in efforts to turn around the fortunes of Luxury Place B&B is the deployment of an effective performance management system – i.e. with the overall mandate in this case being to ensure that employee work is monitored and evaluated in a meaningful manner.

Performance Management Process

Step 1: Performance Outcomes

Performance Outcomes for the Company:

1. A 25% decrease in operating costs

2. A 35% increase in net profit

3. Establishment of a more diverse workforce (so as to ensure that the unique needs of clients from all cultures and backgrounds are catered)

Performance Outcomes for the Marketing Department:

1. A 65% increase in occupancy rate over the next 6 months

2. Increased ratio of local clientele (to international clientele)

Step 2: Employee Goals, Behavior, and Actions

1. Collaborate with each other in effective and meaningful formats, i.e. by embracing a spirit of teamwork.

2. Deploy digital marketing approaches, techniques, and strategies

3. Fulfill assignments and tasks assigned by the department manager

4. Engage in self-development efforts, i.e. with regard to improved communication and interpersonal skills.

5. Engage customers in professional and engaging manner with an intention of winning repeat customers and acquiring referrals.

Step 3: Support, Supervision, and Ongoing Performance Discussions

a) Engagement of all stakeholders

All those crucial to the achievement of the goals and objectives identified above will be actively engaged and their cooperation sought. Key stakeholders on this front are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; other departments, supporting staff, management, and external consultants/partners.

b) Managerial support and provision of resources

It has been established that in the absence of managerial support, the whole exercise is unlikely to succeed. This is more so the case given that the management serves as the custodian of resources.

c) Effective communication

Efforts will be made to ensure that all key stakeholders can communicate in effective and meaningful formats. This is especially important so as to ensure that feedback is not impeded.

d) Close monitoring of performance measures

All the performance measures established will be closely monitored so as to ensure that the performance of the marketing department (and its employees) is evaluated in an objective manner.

e) Establishment of an evaluation schedule

There will be need to have in place clear timelines indicating the performance evaluation intervals. Efforts will be made to ensure that evaluation is in this case frequent. More specifically, evaluation will in this case be conducted on a monthly basis.

Step 4: Employee Performance Evaluation

Two appraisal methods were deployed on this front, i.e. management by objectives (MBO) and the 360-degree feedback. To a large extent, the former largely focused on the performance of the entire marketing department, whereas the latter focused on individual employee performance (or competencies).

a) Management by Objectives

In this case, departmental managers and employees sought to establish the extent to which the objectives highlighted elsewhere in this text were achieved, i.e. in relation to the progress made. The review period was in this case monthly. It is important to note that this approach was especially useful in efforts to assess the performance of the entire department.

b) 360-degree Feedback

According to Wade and Recardo (2009), this happens to be a rather effective appraisal method owing to its multidimensional perspective or approach. On this front, feedback was sourced from a wide range of sources, i.e. customers, peers and departmental managers. It is important to note that this approach was especially useful in efforts to assess the competencies of individual employees.

Step 5: Improvements Needed

It was established that employees needed further training on digital marketing and customer relationship-building. Further, it was established that there is need to deploy the various teamwork enhancement approaches so as to ensure that the marketing department works as a unitary force.

Step 6: Consequences for Performance Results

a) Reward

The need to ensure that individual employees and teams identified as high achievers on various fronts were rewarded was established. In essence, two reward systems were developed, i.e. a monetary and a non-monetary reward system. With regard to the monetary reward system, individual employees who performed exceptionally well, specifically following positive customer reviews, were given a $1,000 reward. The reward was offered during a quarterly function. Nonmonetary rewards were inclusive of performance recognition certificates, i.e. employee of the month certificate. This was especially instrumental in efforts to recognize and appreciate those who were deemed all-rounders on multiple fronts.

b) Training

Employees will need further training on:

i. Digital marketing

ii. Customer relationship-building skills

iii. Teamwork performance

HR Management Strategies

At present, the organization embraces a coaching/mentoring approach in as far as employee training and skill development is concerned. To a large extent, this particular approach happens to be rather personalized – effectively meaning that it is easier to identify and nurture various employee strengths at the individual level. However, it has been established that coaching/mentorship efforts do in some instances eat into the time of those in managerial positions who are tasked with offering the said mentorship. It should also be noted that the training and employee development approach in place is not optimized for the further enhancement of a culture of diversity. This is more so the case given that there are no deliberate efforts to ensure that employees are appreciative of individuals who do not necessarily share their viewpoints, perspectives, as well as beliefs.

For this reason, a proposal has been made to incorporate other training approaches. The said approaches will be inclusive of role playing and case studies. Role-playing will especially be useful in efforts to promote a culture of diversity. This is more so the case given that employees can in this case act out certain scenarios that mimic interactions with persons from other cultures. In this case, employees develop practical skills and capabilities that further enhance their cultural competency.