Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program

Quality assurance is one of the most important components of business today. Without it, businesses cannot hope to succeed, as customers who experience less than top quality will not return. Word of mouth advertising will also preclude the possibility of creating a platform for further business. This is particularly so in the lodging industry, as quality is particularly expected in this industry. Human resources play a vital role in quality assurance for the lodging industry, precisely because it is a service industry. In terms of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program, there is a recognition that quality is largely dependent upon the ability of personnel to provide customers with the quality they expect. This extends not only to the quality of the environment and products the customers receive, but also to the quality of service received by lodging clients.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, 2010), there is an industry wide understanding that poor quality in products and services are costly to companies. Indeed, a lack of quality could cost companies as much as 20% of sales revenue. On the other hand, improved quality of goods and services has been shown to also increase factors like productivity, lower costs to the industry, and greater profitability.

In the lodging industry, this means a focus on human resources and their ability to create a high quality of experience for customers. The first step towards achieving this is training. Managers must train their personnel to provide customers with a high quality of service in terms of attitude. Employees who work directly with customers, for example, should be impeccably friendly and professional in their attitude towards customers. These personnel include those at the check in desk, personnel who transport luggage to and from rooms, and those who provide room services such as cleaning and food. Restaurant servers could also be among this sector of personnel. These personnel should be regularly trained and monitored to ensure that quality of service is enjoyed by customers on a continuous basis. In larger establishments, this would require specific focus on personnel management as well. Managers could, for example, be appointed in teams in order to ensure that personnel are managed effectively.

In the lodging industry, a secondary component of quality assurance is the products that customers receive in terms of accommodation and food. To ensure that quality is maintained in terms of these aspects, personnel should be trained to effectively and thoroughly clean rooms once they are vacated, and regularly throughout a client's stay. Towels, sheets, and bathroom equipment should be replenished on a regular basis. Personnel should be trained to do this as unobtrusively as possible, so that clients always feel that they receive excellent quality for the price that they pay.

The same is true of restaurant and room service food. The best kitchen personnel should be secured for the lodging industry, as food is often a major aspect of the customer's experience when looking for accommodation. Again, this is subject to thorough training.

In general, when assuring quality in the lodging industry, human resources should be managed in such as way as to ensure that they remain committed to the quality of the customer's experience. Whether it be interpersonal interaction, food, or cleanliness, the human resource manager should maintain a focus on excellence and quality from the customer's point-of-view.