Case Study: Digital workflow system for a hospitality team

If your hospitality or restaurant team seems often to struggle with efficiency, productivity, and internal communications issues, then it may be time to explore change management.

Effective change management involves understanding the impact of internal changes on people, processes, and systems. It factors in cultural, organizational, and psychological influences on individuals and groups.

Change management emphasizes the importance of clear communication, leadership and staff engagement, and creating a supportive environment that fosters buy-in, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Let’s look at how small hospitality and restaurant teams can use change management to improve efficiency and productivity.

Background

A small hospitality team, consisting of front desk staff, housekeeping, and management personnel, faced challenges with manual processes and outdated communication methods. The team struggled with managing guest requests, coordinating housekeeping tasks, and ensuring effective communication between team members.

Productivity & Efficiency Benefits

After implementing a digital workflow system with the help of a change management professional, the small hospitality team experienced significant improvements in productivity and efficiency:

• Streamlined Operations: The system automated various tasks, such as guest requests, room assignments, and task management, reducing manual effort and saving time.
• Improved Coordination: With real-time updates and notifications, team members could easily communicate and coordinate their activities, leading to smoother workflows and fewer delays.
• Enhanced Guest Services: The digital system enabled prompt responses to guest requests, enhancing overall guest satisfaction.
• Data-Driven Insights: The system provided valuable data and analytics, allowing management to identify bottlenecks, track performance metrics, and make data-driven decisions to optimize operations.

Change Management Process

1. Assessing the Need for Change

The team hired a change management professional, who helped them to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their current processes and identified areas where they were experiencing inefficiencies and delays. They determined that implementing a digital workflow system could automate tasks, improve communication, and enable better coordination among team members.

2. Creating a Change Strategy

Together with the change management consultant, the team developed a strategy that outlined the implementation steps for the digital workflow system. They defined specific objectives, identified the key features and benefits of the system, and created a timeline for the change initiative. They also allocated resources for training and system implementation.

3. Communicating the Change

Because they were engaged with the consultant along the way, the team recognized the importance of clear communication to gain buy-in and support from all team members.

They attended consultant-led meetings, presentations, and training sessions to explain the rationale behind the change and the benefits it would bring. They understood how the digital workflow system would streamline operations, reduce errors, and enhance overall productivity.

4. Training and Skill Development

To ensure successful implementation, the consultant arranged training sessions tailored to different roles, demonstrating how the new system could improve efficiency in their specific tasks. The training focused on system navigation, data entry, and communication features to maximize team members’ utilization of the system.

5. Piloting and Refinement

The team decided to pilot the digital workflow system in one area—housekeeping—before rolling it out across the entire team. They closely monitored the implementation, gathered feedback from staff, and made necessary adjustments to the system based on their input.

This iterative approach allowed them to refine the system and address any issues or concerns before full-scale implementation.

By using change management and embracing the digital workflow system, the small hospitality team transformed their operations, thereby enhancing productivity, efficiency, and guest services.

Please note that this is a fictional case study created for illustrative purposes. Want to discuss your own productivity and efficiency challenges? Reach out!