m—w' "fi'p‘ woqbfim‘ _ -‘ . . . 1-' a a s " . . . '_ . ‘ a _ '. .. . v v - . . - ' ' . I. . .1 .- . ' ‘m . I 0 J c .. _ n - J. ‘ 1 ,. l_ ' ‘ ‘ O .'. I' '- . 0' . . n . u-n ’ - t ‘I 6'» £ .- . . .. u. ‘ . I. \ ‘ . .' 5 q ‘o’ 1 . 0 , ‘. I . o . {k - ' 0 . . I J. . ’v I o . . I I .1 . 'i . l ‘ } - . ‘ . _ .c- a ,' .. I I I .. . . . . u . é . l' 0 .~ 5 n . . ‘u u x . O , . . ' l I ' v ~ I _ . ,. '0- .'.. ' . r o -‘ ' L ‘ O O r. ‘ n . ”I ‘ . ‘ ' .v,.. ~, .- ‘f’.$;,:f 7 VI ' . ‘~ ’ '> . 1","‘3; . K .v (ff-{fimhM‘c‘z' cl. . 2:,1 a“, . :9, . a”... ..,.“ J. “ a u..— IHESIS lllllllllllLillllllll"Hill”!lllHllNllIUIIIHHIHIIIWW 1293 10439 0855 I LIBRARY Michigan Stat: Univcmty AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INSTALLATION AND . INFLUENCE OF A STAFF PLANNING PROGRAM IN AN OPERATING HOTEL by Kay W. Herbranson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree or MASTER OF ARTS School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management 1965 PREFACE The rising cost of payroll in the hotel industry has become a serious problem for the management of many hotel properties. This thesis is an investigation of a staff planning program devised to deal with the prob- lem of the rising cost of payroll in an Operating hotel. Some hotelmen and even some of the larger hotel chains, such as the Sheraton Corporation of America, have concluded that a conscientious and continuing staff planning program is one of the determining factors for increasing profits. Most hotelmen realize the importance of controlling pay- roll costs but are dubious of what type of program should be initiated to accomplish this end. This investigation presents the many factors that must be considered before a staff planning program can be established as an effective tool for controlling payroll costs and improving service. Very little material has been published on this subject, within our industry, but the two main reference sources of this thesis come from a system known as "Payroll Con- trol", developed by Harris, Kerr, Forster and Company, and the Sheraton Corporationtof America's Staff Planning Manual. I. IL. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. TABLE OF CONTENTS The Role of Staff Planning. . . . . . . . . . . Terminology and Basic Elements of Staff Planning AnalyZIDS the Present Operation. 0 o o o o o 0 Establishing a Statistical Foundation. . . Forecasting Workload and Payroll . . . . . Establishing Staffing Guides . . . . . . . General Manager's Daily Payroll Report . . Payroll Savings through Staggered Staffing Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bibliography 0 o o o o o o o o o e o o o o 11 . 1 .13 .28 .66 .84 107 122 131 155 F180 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. P13. C P18. Fig. Fig. Fig. P180 Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. F180 Fig. UI-F’UIN O\ 10 11 12 13 1h 15 16 17 18 19 20 1963 00.000.000.000...OOOCOOOOOOOOOCOOCOOOOOO FIGURES‘ Total hotel-motel growth payroll from 3’954 to 1963....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 2 . Wage and/or position change form,,,,,...,,,,, 46 Request for overtime authorization form.,.,,, 50. Rooms statistics shoot....................... 56 Food cover analysis sheet, September, 60 Weekly forecast worksheet form..,............ 75 Weekly comparison of forecast & actual BheetOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 77 .- Process chart of the telephone informa- tion 811p, present methOdOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 92 Flow diagram of the telephone information 8111), present method......................... 93 Process chart of the telephone informa- tion 811p. proposed method................... 94 Flow diagram of the telephone information 811p. proposed method........................ 95 Job categories for housekeeping de- DartmontOOOOOOOOOOO0.000..00.0000000000000000101 Daily staffing guides in hours for housekeeping department......................102 Daily personnel report for housekeeping departmentOOOOOO000000.000.00000000000000.000109 General manager' s daily payroll report tom..0.0000......COO...0.00.00.00.0000000000114 Summary of weekly hours worksheet for housekeeping department......................119 Sales/payroll statistics form, comparison or periodBOOOOCOOOOOOOCCOOOOOOOOOOOOO00.0.000120 Bar chart for uniform service................124 Weekly employee BOhedulo {oncoooooseoosooooeleé Monthly report of payroll savings............l37 iii Fig. 318. P13. Fig. Fig. F180 Fig. Fig. 21 22 23 2h 25 26 27 28 Monthly comparison of sales to payroll' for rooms.................................139 Bar chart of sales and payroll for ' rooms.0.....0.000000000000000000000000.000.140 Monthly comparison of sales to payroll for food..........................l#3 Bar chart of sales and payroll for fOOdoooeoooooeooecooooooeoooooooooooooooool“ Monthly comparison of sales to payroll for beverage..............................146 Bar chart of sales and payroll for beverage..................................147 Monthly comparison of sales to payroll for tOtal hotel......................."”149 Bar chart of sales and payroll for total hotel.....................................150 iv The Role of Staff planning “Payroll and related costs for 600 hotels and motels totalled 422 million dollars in 1963 and represented 43.5% of total sales and income. This ratio was the highest recorded during the last twenty years."1 Minimum wage,laws, increasing employee benefits and greater union demands are some of the factors that have been influencing the growth of payroll costs.. The twenty- eighth annual review of Harris, Kerr, Forster, and -Company states that the average hourly earning of hotel- motel employees was about three times as great in 1963 as in 1945. Total hotel-motel payroll, shown in Figure 1, has also increased during the past decade. Automatic union increases for hourly employees, covered in the contract of the hotel being studied in this thesis, give an example of the growing expense of payroll. In Table l, we see that duringa one year period, union increases for hourly employees will be 312,985 or 2.17fi of the present payroll. ' 1Trends in the Hotel-Motel Business, Twenty-Eighth Annual Review, Prepared by Harris, Kerr, Forster and Company, (Chicago, 1964) p.9 375 -— YEAR ms= I00 350-— 325 -- 226 -- Zoo l l- 4 ma I‘IS'S £956 H57 H58 I959 I960 196! 1961 1963 YEAR Figure 1 Total hotel-motel payroll. - 3 - Table 1 - Estimated Increases in Labor Costs Existing annual Estimated add'l. $201 Local No. Effective date labor costs labor costs increasg 665 5/1/64-5/1/65 $191,120.00 $43,765.00 152 5/1/64-5/1/65 65,382.00 1,810.00 458 5/1/64-5/1/65 342,500.00 7,410.00; Totals 5/1/64-5/1/65 $522,452.00 a12,985.00 2.1 "As of the moment, organized labor presses for a 35 hour week without reduction of base pay."2 The double time penalty bill also causes concern: "As now written, this proposed legislation would authorize the Secretary of Labor to require - by order - that double time or more be paid for work time of more than prescribed maximum number of hours in a work period."3 Forecasts such as automatic union increases, as shown in Table 1, and future possibilities of a 35 hour week and double time for all overtime should be ample warnings for hotelmen to take a second look at their staffing practices and to evaluate their entire staffing program. 2The Hidden Hazards in the New Pay_Schedu1e Proposals, Le§gie Martini—The Magazine er Wall Street, March:7: 1964, p. 09 31bld. - 4 - The ultimate goal of any profit making organization is that last line on the financial statement that reads "Net Profit". With this end in mind, it would be well for us to remember that dwindling profit may be closely related to a growing payroll. Mr. Frank Hoffman, in an article written for the Harvard Business Review, states that profits should be improved day by day and not by sporadic or sudden cost-reduction moves. "The self-defeating cycle of lower profits - cutting costs - lower profits begins, and lasts until a new windfall occurs and the hardfisted cost cutter puts away his axe and allcms the organization to grow "fat” in the luxury of good times all over again."4 The standard reaction to dwindling profit is a "belt- tightening” program. Here, like a starvation diet, we suddenly become conscious of the "fat" in the organization and then suffer through the pangs ef elimination. If an individual undertakes such a program for the elimination of his own excess fat, it is possible that the physiologi- ‘ cal harm that may occur would outweigh any advantages of the loss of the excess. Proper adjustment is more readily Alhprovo Your Profits Day by Day, Frank 0. Hoffman, Harvard Business Review, July 1963, p. 59 - 5 - accomplished through a controlled, conscientious and continuing pragram. This is also true of an organization. Few hotelmen have escaped the experience of a "belt- tightening" program and yet, in retrospect, only the exception would concede any long-term benefits from this difficult eXperience. The short-term results probably show great gains, but usually at the cost of service and quality. Then, notch by notch, the "belt" is loosened. The purpose of this study is to present the possibilities of increasing profits and improving service through a continuous and conscientious staff planning program. This will be accomplished by an investigation of the installation and influence of a staff planning program in an operating hotel. Hotel Facilities The hotel in this case study is a newly built three hundred room, transient hotel, located in the center of an urban. renewal project in a major midwestern city. Studio and twin bed rooms occupy the major portion of the hotel space, but there are 28 luxury two-room suites, and 4 luxury three- room suites. Bathrooms are large, with wall-to-wall mirrors, wall-to-wall fibre glass counters, bathroom scales, glass tub enclosures and thermoelectric ice machines. Each guest room is equipped with a combination radio and television set, individually controlled air conditioning, and an electronic mail and message light, controlled from - 6 - the mail and information desk. This nineteen story, tower-like structure is serviced by three high-speed, guest operated passenger elevators, an escalator from the lobby to the plaza level, one freight and one service elevator. A complete dial telephone system Operates throughout the hotel, including room-to-room dialing, direct dialing of restaurants, hotel departments and local calls. This hotel also features a heated, outdoor swimming pool. During the late fall, winter, and early spring, this swimming pool plaza is transformed into a skating rink. Outdoor food and beverage services are offered in this area, with table service for 120. Space heating makes it possible to serve in part of the area the year around. Guest parking is complimentary and a 280 car parking ramp is directly connected to the hotel entrance drive. The street level portion of the garage is mainly devoted to rental space. A hotel operated specialty bar, seating 65, is located in this area. Dining areas include a specialty room, a regular dining room, and a counter service area. The specialty room, on - 7 - the lobby level, accommodates 142 guests in the dining area and 58 in the cocktail area. During the summer months, a gazebo, leading from the dining area may be utilized to serve 25 or more guests. The main dining room, directly below the Specialty room, seats 160 people. The counter_service area, adjacent to the mainddining room, on the plaza has a seating capacity of 30. Room service is also available to the guests. The main bar, seating 95, is located on the top floor of the hotel. A sandwich lunch is also served in this area. A private club, operated by the hotel, is located in the lobby area, These facilities include a complete kitchen, lounge, dintngg room, cocktail bar, checkroom and three private dining-conference rooms. The club has dining facilities for 150. The bar and cocktail lounge seats 35. The total membership of the club is 1,500. The ballroom, located on the plaza level, has a seating capacity for 350 people for banquets, and 550 people for meetings. Directly adjoining the ballroom is Function Room A, seating 150 for banquets or 250 for a meeting set-up. In the same area, is Function Room B, seating 100 for dining with 195 capacity for meetings. The foyer, also available for service and conferences, can seat 100 banquet style or 175 for meetings. A 20 foot bar in the -8- foyer is used for private parties only in the ballroom and function rooms. Four hospitality suites are located on the fourth floor. The seating capacity is 30 for meals and 50 for meetings. This hotel does not operate it's own laundry, but does have a complete valet service. The description of the hotel in this investigation has it's importance in the fact that, in order to comprehend the methods of installation and the influence of a staff planning program, we must first have full knowledge of the physical limitations. The importance of this description lies in the use of the comparison theory, which is des- cribed below. Direction of thought of thesis The direction of the thought of this thesis is based around the concept of a model hotel in comparison to the existing hotel being studied. This line of thought is probably most aptly explained by Mr. Ernest Henderson Sr., now Chairman of the Board of the Sheraton Corporation of America, when he addressed the managerial advisory council and department heads of the Sheraton home office in Boston, Mass. Mr. Henderson's comments were: "During world war II, I think that the maintaining of this country on a course leading to success in world War II has sometimes been - 9 - attributed in part to what has been referred to as a tech- nique deve10ped during that War. I refer to the creation of a so-called model. This type of approach to solving. problems has been most effective,and it seems to be peculiarly appropriate for creating efficient hotels. "The concept of a model is to set up perhaps parallel to an existing hotel, an imaginary hotel if you wish, that has been created and designed under today's conditions. The model hotel must be exactly similar in potential, in general design, in location, to the existing hotel. we must then go to work and staff the model with ideal staffing guides. Much of the unknown is actually known, because you have an actual hotel with actual eXperience - a real one besides the imaginary one. In the real one you know what the sales volume is. You know what volume the banquet department and the cocktail lounges can do. There are few unknowns because you already have complete records. And then you transfer into your imaginary hotel the existing volume of business. You have the same num- ber of rooms. You save the same size kitchen. You have the same everything. Next you set up the theoretical staffing which you would set up from scratch if you were starting with a given volume of business. You will come to the conclusion that you need so many cooks, and you need so many bellmen, you need so many desk clerks, and you need so many of this, that and the other. You set up your model under conditions of ideal performance."5 A pro forma is then established to accompany the model. A pro forma for this model would be a theoretical profit and loss statement which shows the ideal situations which would be created. Each hotel has all the facts needed to create this pro forma statement. By utilizing the knowb ledge of costs and salary scales in comparison to the ideal situation a hotel may find that the food department should produce a 15% profit when in reality, the hotel may be realizing a 2% food department profit. A compar- ison with each of the items in the model with the items of actual experience then becomes an effective tool by which to determine what must be changed in order to make the existing hotel profitable. The direction of thought of this thesis is based on a comparison of the actual and theoretical, the use of this comparison and the influence it can have on an operating hotel. The thesis begins by explaining terminology and basic elements of staff planning. Then the actual hotel is analyzed and a statistical foundation is established. Chapter V begins the establishment of the theoretical while utilizing the knowledge of the actual. Throughoute 5Remarks of Mr. Ernest Henderson, President of Sheraton Corporation of America, to members of the Managerial Advisory Council and department heads of the Boston office at a meeting at 470 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Mass., on Thursday, November 29, 1962. - 11 - this thesis, a step by step method of the installation of a staff planning program, which Mr. Henderson refers to as the model method, will be illustrated. As each step is accomplished, the influence of this program and the affected savings, will be shown. This investigation does not follow the exact scientific approach but rather emphasizes the relationship of general managerial philosophy to each specific area of staff plann- ing functions which must be accomplished in order to es- tablish a conscientious and continuing staff planning program. The main source of data used in this thesis comes from a day to day collection of information carefully compiled during a year of study when a staff planning program was installed in the hotel which is the subject of this inves- tigation. Very little material has been published on this subject, within our industry, but the two main reference sources come from a system know as "Payroll Control", developed by Harris, Kerr, Forster, and Company, and the Sheraton Corporation of America's Staff Planning Manual. Many of the forms and additional analytical work come from these sources; however, new forms or a variation of suggested forms have been utilized in this study. -12.. Other references come from a wide variety of sources and have been utilized to support individual theories which are interwoven in a staff planning program. These sources cover a wide range of subjects from work simplification to managerial philosophy. Emphasis should be placed on the fact that the main value of this thesis is found in the day to day study of a staff planning program in an operating hotel. . ' CHAPTER II TERMINOLOGY AND BASIC ELEMENTS OF STAFF PLANNING Staff planning is the function whereby the number of personnel now employed and the resulting.payroll costs A are controlled through a system of forecasting workload volume. This is accomplished by employing personnel.in order to avoid any lag in adjusting manpower. Staff planning must also provide the desired lstandard of ser- vice,iana1ysis of performance, and corrective measures as indicated to eliminate any reoccurrence of malperfor- mance. The staff planner must constantly search for 1 new methods and technical improvements to increase efficie- ncy and improve service. When establishing the basic elements of staff planning, one must take into consideration three main job categories. i The first is "fixed" job groups, which are positions that do not vary in the authorized number with the volume of business. Examples of this are the Executive Housekeeper or Assistant Manager. The second category is the "semi- variable” job groups. These are the positions such as inspectresses that vary with long term forecasted business volume. Positions that vary in accordance with fluctuations in business volume are called ”variable" job groupings, Maids and waitresses are in this grouping. - 13 - - 14 - ’ To achieve the ends of staff planning, one must under- stand the formulation, installation, and revision of staffing guides which are the major tools used in pay- roll control. (Staffing guides are statistical tables which are used for converting work load units into a standard number of man hours required to accomplish the workload at various volumes of business.) Each hotel must develop it's own.guides due to the variables that influence staffing. This is the first of the basic elements of staff planning. In order to establish accu- rate staffing guides, one must determine performance standards. The determination and maintenance of valid performance standards is one of the most difficult elements in staff planning due to the fact that each working position must be carefully analyzed in relation to the condition of production and service. "Productivity standards answer the question - 'How many hours of laboramr necessary to service a known or fore- casted volume of business?‘ In these terms they represent what can be considered a fair day's work for an employee.“5 5Trends in_the Hotel-Motel Business, Twenty-Eighth Annual Review, Prepared—by Harris,'Kerr, Forster and Company, (Chicago, 1964) p. 9 - 15 - There are several ways that performance standards may be established. One way is by dividing the number of rooms occupied, or number of food covers served, or any other unit measure, by the number of hours worked in each job classification. This, then establishes a productivity rate which must be computed for low, medium, medium—high, and high volume periods. These rates are then analyzed and an average arrived at to establish a "standard.” There are no automatically sound performance pars in any hotel operation and each hotel will differ in accordance with the operation. Werk sampling is another technique used by some business- men to establish performance standards. Work sampling consists of observing a group of employees at random times during the day and noting what they are doing. "Work sampling is possible because relatively small num- bers of observations taken at random times will tend to follow the same patterns as if all employees had been observed continuously. Statistics show that if enough observations of a situation are taken, the results will tend to be sufficiently close to the proportion of time the employees were actually at work on their various duties."7 7"Setting work Standards", Administrative Management, September, 1963, p. 65 -16.. A work sampling study consists of six basic steps. 1. Define the problem. 2. Plan and organize the program. 3. Determine the accuracy desired. 4. Gather your observations. 5. Determine the ratios. ’ 6. Analyze the results. By following these steps an evaluation of activities performed in an area can be obtained, based on a series of instantaneous random observations. "Perhaps a parallel can be drawn between the work sampl- ing technique and the lapsed-time camera. A very spec- tacular use of the lapsed-time camera can be witnessed in the popular nature movies where buds burst into blos- soms, or caterpillars turn into butterflies in the matter of seconds. These phenomena, of course, are produced by taking a few frames periodically until the ”picture" is complete."8 It is necessary to analyze and observe the flow of work under varying conditions. Work sampling accomplishes this to some degree but detailed studies such as the predeter- mined-motion-time studies are important guides in the establishment of performance standards. "A predetermined-motion-time system is a procedure which analyzes a manual operation, or the manual portion of an 8§uide to Work Sampling, by Fred H. Lambray, John I. Reder Publisher, Inc., (New York) p. 1 - 17 - operation, in terms of the basic motions required to per- form it and which assigns to each motion a previously esta- blished standard time value in such a manner that the times for the individual motions can be added to obtain a total time to perform the Operation."9 An example of increased performance through the establish- ment of performance standards in another industry can be found in the following quotation concerning the Aurora Beacon News.- "Experience shows that in areas to which standards have not been previously applied, the first measurement of work reveals performance in the 50 to 70 percent area. If work procedures are improved by such means as revised schedul- ing of work, providing necessary tools, and eliminating delays, performance can be improved to 80 or 90 percent."10 From this research the staff planner may conclude that a person working under the existing conditions will be able to accomplish a given amount of work in a given amount of time. Qflgrk:gactor Time Standardg, Joseph H. Quick, McGraw-Hill Book Co; Inc. (New York, Toronto, London) 1962, p. 3 loPerégrmance Standards, Editor and Publisheg, June 8, 1963, p. - 13 - Forecasting workload volume is another element of staff planning. This subject will be presented in detail in Chapter V. ”Forecasting theory is a collection of emp- irically derived rules for making systematic predictions (usually of future sales) based on analysis of historical data in terms of trends, seasonal patterns, and random variations."11 Without a refined forecasting system, our staffing guides are of no real value. Here we must under- stand the development and revision of workload forecast factors to avoid the lag in adjusting manpower. The conversion of workload forecast into staffing require- 'ments is correlated with performance standards. If the per- formance standard of maids is 17 rooms ( this takes into consideration single, double and twin.bedded rooms) during a 7% hour period and our workload forecast is 170 rooms, then our staffing requirements for maids is 10 maids or 75 maid hours. Consideration must be given to peak periods when the staffing requirements are converted into hourly work schedules. Staggered staffing now comes into consideration as we utilize such devices as the "bar graph” in order to deter- llproritabilit Accountin for Plannin and Control, Robert Beyer, C. P. A., The Ronald Press 00., (New York, 1963) p- 345 - 19 - mine the maximum coverage during the peak periods. Staggered staffing is the scheduling of employees in relation to volume in order to obtain a maximum staff at peak periods and eliminate excessive employees during the slow periods of business. An extreme example of this is if we staffed the 10 maids previously mentioned to work from 12:00 midnight to 7:30 A.M. Here we defeat our purpose of staffing due to the fact that the maids would be unable to do the rooms assigned to them. Due to it's. importance, staggered staffing will be explained in Chapter VIII, which is dedicated to this subject. Performance standards are used in creating the staffing‘ guides. Workload volume is then forecasted and staffing requirements converted into hourly work schedules. The assignment of personnel in accordance with the work sched- ules is dictated by needs which are found in the study of staggered staffing. By utilizing these studies, the staff planner achieves the basis of payroll control which is! "The method by which the forecast workload units are con- verted, by use of local staffing guides, to the number of man hours (by department and job group) required to accomp- lish the workload and provide the desired quality of ser- vice. Personnel are then employed in accordance with the man hour staffing requirements."12 12Sheraton Co oration of America HotelqMana ement Ac- tivities Pol oz and Procedure,¥Staff-PIEEEI%§:EII'—-' 0c . 5, 195 , p.2 -20- A daily personnel report is made by each department head of actual time worked. This report gives an opportunity for janalysis of performance which will show variance from es- tablished staffing guides, so that management can follow up on authorized deviations. This analysis is done both daily and weekly. A staff planning report which summar- izes the quality of forecasting and of staffing perfor- mance should be presented weekly to all department heads. In order to realize an accurate forecast, the variations of food cover counts must be recognized. The first of three main classifications is the "regular" food cover count which is the number of persons served, individually, as indicated on the waiters checks, regardless of whether the guest ordered a single main item or a full course dinner. This includes all regular function service. A Vspecial"food cover count must be originated when we take an approximate number of persons attending a function, such as buffet, reception or cocktail party, where the actual count is not readily determinable. This ”special" count does not include regular functions where charge is based on the number served. The third count is classified as "group" food covers. When a group is booked on a prearranged basis to dine in a regular restaurant outlet rather than the usual function room, and is served a pro-ordered or limited menu, the cover count is to be kept separate from the total covers served in that particular room, as an aid to greater ac- curacy in forecasting the usual covers in the room and so that proper consideration can be given to the.group business in analyzing performance. Another consideration that must be clarified in the es- tablishment of a staff planning program is the intangible development of the staff planner. The backbone of an operational program is the managerial reSponsibility that makes the efficient execution of the program possible. Management,simply put, is getting things done through people. This is the 1primary purpose of the staff planner. Mr. Lawrence H. Appley, in his lectures on management, gives a further definition which was established by a group of business executives and teachers of business ad- ministration who met for an entire weekend for the purpose of arriving at a common definition. "Management is guid- ing human and physical resources into dynamic organization units which obtain their objectives to the satisfaction of those served and with a high degree of morale and sense of attainment on the part of those rendering service."13 13Basic Principles, Skills,_and Tools of Management, Lect- ures on MafiagEment, as presentEd by Lawrence I.—Ipp1ey in Unit #1 of the AMA Management Course (1957-58) p. 31 -22.. This is also the function of the staff planner. The technical procedures of staff planning can be followed faithfully, but then a certain point is reached where the true managerial talents of the staff planner must come into play. In keeping the overall philosophy of management in mind, the basic parts that make up the whole must be considered. If the ends to a staff planning program are to be real- ized, the staff planner must understand the following basic fundamentals of management that will make his program operational. The first fundamental is that of authority. Clearly defined lines of authority must be established between the staff planner and all department heads. Authority may be gained by position, by knowledge, and by the ab- ility to obtain positive action as a result of reapect because of sincerity, honesty, friendliness, understanding, and ability to create a favorable atmosphere for getting things done. Chester I. Barnard, in his book, "The Functions of the Executive"}48tates that authority involves two aspects. First, the decision as to whether an order has authority 14The Functions of the Executive, Chester I. Barnard, arvar n vers y ress, am ridge, Mass. (1954) - 23 - <3r not lies with the person to whom it as addressed. A :person accepts communication only when he understands :1t, believes that it is not inconsistent with the purpose of the organization or with his personal interest, and is able to comple with it. The second aspect of authority is objective and depends upon the system of communication. Here he emphasizes that the channels of communication should be definitely known, as short as possible, definite for every member, authenticated and uninterrupted. A staff planning pragram would be useless if it could not be put into practice. Here the importance of authority and communication become apparent. In order to accomplish the ends of staff planning, the responsibility of the primary functionsmust be clearly understood. These functions include: forecasting, staffing, timekeeping, personnel reports, production performance and the achieving of results. This is explained in the description of duties found in the Sheraton Staff Planning Manual. "a. Forecasting: Plan and conduct forecasting committee meetings; explain techniques to members; educate users in application; and analyze results. b. Staffing: Develop work schedules and manpower assignments for use by departments-«to permit proper adherence to guides and to accomplish the desired results in achieving 'the best poss- ible service with the least possible waste'. - 24 A c. Timekeeping: Anticipate projected changes in work volume as to provide for desirable over- time (where economical) and yet avoid excess or unwarranted overtime costs, by close follow-up of departmental time reports. (May be delegated authority to deny or approve overtime requests.) d. Personnel Reports: Analyze daily personnel assign- ments for proper scheduling of 'days off" and for proper allocation of payroll. A e. Production Performance: Check volume of work 11output'rin relation to quality of service and to changes in conditions or facilities, so that standards may be properly adjusted for "variable" job groups. (Also check "fixed" and "semi-varia- ble" job categories.) - - - - f. Ashieving Results: Work with hotel manager and with department heads to remedy any lack of understanding or failure in compliance, and cooperate in all efforts to eliminate unfavorable results."1 . The achievement of these primary functions to the extent where the ultimate goals of staff planning are successful depends greatly on the ability of the staff planner in directing the department heads. Cooperation must be the key note if the goals are to be obtained. All of the management functions should be linked together by the understanding of morale. Keith Davis, in his book, "Human Relations in Business”‘ states: "Like the word.health - morale used alone has neither favorable or unfavorable meaning. Health re- presents general conditions of human relations. Morale 15Sheraton Co oration of America, Hotel Management .Activities, alloy and Procedure, Staff Planning #1, (Oct. 15, 1958) p. 14 - 25 - is a collection of employee attitudes, feelings and sentiments instead of a single feeling."16 Morale is the cementing factor for the goals of staff planning. A statistical presentation can be the ideal when seen on paper, but in order to make it operate, the cooperation of those involved is a necessary ingred- ient. This is due to the fact that many times, work habits must be altered, and in doing so, the natural re- action of many employees is resistance. Reorganization and new work methods bring an insecurity that adversly affects morale. The establishment of new work habits must be accomplished while constantly considering the morale factor. In the book, "Classics of Management"17 H. L. Gantt gives his thoughts on the habit of work, when he states that the habit of work is most important thing or quality in a worker and is more valuable than knowledge or skill. Gantt says that a worker must want to be busy and indust- rious. The busy worker usually has the best health and appearance and can do faster work at a better level of quality. 16E3ggp_§glgtions in Business, Keith Davis, McGraw Hill Book Co., Inc., (New York Toronto, London, 1957) , 17Classics of Management, H. L. Gantt. -26.. This satisfaction of achievement is a very definite part of morale. Many times when a habit of work patterns has not been established, a deterioration of morale occurs. Desire of accomplishment had to be created. This can be accomplished by establishing staffing guides and geals for the employees. These goals (many times limited by union contract) serve as an aid to, and an encourage- ment to the employees, based on the goals set by staffing guides..With this establishment of pace, due to division of work, a general feeling of accomplishment may become I evident as measured through the increase in morale. Morale is one element needed in developing a group of people into an effective team. Comprehending the human element is an all important part of developing an organ- izational team and a successful staff planning program.‘ "The demands that human factors in an organization place upon the administration are considerable. But, under the pressure of day-to-day activities with their inevitable crises, executives often handle in a piecemeal fashion or neglect entirely their responsibilities involving people. It is easier to work with inanimate things - facts, figures, or machines - than with human beings, and administrators tend to concentrate on these kinds of activities while letting the people take care of them- - 27 - selves - often to the detriment of total effectiveness."18 Staff planning must not be visualized merely as a stat- istical method of payroll control, but a combination of the establishment of a program based on an analysis of the operation and putting the program into operation by apply- ing the knowledge of staff planning to the human influence as well as the inanimate. 8 Human Elements of Administration, Harry R. Knudson, Jr., Holt, Rinehartiand Winston,*(New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, London, 1963) p.1 CHAPTER III ANALYZING THE PRESENT OPERATION '¥Dhe constructive c00peration of union and management «offers a most comprehensive and successful way of solving the persomel and organizational problems of industry.”19 Complete comprehension of the union contracts and phil- osophy gives the staff planner the direction needed in order to precede along the path of payroll savings. A staff planning program can be created, but in order to make it operational, we must understand the influences of the limitations dictated by the location of the operation. The first step in analyzing the present operation is the understanding of the union, non-union labor markets and local work practices. The destructive consequences of failure to reconcile the different views of union and management are a result of conflicting philosophies and the inability of either group to recognize a working cc- existence. In order to comprehend the influences these views have on a staff planning program, the underlying philosophies must be understood. From the management point of view, staff planning is a tool for obtaining greater efficiency and higher profits. 19Ps cholo of Industrial Behavior, Henry Clay Smith, Assoc. Prof. of Psychology, Michigan State University McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. (New York, Toronto, London 195 e 25 Sup 7 -28- ‘4 - 29 - This is accomplished by adapting the worker to management's values so that the worker will accept the logic of effic~ iency and allow management to apply it unilaterally. The union's fear is that in this way, the workers will iden— tify themselves with the company rather than the union., The primary object of unions is to minimize individual advancement and emphasize group advancement. Thus, the conflicts due to different philosophies. Manage- ment emphasizes individual competition for advancement, local rules and policies and benefits to be derived from their particular company. The union emphasizes group advancement, national rules and policies, and benefits to be derived from the government and community, as well as 1 the local company. Many times union and management see these conflicts as basic ones requiring a struggle to the end. The employees benefit most when union and management can be integrated to the point where they supplement rather than fight each other. "What we in management do is of first importance in de- termining the nature of human relations in our plants. We are responsible for the enterprise. We have the initiative and superior resources. We also have the advantage of - 3o - position, prestige."2o Some managers have a negative attitude towards those who have assumed leadership in the employee group. Often the way that the employee leaders behave is a product of management behavior. Employees may listen to others be- cause they no longer believe what management says, or_ because management has not told them what they want to know. It is important that management understands the problems and needs of the employees and conveys this under- standing back to the employees. Sympathy should not be the result of understanding, but rather, whenever possible, immediate corrective action should be taken. The general manager of the hotel is sometimes unaware of specifiic. existing situations that are causing conflict between labor and management. This communication lag must be overcome. Mr. Thomas Deveau, Vice-President and Regional Manager for the Sheraton Corporation of America, states in a speech given at the Sheraton Houston Hotel, --a general policy for an ideal department head - manager relationship. "We believe you should take the initative to meet with 20Human Relations in Small Industries, John Perry, Mc- Graw-Hill Book 56., Inc."(New York: Toronto, London) 1954. p.153 - 31 - your manager and keep him informed about your work. To discuss your problems with him and to offer suggestions for improvement. I think you would be surprised and en- couraged at the interest he would take in your plans and controls."21 The staff planner, although not a policy maker for manage- ment, shhuld take this type of initative in order to es- tablish understanding and accomplish the goals of his program through a cooperative effort between management and union. Although non-union employees are not represented by an organized group, this management-employee relationship also deserves consideration and analysis. The basic needs and desires of people exist in all types of employment. An overall philoSOphy must be established in order to ' develop an ideal management-employee relationship. It does not matter if the employee is union or non-union, he needs to know where his place is in the overall picture of operation.' An effective communications program is the key to the unity of purpose and understanding. 21Mr. Thomas Deveau, Vice-President and Regional Manager, Sheraton Corporation of America, in a Speech given to chief engineers of the midwestern region, Sheraton Houston Hotel, Oct. 20, 1964 - - 32 - "Communication is important in a business organization because it is one of the chief means by which it's members work together. Communication helps hold the organization together by making it possible for members to influence one another and react to one another."22 Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnell, in their book "Princi- ples of Management"23 define communication as a transfer of information from one person to another, whether or not it elicits confidence or becomes an exchange or inter-' change. They stress, however, that the information trans- ferred must be understandable to the receiver. A contrast to the theory of Koontz and O'Donnell is that of Henry Clay Smith who states that, "Communication is the imparting or interchange of thought, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.”24 The hotel being studied incorporated the theory that communications and human relations are permanently linked. 22Management Principles and Practices, Dalton E. McFarland, The MacMillan Co., New York, 1958, p. 426 23Principles of Management, Harold Koontz & Cyril O'Donnell, McuGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. (New York Toronto, London) 1964: P. 505 24Psychology of Industrial Behavigg, Henry Clay Smith, McGrawsHiII B00? 00., Inc._(New York, Toronto, Londai 1955: P0 245 - 33 - An interchange of thoughts through different forms of communications is a basic tool used in evaluation and co- rrection of staffing "targets" and operational goals. The purpose of communication in the hotel being studied not only includes an attempt to effect change and influence actions but to also encourage a meaningful inter-action among the employees. In order to accomplish these ends, bulletin boarda announcements, meetings, memos, suggestion boxes, and monthly hotel newSpapers are utilized. These tools of communication served upward, downward and lateral needs of communication. "Communication is essential to the functioning of an or- ganization. It is viewed widely as one'i-of the most im- portant processes of management."25 After a complete understanding of the basic philosophy of labor and management and attempting to establish a rapport between the two, the staff planner must then study the finer details that would influence hbmdecisions when creating staffing policy. A A detailed study of the existing union contract provides ‘25New Patterns of Mana ement, Rensis Likert McGrawbHill Book Co., Inc. (New York, Toronto, London) 1961, p“ -34.. the direction needed in order to proceed along the correct Death to payroll savings in regards to union employees. Without complete comprehension of the union contract, the EBtaff planner may find himself backtracking on a program ‘which, due to his lack of knowledge of union regulation, he thought would lead him directly to payroll savings or a higher quality of service. This situation is not only measured in time wasted but also in broken relationships which may be difficult to repair. The following example of the importance of understanding the conditions under which a staff planning program will be operating is taken from a situation that occurred in the hotel being studied. Situation: The hotel averages three noon time banquet bars a weak. Each banquet bar lasts on the average of three hours. The staff planner calls the head bartender to discuss how this situation is being handled. The head bartender explains that he has an agreement with a bartender to work these hours at the union hourly rate of 82.11 per hour. From this information, the payroll for this extra bartender would be $18.99 per week or $987.48 per year. Decision: By refusing to accept the agreement, the head bartender made with the union employee, the staff planner possibly - 35 - saved the hotel hundreds of dollars. The reasoning behind this decision was based on the understanding of the collec- tive bargaining agreement which was made between union and management. A breach in this contract would have been cause for a grievance which could result in the loss of~ time, money and good will. Being aware of the stipulation of the union contract, the staff planner quickly ascertained that what the head bar- tender suggested was a contradiction to the union-management agreement.' Under the agreement of the contract, to bring in an extra bartender, the hotel must pay $17.87 per day no matter if the bartender works one or eight hours. The average number of hours a bartender was needed for the noon- time banquet bars was three per day. If this extra bar- tender worked on the suggested basis of 32.11 per hour for one year and then decided to make a grievance against the hotel, the hotel would be obligated to make up the diff- erence in pay. This would amount to $2,787.72 per year, instead of 8987.48.- a costly 81,800.24 error. By the revision of bartender work schedules, it was poss- ible to cover an average of two noon-time banquet bars per week while maintaining the present payroll. The third noon time bar was covered by giving overtime to one of the regular bartenders. Even if overtime was paid for all noon time banquet bars, this would amount to 81,481.72 - 35 - or a savings of $1,306.50 over hiring an extra bartender. This points out the impOrtance of understanding the details of Operation that influence the decisions of establishing a sound staff planning program. Labor Markets “The efficiency of all resources in-a business is the responsibility of the people who use them, the line or- ganization. In the case of manpower, the personnel depart- ment has the specific objective of doing what it can to assist line executives in building and maintaining a work force which is as efficient as possible."26 . The labor market affecting the hotel being studied, comes mainly from a non-hotel acclimated group. The midwestern city in which this hotel is located, draws from the surr- ounding farm country area. Colleges in this city also afford personnel for some types of positions. Due to recent growth of new hotels and motels, experienced per- sonnel are at a minimum. Management positions were filled mainly by drawing from other areas in the country. Diff- iculty was experienced in obtaining experienced personnel in food preparation and the front office. Although app- lications for employment averaged twenty per day, most of these were not skilled and a high turnover of employees was experienced until a detailed orientation and training 26Management Principles and Practices, Dalton E. McFarland, MacMillan CO., (New York) 1958:2p. 380 - 37 - program was established. The familiarization with union-management philosophy and regulations and non-union labor fields necessary in estab- lishingta sound staff planning program is as necessary as it is for a doctor to first examine his patient before he attempts a cure. It is from this knowledge that the staff planner gains direction for the installation of objectives in order to make his staff planning program operational. Staff planning is'a facilitating service given to line management so that they may accomplish the objectives of the organization. Policies and procedures arexdeve- loped in order to accomplish the overall objectives. It is here that the communication between management and the staff planner must be clearly understood, for this is the corner stone in a successful staff planning program. Opjectives, Policies and Procedures A hotel is“like a tapestry. He must stand close to see the detail in design but if we are to comprehend the interwoven total meaning of purpose, we must also look from a distance where we may absorb the scope of the hotel. This overall scOpe is the objectives, policies, and procedures which make up the direction and purpose of the hotel. -38- "Objectives are goals, aims or purposes which executives, managers, and administrators wish members of their organ- izations to achieve over varying periods of time."27 The general objectives of the hotel being studied are: 1. To operate as effectively as possible in order to obtain the maximum earnings consistent with highest standards of business ethics. 2. To insure fair and equal treatment of the or- ganization's personnel, whatever their occupation, position, or operating location. 3. To provide the desired quality of ssgvice at a suitable price with minimum waste. The basic policy of the staff planning program that impl- ements the objectives of the organization is that staff planning services are-to be designed to render specialized technical advice and functional assistance to line manage- ement at all organizatiOnal levels. Line managers have the right to request, receive, or revise staff recommendations, but are held responsible for results.29 Procedures are a reflection of policy and are always sub- ordinate to policy. Procedures are often the basis for Observing any unstated policy that may exist and may some- times deviate from policy for at least a short period of 28Sheraton Corporation of America, Hotel Management Ac- tivities Policy_and Procedure, Staff Planning fl, OctoBEr 15, 1958_ 291bid. m -39.. time. The way in which the ends of staff planning are ‘ accomplished are the procedures of staff planning. These procedures are found through out this thesis as the installation Of a staff planning program is described. "Policies provide a guide as to how the objectives of a business are to be achieved. Company policies, if followed, implement company Objectives. Departmental policies imple- ment departmental objectives." 30 Marshall B. Dimock, in his book, "A philosophy of Adminis- tration Toward Creative Growth"31comments thattheephilosophy of administration is a philosophy of life. He compares administration to biology, for he states that both are 'concerned with the growth and decline of an organism, with the mutual relations between living organisms and their enviornment. Although there are many different interpre- tations of philosophy, this is part of the tapestry made‘ by management, which the staff planner must clearly vis- ualize before building his program on this foundation. From.a basic managerial policy establishedhby the hotel, objectives, policy and procedures are created that are guides for staff planning. 3°Readings in Management, Max p. Richards and William A. Nielander, South Western Publishing Co.,(Cinn., Chgo., Dallas, 1963) p. 344 31A Philoso h of Administration Toward Creative Growth, MarsEfiIl E. DImock; Harper,(New York, 1958) p.658 x . 'l'll: 1"." l. 'l‘ ‘III‘[ a (.wltlltlllil [l -40.. Architectural Influences IIEHOEEE—tEe—FIEEBPIEt§_for a new hotel may be carefully studied by the experts of the industry, there are always problems that arise after the hotel has been built, that effect the operation due to oversight, uniqueness of the Operation, or unpredictable situations which were not anticipated while the hotel was on the drawing board. The staff planner's interest in the physical structure of the building is in the efficiency of operation in relation to the physical limitations. Many times it is discovered that alterations may be needed in order to achieve an efficient, smooth flow of service and/or a payroll savings. The beauty of decor may play an important part in selling, but the staff planner must visualize the hotel in it's physical and monetary usefulness. The hotel being studied is a new building built just five months before the implementation of a staff planning prog- ram. A detailed study was necessary in order to establish a realistic picture of the areas of Operations and the labor needs influenced by the tangible structure of the hotel. Following are some examples of physical limitations that affected staffing and service: The front desk is located on the lobby level with the main entrance from the parking ramp side. Guests entering may easily see the desk and guest flow to the desk is excellent. The front desk has one entrance from the reservation office. -41.. Directly behind the front desk, but separated by a wall, is the one-position switch board. To the left Of the front desk, but separated by a chest-high partition, is a two-position cashier's cage. Two windows are for the room clerk's use and one window for mail and information. Twelve room rack carriers and stock 'card box are located between the two clerk windows. Two room rack carriages, reservation racks and information racks are located between the clerk's window and the mail and information window. Situatign There were several architectural flaws in the front office. A wall separates the front desk from the telephone operator. Communication between the telephone Operator and the front desk mainly involves messages, telephone slips for new check-ins, charges on phone calls,and some information concerning check-outs. All written communications must be hand carried, therefore leaving one of the areas un- attended. Solution The suggested solution for this problem was to install an opening in the wall, so that communications may be passed without leaving the work stations. The benefits Obtained from this suggestion would be increasing the efficiency Of service to the guests. -42- §ituation The second architectural flaw was the separating wall between the cashiers and room clerks. Maximum security was obtained in the installation of this wall: however, this also hampered the utilization of room clerks for ' relief cashiers. Solution . A work sampling study was made and on the basis of this study, it was concluded that the desk clerk had suffic- ient time to also doethe duties of relief cashier. The divider was removed, and one front office cashier was eliminated for a payroll savings of 83,603 per year. Another problem that was built into the front Office by architectural design was the divided room rack. Two floors were separated from the main area of selling, which resulted in a decrease of efficiency. This inconvenience could only be corrected by.a complete renovation of the registration area. The cost of this could not be jus- tified at this time, and so the architectural error re- mains as part of the operation. The elimination of these physical limitations resulted in increased efficiency of service with payroll savings through redesign. f The staff planner must also be aware that payroll must l: 3, -43- sometimes be increased in order to obtain the objective of the organization, while working within the limitations of the physical structure. In this case study, we find such an example in the study of the main freight elevator. Situation This hotel has only one small, approximately five feet wide and nine feet long, self-service freight elevator that goes from the sub-basement to the 19th floor. The efficient utilization of the self-operated freight . elevator posed a problem due to heavy use from all dep- artments. This one elevator had to be utilized by room service, maids, inspectresses, security housemen, engin- eers, bellmen, and food supply for luncheon in the spec- ialty bar on the 19th floor. All uniformed personnel used this elevator. As a self-operating unit, the ser- vice was greatly hindered due to misuse and the apparently, unanticipated work load. Normally a three-hundred room hotel would probably find itb needs met in one freight elevator, but when three-hundred rooms are stretched be- tween nineteen floors and unanticipated use occurs, it was found to be inadequate as a self-operating unit. In a study of it's operation, it was found that during peak periods, it was common for a person to wait over five minutes before the elevator call was answered. - 44 - Solution IfleemEIEte program of employee indoctrination in thehuse of the elevator was undertaken,but the delays still occu- red. In order to provide the desired quality of service, an elevator operator was placed on the payroll to control the flow of traffic. The result was an increase in pay- roll but a reduction in time lost by individual employees, thus obtaining the efficiency of service desired by the. hotel. Before the staff planner can gain a complete understanding of the operation hermust have full knowledge of position descriptions, defining authority. Only by knowing who is responsible for specific areas can the staff planner hope to communicate effectively as he attempts to move ahead with his staff planning program. "II. ‘III' II .. l1 Illll‘ I ‘ 1 yr i A . III" I (I .1 [‘1 Ill o" CHAPTER IV ESTABLISHING A STATISTICAL FOUNDATION The completion of a sound foundation for a staff planning program lies in the establishment of statistical records. The first step in accomplishing this end is the establish- ment of a job number control. The job number control is a list of numbers that have been assigned to jobs in each department. Each number represents a specific work sche- dule and area. The job number is the same as the employ- ee's time card number. The installation of these numbers is a joint effort involving the staff planner, controller, and department heads. The ultimate re3ponsibility of ass- igning correct job numbers lies with the department head.32 The purpose of this job number control is to create rout- ines which will result in the maintenance of a standardiz- ed history and grouping of all jobs in the hotel. It is necessary for the effective control of staffing that job titles, as used in each department, be descriptive of the work they represent. Further, and of even greater impor- tance, it is essential that the employee who has been ass- igned a particular title actually performs the work for which the title he bears is representative. Unless these 32Trends in the Hotel-Motel Business, Twenty-Eighth Annual Review, Prepared by Harris, Kerr, Forster and Company, (Chicago, 1964) " A5- -45.. basic classifications and assignment principles are foll- owed, the reliability of data processed by the payroll control office may be seriously impaired. It is forithis reason, that forms and procedures have been devised which will enable each department head to better execute his responsibility in this particular respect. Improvements in staffing or service will probably result in changes of the control list during the period of inst- allation. After installation, the changes will be noted by the utilization of a "wage and/or position change" form. An example of this is shOwn in Figure 2.. WAGE AND/OR POSITION CHANGE Approved: Mgr. Hotel Date Aud._fi ___ Employee Present Position New Position Department To Dept. Clock No. New Clock NO. Present Rate New Rate Effective Date of Change 4 Dept. Head CHANGE: CLOCK CARD EARNING RECORD CONTRACT CARD ADDGR. PLATE Fig. 2 Wage and/or Position Change Form - A7 I The department head makes this form out in duplicate. -Both copies first go to the manager for his approval. After Obtaining the required approval, the completed. forms will be forwarded to the paymaster, who is res- ponsible for verifying the information on the form, and for making the necessary changes in the payroll records. This report then goes to the comptroller who approves the form and returns the original to the paymaster and the copy to the staff planner. All records are then adjusted in order to maintain proper control of the number system. During the first few weeks after the installation of a job number system, the staff planner has an excellent opportunity for establishing the accuracy of reported hours by comparing the time cards to the actual payroll sheets while also verifying that the system is operating according to design. In this case study, many other in- fractions were highlighted through a comparison of pay- roll reports and time cards. Many times we fail in our duties because of assumptions. How often the repetitious ”I just assumed that . . . ” points to the management failure of following through on proper training or basic lines of communication. This same situation occurred in the hotel being studied. An -48... example of this was the steward department. The head steward's method of reporting his employee's time worked was to pull the time cards at the end of each day and base his report on this information. No other record was kept except what he remembered happening during the day. When he had a day off, the reporting of the hours worked was delayed until he was back on the job. The use of the time card by the head steward, besides being a contradiction to payroll control, was completely in- adequate and was costing the hotel hundreds of dollars in payroll hours not worked. The following explanation points out the complete lack of payroll control that typifies the operation before the emphasis was placed on staff planning. The time clock is located at the employee entrance to the hotel. Excellent control over the going and coming of employees has been established. After the employee checks in, he goes to the locker rooms to change into his work clothes before reporting to work. The average time for this change would be approximately fifteen min- utes. After working his shift, he spends fifteen minutes changing to his street clothes before checking out. The . steward, when checking the time cards, did not take this, or the fact that each person has half an hour lunch break, into consideration. The result was that many workers were 1 -49.. being paid for dressing and eating. Such an error al- most seems impossible. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could make such a mistake because you would ”just assume that . . . ". The assumption that department heads understand the proper payroll control systems is not a tool of payroll control. Proper methods must be clearly communicated to all con- cerned so that each department is uniform in their cont- rols. The knowledge of the correct method of operation must be shared and the word "assume" removed from a staff planner's vocabulary. This example of a lack of knowledge emphasizes the fact that fundamentals must be established before an accurate statistical foundation can be achieved. Authorization for Overtime Another basic control that-must be clearly established is the authorization for overtime. The repetitious pr- esence of overtime is an indication of a trouble area. Overtime should always be investigated in order to deter- mine it's significance in each particular instance. Some overtime is justified when staffing closely to normal requirements, but it must be watched closely to prevent abuses. The creation of an "overtime authorization" form is an essential tool in controlling excessive overtime. Idealistically, the form should be filled out in advance - 5o - and approved by the department head and management. How- ever, due to unavoidable emergencies, this is not always possible. Final approval should still be obtained through the stated channels. This is accomplished when the over- time authorization form is sent to the staff planner with the department's Daily Payroll Report. Overtime hours shown on this report must be substantiated. The staff planner presents a weekly report to management showing the number of overtime hours and the overtime cost in each job classification. An example of this Overtime Authorization is found in Figure 33 Request for Overtime Authorization Department Time Card No. Name of Employee Job Title Date Overtime Worked__ State Reason in Detail for Overtime Began Overtime WOrk at Finished Overtime at Total Overtime Hours WOrked Overtime Wage Rate per hour Total Overtime wages Signed: Date: Department Head Signed:___ Date: *7 Manager Fig. 3“ Request for Overtime Authorization - 51 - All department heads must be furnished with an ample supply of these forms. The forms are checked by the staff planner any any apparent discrepancies should be discussed immediately with the department head involved. Tight controls of overtime will generally realize an immediate payroll reduction in many departments. Con- tinuing reductions will be influenced by a conscientious follow through and correction of any deviations in the established system. Average Hourly Rate By analyzing the payroll in relation to job classifica- tions, we are able to ascertain the average hourly rate for each classification. The establishment of payroll rate factors will save the staff planner many hours when computing the estimated daily payroll. These factors are developed for each department and, where necessary, for the job groups within the departments. Fixed and semi-variable job categories may be grouped together but undivided attention should be given to the variable job groups. An excellent example of all three of these classifications can be found in the housekeeping depart- ID ment. The fixed and semi-variable classifications of house- - 52 - Ikeeping are the executive housekeeper, inspectresses, linen maids and housemen. In order to compute the pay- roll rate factor for this grOup, the staff planner ob- tains the weighted hourly rate for eacn employee and then divides the weighted hourly rate by the number of empl- oyees in the grouping. No. & Classification 8 Per Hour Group_Rate Per H93; 1 Exec. Housekeeper I 8 2.15 8 2.15 1 Asst. Housekeeper 1.59 1.59 1 Night Supervisor ' 1.37 1.37 l Inapectress 1.37 1.37 3 Linen Room Attendants 1.32 3.96 1_,Housemen 1.46 igigg 14 Total Fixed & Semi- 21.66 Weighted Aver- Variable Employees age Hourly Rate of Department 21.66 . ”I4_— — 1.547 Payroll Rate Factor This payroll rate factor is then used to figure the es- timated daily payroll for housekeeping's fixed and semi- variable job classifications by simply multiplying the total hours reported on the daily personnel report by the payroll rate factor of 1.547. - 53 - This payroll rate factor is an approximation and not the true daily payroll for these job categories. The only way to Obtain the actual daily payroll would be to figure each individual separatauy. Actual payroll is figured by the payroll department for each pay per- iod but the staff planner must have a daily approxima- tion of payroll in order to compare the daily estimated payroll with the par payroll for the General Manager's Daily Payroll Report that is further described in Chap- ter VII. The variable classifications in this department are the day and night maids. In this case study, all maids were on the same pay scale of 81.32. This, then, becomes a payroll rate factor of $1.32. The degree to which separate factors for the various job groups need be developed vary with different prop- erties and should be established in relation to the ex- perience of the prOperty. Payroll rate factors must be kept under constant review to assure that they are curr- ent at all times. When rates are scheduled to change, the new payroll rate factors must be computed in advance so that the new rates are effective. The utilization of these factors will be fully explained in Chapter VI which deals with the daily personnel reports. I‘ll A ‘ '|I|ll .' I [1‘ ‘.If v Jlla .I All!" i ((10 II.A AI (will fl. 1 . ‘ It: . 4. III!" .ll. 1.! l‘ llll‘l - 54 - Although the staff planner cannot control the fringe benefits given to the employees, it is important to understand that the actual payroll dollar is not the total cost per employee. Fringe benefits make up an all important part of payroll costs which must be con- stantly considered when analyzing the cost of labor. “The simplest method of measurement is to identify the unit characteristics in the object to be measured, and than merely to count the recurrences."33 One of the tools of the staff planner is unit measure- ment. The two major units that affect variances in vol- ume are the food covers and the rooms occupied. From these two units, we must establish an experience factor which will aid in the forecasting of future business and payroll. Rooms Department ' A _ An ana ysis of he rooms department should be based around the goal of accurately forecasting both guests and room occupancy. The basis for this study is found in the night clerk's report. 33Readin s in Hana ement“ ed. by Max D. Richards, and William I. NIelander, Fundamentals of Measurement" by Paul Kircher, South-Western Publishing 00., (Conn., Chgo., Dallas, 1963) p. 595 - 55 - From: the information that the night clerk's report re- veals, we may formulate a statistical background in ord- ar to obtain a statistic for forecasting. Figure 4 shows a suggested statistical computation sheet for the rooms department . This day by day statistical information is then trans- cribed".into individual days of the week and the figures are accrued and the statistics are revised for each day. From this information, we establish important trends that become an informable tool Of forecasting as well as an aid to past performance analysis. Once a past history has been established, this analysis sheetshould be kept daily and used in forecasting as well as investigation of past performance. (With these two forms, we are able to establish a statistical founda- tion for the rooms department.) From this information we are able to stablish the dollar sales of the rooms. The dollar sales has little to do with the variation of staff in the rooms department but the correlation to the rooms payroll percentage will naturally fluctuate with the dollar intake. This must be understood in order to recognize that the payroll percent to sales may be up although the actual payroll remains the same, due to the dictations of the staffing guides. -55.. ROOMS STATISTICS SHEET June 30 through July 6 TOTAL DAILY OF FOR SUN. MON. TUES. WED. THUR. FRI. SAT.WEEK Egg-k Rooms Occupied ‘63‘ 128’ 153 66‘ * 45 “39"38”"5§2 33 Number of Guests 82 164 191 76 62 111 111 797 114 Ratio 1.3 103 1025 103 104 106 1.6 1.3 Total Transient 52 117 138 52 31 54 55 499 77 Rooms Total Transient 744 1636 1913 762 467 791 845 7163 1023 Dollars Transient Aver- 1440 1398 1386 1466 1506 14641536 - 1329 xyage Transient Stay- 36 55 74 16 19 36 21 257 37 over Rooms % of Stayover 69.2 47.0 53.6 30.8 61.3 66.738.2 48.0 Rooms to Tran- . sient Rooms Total Reserva- 36 52 33 4O 7 8 18 187 27 tions - Cancellations a 12 12 9 14 3 _ 4 3 57 8 NO Shows %Of Can.& No- 33.3 23.1 27.3 35.0 42.9. 50.016.7 30.0 Shows to Res- ‘ ervations Average Pickup 7 41 59 55 7 ' 28 2 199 28 (A holiday week - July 4, 1963) Fig. 4 Rooms statistics sheet. - 57 - An insight into how the payroll percent to sales may fluctuate while the actual payroll remains the same is found in the following example: The dollar average per room is $15.00 on one set day with 75 check-ins and 75 check-outs. The next day, the room average is 814.00 per room with the same num- ber of check-ins and check-outs. The rooms payroll percentage of sales would naturally be higher on the second day if, as it should be, the staffing for both days is the same. The following fluctuation of thee rooms payroll percentage to sales would occur if the rooms dollar payroll was $400 and the occupied rooms were 100 per day. First Day $15.00 Average Per Room x 100 Room Occupancies $1,500 Rooms Sales 1,283 figgfig §:{:§11 x 100% = 27% Rooms payroll to Sales Second Day $14.00 Average Per Room x 100 Room Occupancies 81,400 Rooms Sales %TT%%% £333: gziggll x 100% = 29% Rooms payroll to Sales -53.. These figures show that the fluctuations of payroll percentage to sales does not necessarily mean that there has been a lag in the adjusting of manpower. This points out that the staff planner must be unit orientated. Payroll percentages areas guide which indicate that cer- tain areas should be investigated in regards to staffing by units. The same direction is taken for all the opera- ting departments of the hotel. Food Department The food department payroll is also based on unit output. The number of covers served correspond with the number of employees needed to supply, prepare, serve, clean and re- set. The same holds true for beverage service, although variations in this department are not as great. In order to establish a statistical foundation for the food department, we must obtain a breakdown of covers served per meal period per area. (Figure 5 shows the method utilized in this study to obtain a past history of covers served.) A special form was devised in order to maintain a day by day account of covers served in relation to the guest occupancy. Business fluctuates by the day Of the week and complete statistics for a specific day of the week are kept together in one clas- sification. The ultimate goal is to achieve a ratio which may be used as a tool for forecasting future business. - 59 - There are many factors that influence the variation from the norm which can be established by this statistical study and therefore, it is imperative that these figures are used only as a guide and not as a standard. The reas- Oning for this line of thought is that there are influences that must be considered with past statistics if an accu- rate forecast is to be achieve. An example of this is:' Our past history indicated that the main dining room usually will serve 70% of the hotel room guests. A con- vention of 200 people is staying at the hotel andan organ- ized breakfast is planned. Taking this influence into consideration, the normal ratio to guest occupancy must be adapted to meet the situation. Therefore, it is im- perative to recognize the factors that influence the variances of our statistics if we are to achieve an accu- rate forecasting of man hours. Minor Operetipngepartments Statistics for minor operating departments are deter- mined by unit count, which is the same manner as the rooms, food and beverage departments. The check room, for instance, would utilize the cover count for fore- casting and yet maintain angindividual record of gar- ments received for checking. The man hours of work in this department are determined by the number of garments OUTLET Counter Service Main Dining Room Specialty R0 on Club Room Service MEAL Brkfst. Lunch Dinner Brkfst. Lunch Dinner Lunch Dinner Lunch Dinner Brkfst. Lunch Dinner -60.. COVERS 3.403 3.297 1.915 3,513 6,427 5,252 5.502 6,613 525 632 2.510 1.531 1,686 RATIO TO GUEST ROOMS GUESTS OCCUPANCY 6,589 8.751 38.7% 37.7% 21.9% 40. 1% 73.6% 60.0% 63.8% 75.6% 6.0 as": 28.5% 17.5% 19.3% Fig. 5' Food Cover Analysis Sheet, September, 1963 AVERAGE 211225... NH!" UH UM UPI-4 O O ‘ Os Ul-F' com Ohk‘O -61.. which will be handled. The garage is staffed according to the number of cars that will be handled. And so, the same formula is used throughout all operating departments. The important fact that must be highlighted for all oper- ating departments is that a statistical breakdown of units must be obtained in order to determine prOper staffing. Non-Operating,Departmentg Non-operating departments offer a different measurement. Here we are dealing with fixed and semi-variable personn- el and the work load does not have the variation found in the operating departments. Obtaining a statistical background in these departments entails a complete under- standing of the work load for each individual job listing. We must determine the need and justification for each position by obtaining a knowledge of the amount of work to be done. An example of this is that in some smaller prOperties, a chief engineer, and one or two utility men would be the complete staff of heat, light, and power and the repair and maintenance departments. The statistical background that must be obtained in this situation is the number of public and guest rooms in the hotel, types of machinery, the condition of equipment, and the general condition of the physical property. Once this need is determined, we staff according to the need and these semi- variable or fixed positions would vary only after a study R ' - O2 - to determine changes in conditions that influence the particular department. The same holds true for other non- operating departments. First, we study the needs and then staff accordingly to accomplish the needs of the hotel. Monthly re-evaluation of each department's output of work gives justification of the man hours used or indicates that adjustments should be made. The main difference in staffing operating and non-operating departments is in the time ele- ment of fluctuations. Operating departments are geared to adjust immediately to the fluctuations of business in order to avoid any lag in manpower. The non-operating depart- ments are bas1ca11y established on business averages or man hours needed to maintain set standards. The exception of this rule is mainly found in the administrative and general department where cashier man hours are influenced by daily business trends. EQQd and Beverage Payroll Allocations In order to obtain an estimated allocation of payroll dollars to food and beverage, we must establish percen- tage averages based on a study of the hotel's past his- tory. An example of this is a typical payroll from the main dining room. Both food and beverage are served in this area by one staff. Therefore, it is imperative that a knowledge of what proportion food and beverage is being served in order to allocate the payroll properly. This could be done daily by utilizing the dollar sales figures T I I. [III {II \(ll I. .’|II1 II [I I] .‘l , .l .y‘ll IIIIIIII ‘I All! - 63 - from restaurant audit. If, on a Specific day, we sold 81,000 of food and $300 in beverages,the payroll percent- age allocations would be calculated On the total sales of 81,300. The division of the total sales into the food sales would then give us a percentage allocation for the food payroll. 1,000 Food and Beverage Total Sales 1,300 Food Sales = 76-9% Food Sales to Total Sales This allocation of the total payroll to the food payroll is an estimate used in the hotel being studied. Due to the variance in.sales, it would be difficult to divide the payrolls in accordance to the actual time Spent in food and beverage. The percentage allocations proved to be a rapid method of calculating payroll allocations in restaurants serving both foods and beverages. If the total payroll for the main dining room was 8400 for the same day, the actual food payroll would be cal- culated by multiplying 8400 times 76.9%. $400.00 Total Main Dining Room Payroll x 76.25 Food Sales to Total Sales 307. 0 Total Food Payroll for Day 'The beverage payroll for the day would then be figured by subtracting the food payroll from the total payroll. 8400.00 Total Food and Beverage Payroll - 0 .60 Food Payroll 3 92.40 Total Beverage Payroll for Day -64... This would give the staff planner a very accurate re- . cord of day to day payroll distributions. In some opera- tions, where there is only one outlet involved, this may be practiced, but in this case study, allocations were made for the main dining room, the Specialty room, the private club, banquets, room service, main bar, where 'lunch is served, and the stewards department. The time element involved in daily calculations Of percentage a110- cations was prohibitive if the staff planner was to accom- plish. progress in the areas of reSponsibility. Average percentage allocations were established by a statistical analysis of past performance. These averages were subject to revision each month on the basis of the past month's performance and the next month's forecast. By establishe ing this statistical record, all the regular outlets main- tained a close correlation of food to beverage. The banquet department usually needed slight variation in re- lation to the forecast of business. In this case study, monthly percentage allocations of food and beverage payroll were used effectively as a daily guide.y Due to a careful analysis of past history, inten- sive study of future busineSs, and periodical reeevaluaticns, the degree of accuracy was within .5% of actual end of the month allocations. I‘ll; [\III'III.II|I |' {J ‘| l.l||-‘.1lll I‘l‘fi". ill 1|“ : -55.. This degree of accuracy was arrived at by taking the actual food and beverage sales dollars for the end of each month and calculating payroll allocations for the restaurants serving both food and beverage on the basis of a ratio of food sales to the total sales dollars. A statistical foundation for staff planning involves a continuing study and re-evaluation of past performance. 'The creation of new outlets for sales, payroll increases, seasonal fluctuations and changes in types of service are but a few of the factors that must be considered if past statistics are to be utilized effectively. In Chapter V, the utilization of the statistical foundation will be clearly established as forecasting of workload and payroll is discussed. i [{sf.l\[||’u;'lllv "E‘IIIII‘ ‘ ‘ . 1'2 I ..‘I ll ‘l’lfi.’ CHAPTER v FORECASTING WORKLOAD AND PAYROLL "The purpose of volume forecasting is to obtain accurate estimates of workloads to which work performance standards may be applied, and to furnish the operating department heads with information which will help them staff accord- ing to anticipated volume."3h The basic informatidn needed in order to make reasonably accurate forecasts is found in Chapter IV where the es- tablishing of a statistical foundation was discussed. Forecasting is taking on increasing importance as manage- ment begins to realize that this is not Just a guessing game, but rather a careful calculation of future business trends based on a statistical analysis of past performance .and a calculation of future events and conditions. A sound statistical foundation is but a guide in forecasting and will be influenced by weather, local events, national events, general economic conditions and a multitude of other factors. Some of the factors may be foreseen and some may not. "It is not possible to find historical patterns sufficiently repetitive or to discover relationships between the economic 3§The Payroll Pre-Control System, Ralph L. Berg, Project Director, Management Advisory Services, Harris, Kerr, Forster and Company, (Chicago) -67- variables sufficiently reliable to enable us to forecast even the near economic future with consistent success."35 It is the unforseen situations that destroy the accuracy of forecasting. Sometimes these situations could have been forecasted if a more detailed study of coming events had been undertaken. An example of an unforseen influence was the tragic assination of President Kennedy. In this case study, a forecast of capacity rooms, food and beverage business was expected. Upon hearing of the assination, all events were cancelled and a forecasted capacity house became an empty house. The previous forecasts were quickly and drastically revised downward due to the profound in- fluence this event had on an entire nation. This is an extreme example, but it clearly points out that the anti- cipation of future business must take into consideration national as well as local situations.‘ The utilization of a statistical foundation serves only as a guide in the forecasting of future business volume. "But the firm's sales forecast cannot be made without some estimate of what the industry is going to do. And the industry's sales forecast in turn depends in large measure 35Business Cycles, James Arthur Estey, Ph.D., Prof. of Economics, Purdue University, Third Edition, Prentice- Hall, Inc. (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.) p.321 (i941) |.rljl.c‘ul lil.‘lll.i|c,'l"1t. ll illl‘fl'lfl‘ \ v - 53 - on the predicted level of activity in the economy as a whole.”36 ‘ Forecasting is a combination of a detailed science, common sense and good Judgment. Robert R. Roy, in his book, "The Administrative Process" states that "Forecasting is an act, predicting quantitive terms for administrative . purpose."37No matter what definition is given to define forecasting in the hotel industry, each definition in- dicates that the question, "What volume of business will we have tomorrow, next week, nextwmonth?" muSt be answered. The staffing of the entire hotel is guided by and dependent upon the forecasting information. The role of the staff planner in the act of forecasting is that of coordinator, advisor, analyst, and contributor to workload forecasts. The staff planner does not provide direction in forecasting, but rather contributes analysis and recommendations for line management decision. It is his main concern to temper the workload forecast to the staffing guide. In this investigation, a type of volume forecasting was 36$dibntific DdciEIOfi Making_1fi Business, Abe Shuchman, Holt, Rinehard and Winston, Inc. TNew York, 1963) p.540 37The Administrative Process, Robert H. Roy, John Hepkins Press Ba timore, 195 .- 69- developed before a staff planning program was put into effect. Knowledge of staffing guides in relation to forecasting did not exist and therefore, the ccntrOl of staffing was given to each department head. Four months after the installation of a staff planning program, the tctal hotel payroll had decreased from $470, 500 for the four preceding months to $459,000 for the four months after the installation of a staff planning program. During the second four months, sales increased $13,000 over the preceding four months. Staffing according to the performance standards and to volume forecasting was the main reason why the hotel was able to recognize this 811,500 payroll difference in a four month period of time. Due to different forecasting of workloads in relation to the fore- casted volume, it was possible to serve more people with fewer employees. It is important when discussing forecasting that both volume and workload be understood. Workload cannot be forecasted without first forecasting volume, and volume forecasting loses it's value unless it is used in the forecasting of workload. There must be both guides that direct and control and feedback in forecasting if accuracy is to be obtained. Control in forecasting is dictated by our statistical foundation and limitations established by' -70 .- our staffing guides. The feedback is a study of past performance in forecasting volume and workload, and the adjustment of percentages in order to obtain greater accu- racy. A forecasting system provides for better and more 1ntelli+* gem planning and better business decisions. This, in turn, leads to more profit and less economic waste by maintaining an even level or increased level of production, less food and labor waste and more satisfied customers. If the fore- cast is accurate and the planning in relation to the fore- cast is followed through, then there is a direct and posi- tive influence on the cost of labor, cost of goods sold, other expenses and increasing sales. In other words, accu- rate forecasting and proper planning will have a positive effect on all the factors that make up the operational, profits of the hotel. The non-operating departments are also influenced to some degree and so the hotel's complete profit picture has a direct correlation to forecasting. "The man who undertakes a business venture is confronted with two different tasks as he attempts to portray the future. The first task is that of gathering pertinent data, and the second task is that of formulating a sound - 71 - decision as to his future course of action."38 Forecasting factors are developed from past experience and are used in correlation with the staffing guides to forecast workload units. This makes it possible to deter- mine in advance the number of work hours required to pro- vide the quality of service desired at the expected volume of business. The primary variable in workload forecasting is the number of rooms to be occupied. A rooms occupancy forecast is created by taking the number of booked reservations and adding the expected increase in reservations and the number of peOple that will come in on the day being forecasted (without a reservation), and subtracting the estimated no shows. An analysis of past experience under similar conditions in Chapter IV, provides the basis for a reason- ably accurate estimate of these portions of total room occu- pancy forecast. The minor operating departments of the hotel being studied include the telephone department, valet, garage, skating rink or pool, and rents and other income departments. These, along with the non-operating department of heat, 38Business Management, Lyman A. Keith, Carlo E. Gubellini, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. (New York, Toronto, London, 1958) p. 23 -712- light and power, repair and maintenance, sales, public relations, and administrative, and general, are all affect- ed to some degree by the rooms forecast. Staffing of the minor operating departments have greater fluctuations in relation to rooms occupied due to the fact that many of the Job categories in this classification are variable or semi- variable. The non-operating departments are composed mainly of fixed positions. The semi-variables of non- operating departments are influenced more by long term fore- casting than daily fluctuations. Food and beverage volume in regular outlets will vary with the rooms occupied in the hotel. A detailed analysis of previous food and beverage business, as shown in Figure 5, (page 60), is necessary in order to arrive at valid work- load forecasting factors. These forecasting factors should be under constant screening and possibly revised when they differ greatly from the actual workload over an extended period of time. Revised factors must be watched carefully to determine their validity. It may be that the original factors were valid, but the period concerned was an abnor- mal one that is not representative. Forecasting is a group responsibility and not that of a Single individual. The chairman of the forecasting comm- - 73 - ittee is the manager or a representative appointed by the manager. This committee should be composed of the front office manager, the food and beverage manager, the food and beverage controller, the sales manager, catering manager, managers of the food and beverage outlets, and the staff planner. The auditor is included in.the monthly and yearly forecasts but does not usually participate in the weekly and daily forecasts. Auditor participation is the option of the manager. Thefront office manager provides the figures and assem- bles the preliminary room volume forecast. It is from this prime variable that a basis is found for forecasting volume in the majority of the hotel's departments. The main exception is the banquet department. The volume of this department is dictated by business obtained and this, in turn, also becomes an influence on other food and bev- erage outlets. An example of this is if a convention, making up 50% of the total guests of the hotel, had a break- fast scheduled, then the number of people normally expec- ted tc have breakfast in the regular outlets would be reduced proportionally. This points out the interwoven influences that each department has on the other. For this reason, volume forecasting must be a group responsibility and not that of any single individual. a) - 74 - The weekly and the revised three day forecast are the two main tools for anticipating the near future business. The rooms volume forecast initiates the beginning of the forecast study. ’When preparing for the weekly forecast, a set time must be established when the front office man~ ager must present his rooms forecast to the staff planner. In this case study, it is required that these statistics be given to the staff planner by 11:00 A.M., wednesday. The catering manager makes up the banquet food cover fore- cast in the form of a complete function listing for the coming week, which is also required at this time. Copies of these two forecasts are then distributed to the other members of the forecasting committee so that they may have a chance to analyze and establish a rough forecast for their departments. The weekly forecast meetings of the hotel being studied are held on Thursday morning at 6:00 A.M., at which time the combined and informed Judgment of the committee membership evaluates the estimates of each department. The weekly forecast is from Sunday through Saturday. So that two meetings are not held, a three day revised forecast is also made for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after the weekly forecasting meeting. An example of a forecasting worksheet is found in Figure 6. The forecasting meeting begins with a review of the past . {a II. lll‘ll'. 1‘ .III| l '1' - 75 - Original ( ) WEEKLY FORECAST WORKSHEET For Week Ending: Revised ( ) ROOM OCCUPANCY: (Use Prior Night Total for Housekeeping:) # Rooms % er. RE AST c e oms ccu anc es va 3 FOOD COVER FORECAST: Breakfast Lunch Dinner T L Breakfast Lunch Dinner 0 Lunch Dinner AL Breakfast Lunch Dinner TA Lunch Dinner :MDAVOI7N53 Breakfast Lunch Dinner Specials L Fig. 6 weekly forecast worksheet it'll-I} ll {1.. .II‘)‘. Ill'c.': - 75 - week's performance in relation to the weekly and revised forecasts. This gives an indication of the degree of accuracy as well as unexpected trends. From this anal- ysis, the forecasting committee gains insight in relation to the influences that create fluctuation. Errors in Judgment are discussed and continuing influences are iden- tified L for consideration of the next week's forecast. An example of this forecasting analysis is found in Figure'f. "It may be assumed that any forecast of future conditions contains an error. This is inevitable. What is important, however, is the magnitude and direction of the error. In some cases it is possible to determine the probably margin of error. At other times, this is not possibie.t39 The record of the degree of accuracy of the forecast stat- istics as compared to the actual results is kept by the staff planner. Every effort should be made to refine the forecasting procedure to assure a minimum of 95% accuracy.40 During the second month of re-organization of the forecasting program of the hotel being studied, the sales increased 827,4A2 in relation to an increase in payroll of 8184. During the third month, the sales increased again, yet the payroll dollars decreased from the previous month. An imp- 39Fgrecasting for Profit, Wilson Wright, John Wiley & Sons Inc. (N.Y.)rChapman & Hall Ltd., (London) (1947) p.13 40Trends in the_Bote1-Motel Business, Twenty Eighth Annual Review, Prepared by Harris, Kerr, Forster & Co. (Chgo., 196A) .. 77 .- *JVJ.I..‘ ; .5....1 ‘kb - elm H ’L1-J-d.‘-' L ov-fisv-vr-Pir An ‘W‘A'fi‘f'fl " fly" :‘C X'Vfifil mp1 ”as.“ f'wr-wvn-r 0"“V‘m ...:.‘.'..'..l.'l wk; -1 .‘..t.Lu ’..'. U: 7‘]_- i . ./ .J O 71.“...4. \,.,. ... Under 2 O (90 W VI 1 r; L T‘r‘ a ‘1 Kr: v.11 1 I ROOM SERVICE: Prcakfast ,uno. :111r717 ‘7' £8 .' .4 ‘t 1' 7""T’ “fine: 0"; \IL‘ 1- -‘J—le flVUJ'l: 3133an (181'; itch 1" 4.. Y1" Al U J, .‘l J CIECIanY ROCK: Innich 111‘: C l“ A 7L '4 COUNTER S} ERVIC j‘lCE‘k f-fi it _ LluliCu Lat-Cr mt ..\.'-g. [l T7777 0.4 «no : Tunch -Lnncr (“A -\a.' I V \ . 0%“n‘revm r 7"?) t 1 must: 'J- .. . TOTAT TI"I?G ROCYS’ 1" II V'n77“m gov]??? o v THE ‘rhnn. ._lL‘. 'J 0 MXIS 6' C Fig.’7 Weekly Comparison of Forecast & Actual Sheet ? .J. -73- ortant factor influencing this decrease was the esta- blishing of an accurate forecasting procedure and the utilization of the staffing guides to staff according to forecast. A 100% accurate forecast, or any forecast, means nothing unless it is adapted correctly in relation to staffing and the review of inadequate staffing is ' analyzed and corrected in order to obtain a higher de- gree of efficiency. After a discussion of the past week's forecasted volume in relation to the actual volume, the forecasting commit- tee then concentrates on the coming forecast. This is accomplished by a day to day analysis of the house in relation to the external and internal influences of that particular day. First, the front office manager states the anticipated number of rooms there will be occupied on that morning and the number of rooms occup- ied in the evening. The catering manager then states the functions for the day and explains any correspond- I ing relationship of the functions to the guests in the hotel. Outside functions that have potential regular outlets in the food and beverage business are also dis- cussed in order to adapt the forecasts to the influences of outside business. A quick review of the possible internal and external influences for the coming week ‘uJ’ - 79 - is then presented and with these factors in mind, the departmental forecast begins. The basic forecasting aid for each department come from an analysis of the statistical foundations. Each depart- ment head involved in forecasting must have a knowledge of the number of work units involved in relation to the number of guest rooms occupied. An example of the es- tablishing of such forecasting factors is found in Figure 5 where the forecasting factors for the food out- lets have been analyzed. The basis for the statistics of these factors are found in the financial statement. Simple division of the number of covers served or units of work in a particular outlet divided by the number of rooms occupied gives the ratio of covers served to guest occupancy for that depart- ment. Figure 5 shows a one month period. Accumulated monthly statistics should be established in order to ob- , tain an overall factor for each room. The historical ratios obtained from the food cover anal- ysis sheet will usually establish a pattern when analyzed over a four or five month period. .These historical ratios ‘ can then be utilized as a guide to the forecasting of -80... covers after the guest forecast has been completed. In this case study, it was noted that there were seas- onal variations and therefore, a comparison of monthly factors gave greater accuracy to the forecasting. The staff planner should maintain a constant check on forecasting trends and keep the forecasting factors up to date. The continued use of invalid forecasting fac- tors can destroy any advantages and savings that other- wise accrue to the hotel through the use of staff planning procedures. A day by day analysis of future business is accomplished by reviewing the trend of business, special events, and conditions in the hotel and in the city, and an analysis of past forecasting. The ultimate obJective is to bring the forecast closer to the actual. After the committee agrees on the forecast, and it is‘ approved by the manager, the staff planner immediately arranges for the preparation and distribution of copies of the forecast to all departments concerned. Q The weekly and the three day forecast are given immediate -81.. concern by the hotel staff and affect the immediate staffing of the operating departments. The three months forecast is the responsibility of the manager, who usually delegates this duty to the auditor. The staff planner should be familar with this system of forecasting so that - he may compute and furnish payroll data based on workload! 'estimates, provide any assistance requested, andddevelop methods for accomplishing this responsibility when re- quested to do so by management.' Basically, the same con- siderations that have been discussed in the weekly and three day forecast are also considerations or the three month forecast. The basic difference is that an actual operat- ing budget is created by the auditor. This gives detailed profit picture of the total operation. After agreement on the workload and revenue forecast, the auditor prepares the forecast of eXpenses. At this point, the staff planner. forecasts all salary and wage expenses, basing his computa- tions on the approved workload and revenue forecast, staf- fing guides, payroll rate factors, and any other known payroll facts affecting the month concerned. The auditor then prepares the three month forecast and presents it to the manager for approval. Once the manager has approved the forecast, it is distributed to the depart- ments concerned, in the form of a breakdown of the fore- -82.. casted workload by the weeks of the month and detailed to the degree that is considered necessary for the opera- tion. This provides the department heads with a basis for planning work and personnel for the weeks of the month. In this investigation, it was found that the weekly and three day forecast mainly influenced the variable staff, due to the fact that the variable staff is more adapt- able to short term change in schedules. Savings in the semi-variable and fixed staff wereucreated through a meticulous study of the three months forecast. In other A words, near future forecasts produce greater savings in the variable Job categories while far future fore- casts gave insight into the reduction of semi-variable and fixed staff. "Forecasts may be said to represent the best 'guessti- mate' of a situation that can be made at the time of preparation. And, even though forecasts can never be as accurate as a watch, they represent assumptions which are prerequisite to good budgeting."41 Forecasting must be correlated with staffing guides in order to obtain peak efficiency. Chapter VI explains 41Readings in Management, Max D. Richards & William A. Nielgfider, South-Western Publishing Co. (Cinn. 1963) Do 3 - a3 - this correlation and the control used in order to assure that staffing guides are being followed. {.imlliqill III! l (i .{r I if I i ( 'I {I .( I III .I. 5' 1 CHAPTER VI ESTABLISHING STAFFING GUIDES The basic tool in the installation of a staff planning system is the establishment of valid staffing guides for all elements of the hotel organization. In order to accomplish this end, the staff planner must have a full understanding of the entire operation. Knowledge of the organization, requirements of labor contracts, current personnel policies, survey material and reports, records, Job designations, work schedules, equipment and it's capabilities, peak workload periods, room rates, type of service furnished and type of clientele are all a part of this overall understanding which must be gained before effective staffing guides can be created. Gaining a complete understanding of the operation should be done in a scientific manner. The study and implemen- tation of operations research would be a great value to the staff planner. "The application of the scientific attitude and the ass- ociated techniques to the study of operations, whether business, governmental, or military, is what is meant by operations research." 42 The four basic concepts of fundamental importance to the A2Readings in Management,ed by Max A. Richards & William A. Nielanoer, South-Western Publishing Co.,(Cinn., Chgo., Dallas, 1963)"Operations Research for Management" by Cyril O. Herrmann and John F. Magee, p. 2oz ~ - 84 - -85- practice of operational research are: a. the model b. the measure of effectiveness - c. the necessity for decision d. the role of experimentation Although the theory of operational research was not con- sciously used in this investigation, the following are some correlations with the basic concepts of operations research: a. The model - The model in the staff planning program - is an accountinggmodel. This is simple a hy- pothetical profit and loss statement, based on ideal performance. Allocations of payroll dollars to all departments are made in relation to the sales dollar. Staffing guides are utilized as a model for indicating the number of hours of labor necessary to service a known or forecasted volume of business. "The model is a maJor goal of the operations reasearch analyst. In one sense, the construction of the model, or faithful representation of the operation, is the scientist's primary Job. In doing it he develops a theory to explain the observed characteristics of the operation.“43 b. The measure of effectiveness - The measure of effectiveness is related to the concept of the model or theory of operation. It is through this measurement that the attaining of the goals can be determined. The staff planning program being studied utiliz- es the accounting method to measure effective- ness by comparing the costs of labor to the model costs and by using the staffing guides to 43Readings in Management, ed. by Max. A. Richards & William A. Nielander, South-Western Publishing 00., (Conn., Chgo., Dallas, 1963) "Operations Research for ganagement" by Cyril C. Herrmann & John F. Magee, p. 2 2 C. -86.. determine any hourly variances. The necessity for decision - TAn essential element in all true operations research problems is the existence of alternative courses of action with a choice to be made among them; otherwise the study of an operation becomes academic or theoretica1"4A d. The staff planner could take several courses gof action when an unfavorable comparison with the model arises. There are many decisions the staff planner could make. Maybe he would in- crease training, re—evaluate Job positions or eliminate a position. This would vary with the finding in relation to the measurement of effect- iveness. The obJective of operations research is to clarify the relation between the several courses of action, determine their outcomes, and indicate what measures up best in terms of comp- any goals. Yet the ultimate responsibility of making the decision lies with the staff planner. Role of experimentation - "Operational research is the application of experimental science to the study of operations. The theory or model, is generally built up from observed data or experience, although in some cases the model development may depend heavily on external or a priori information. In either event, the theory describing the operation must always be verifiable experimentally.”45 There are two kinds of experiments that are im- portant in this connection. The first is de- signed simply to get information and the second is a.critica1 type designed to test the validity of conclusions. 4" Readings in Management, ed. by Max A. Richards 8: William A. Nielander,_South-Western Publishing 00., (Conn., Chgo., Dallas, 1963) "Operations Research for Management" by Cyril C. Herrmann & John F. Magee, 45 Ibid. ' - 37 - Gathering of information in the staffxplane ning program is accomplished by the use of daily personnel reports received from each department. These reports are then used to evaluate the effectiveness of that particular day's staffing. These reports were also used to verify the validity of any experimentation in relation to the changes of staffing or prod- uction standards. Operational research was not consciously practiced in the staff planning program being investigated. Although there are correlations between operational research and the installation of the staff planning program, the A author feels that more emphasis sould have been placed , on the establishment of a sound operational research program. §taffing Guides Staffing guides are an accumulation of production stan- dards which indicate the number of hours of labor necess- ary to service a known or forecasted volume of business. The main purpose of the staffing guide is to provide management with a model to assist in planning and con- trolling labor requirements on a day to day basis. Determining production standards involves a complete study of each Job classification in relation to proper planning or work scheduling, work methods, equipment, layout, supervision and employee qualification. -88.. The ultimate goaliof this investigation is to obtain the maximum efficiency of the Job being studied. Sometimgs a detailed work method study is needed in order to deter- mine maximum efficiency and at all times, the understand- ing of the basic principles of work methods are utilized. Ralph Barnes, in his book, "Work Methods Manual", states that ”The first step in developing a better and easier work method is to get an accurate picture of the present method."46 The importance of this statement lies in it's- fundamental teaching of beginning with a complete under- standing of what is in existence. Parallel to the present method, a model method should be established in regard to the needs that must be filled. The staff planner will find that Rudyard Kipling's "Six honest men", which he names as Why, What, When, Where, How, and Who, are prob- ably the most important "employees" in the hotel. The best facet of these "men' is that instead of pay and fringe benefits, all they ask is attention. The effective- ness of a work method study may be the result of complex and detailed process charts and flow diagrams study or or simple asking why; a specific thing is done. Better methods of operation are accomplished through eliminating all un- .46 Work Methods Manual, Ralph M. Barnes, Prof. of Industrial Engineering and Director of Personnel, College of Engineer- ing, University of Iowa, John Wiley and Sons Inc., Chapman & Hall, Ltd., (London, New York,l 194£)p -69- laecessary work, combining operations and elements, chan- ging the sequence of operations and simplifying the nec- essary operations. This may be accomplished by simply :moving a chair or table or it may be a complex change that requires the re-designing of an entire area and the installation of new machinery. An example of utilizing the basic principle of work met- hods occurred in the hotel being studied. All supplies coming into the hotel were received by a full time receiving clerk. In evaluating the situation, it was decided that the food and beverage department could dele- gate the receiving to the food store room clerk and that all other articles could be received by the timekeeper. Simply, by asking What, Why and Who, a savings of 84,300 per year was recognized. This accomplished the goals of work simplification explained by H. s. Hall. "Work sim- plification, or methods improvement, is a general term describing systematic attempts to discover the most econ- omical, or a more economical, way of performing work. It is the procedure by which a company identified and elim- inates uneconomical use of time, equipment, materials, space, or human effort." 47 47 Putting Work Simplification to Work, Hall, H. 3., Urbana Illinois, University of Illinois, Business management Service Bulletin No. 605 - 90 - There are times when the staff planner must utilize a detailed work analysis including process charts and flow diagrams. "The flow process chart is nothing more or less than a means of describing, detail by detail, the way a given bit of work is performed from it's inception to it's end." 48 In order further to explore this operation graphically, a flow diagram can be prepared, roughly to scale. This is simply a floor plan of the route over which the telephone slip travels. A simple example of the use of process charts and flow diagrams is shown in the following situation: Situation , Complaints were received from guests that there had been delays in their incoming telephone cells because the tele- phone operator did not have them listed on the telephone rack. Investigation A wall separates the front desk from the telephone oper- ator. Telephone slips for new check-ins originate at the front desk and it is the responsibility of the clerk to deliverfthem to the telephone operator. A process 43 _I___mproving Individual Productivit , John D. Staley a: Irving A. Delloff, American Management Association, 1 Inc. 963) p. 115,1515 Broadway, Times Square, New York 36, N. Y. , ' - 91 - chart, figure 8 ,of the present operation indicated that the guest's telephone slip went through three operations, eighteen minutes of delays, and had to be transported thir- ty feet before the cycle was complete. The delays exper- ienced were based on the average obtained from ten obser- vations at each delay area. The flow diagram, figure 9 , points out where the operations, delays, and transportation took place. Solution . By studying the flow diagram, it was discovered that if an opening was cut into the wall directly behind the front desk clerk, telephone information slips could be handed through the opening to the telephone operator. This improvement would then change the process chart, figure 10, to three operations, eight minutes of delay, and three feet for transfer. The flow diagram, figure 11, shows the new floor plan of the route over which the telephone slip travels. There were many more situations in the hotel where savings were recognized by a knOWledge of work method study. Some like the example Just stated, required little more than common sense, and others required a deeper knowledge of the principles of work methods study. The important thing for a staff planner to realize is that in one way or another, the study of work methods will play an imp- TRMEL TIME. w an FEET MIN ME': Rm Mdudts‘m spunk Folio waived team. Masked 3319's. \umii Thumpcnin). *0 When 39min Wham alptxubaliul timmni Plated Ina weaken Nick timed nail txussdk Audie. 0.1 0 ~ Operation Summary: Feet travelled - 30 E) .- Delay Time and minutes - 2O 0 "' Transportation Storage Fig. 8 Process chart - present method. - 93 - Total distance moved: 60 feet .8 III... «£5.qu Tlllllywua p22» 2. 335$ massage... Om Jacmam T 4.34me «39343... o._.ll a t Viflwnvbh‘nzwn Fig. 9 Flow diagram, present method. . [i] Il.‘(|’|| III“! I, -94.. Taiwan. Time I“ w reef minutes Rm M tklths be equal ES ‘Qohdc.Conflinxtaq‘thfiuqk Tfiapkm $33.» is lucid 6 T nmspaladte Mathew. spin-An 3 Checklist. shakelsliea‘ plummet Eldest) hxtahahhm MAR ht mad MA and shacks out (:) “ Operation Summary: V D - D 1 Feet travelled .. 6 6 ay Time and minutes - 8« U .. Transportation V. .. Storage Fig. 10 Process chart, proposed method. - 95 - Total distance moved: 6 feet ' .J .1 I '3 2 t9 Z A )l . P é—TO «ERR—$2 2 —Tc OPTRMcR-z-y 3' 3% LL 21<> 3' | Fig. 11 Flow diagram, proposed method. - 95 - ortant part of daily decisions, involving payroll savings or increased efficiency of service. Another consideration that must be given attention in order to acnieve maximum efficiency is that of human en- gineering. Human engineering deals with fitting the Job to the man in areas where the Job makes most employees extremely dissatisfied. Proper placement is not the entire answer but does play an important part in human engineering. In order to remedy the decreasing satis- faction and productivity associated with repetitive Jobs the staff planner should consider fitting the man to the machine, fitting the machine to the man and fitting the Job to the man. "Psychologists are attempting to fit the.machine to the man by using the principles of psychological mechanics. They select the best type of equipment diaplay (warning, working, or informative) for the particular machine and design the best dials, counters, and scales for it. At the operating end of the machine, they select the best type of equipment controls (contact, selector, or adJust- ment) and make them realistic and distinguishable. The obJective of their activities is to create machines that men can run with more satisfaction and efficiency."49 49Ps cholo of Industrial Behavior, Henry Clay Smith, Mcéraw-HiII Book 50., Inc.(New York, Toronto, London, 1955) p.183 - 97 - Fitting the entire Job to the man includes varying the work pace, reducing surface-attention requirements, creating sub-goals, rotating Jobs, and enlarging Jobs. These many applications imply? that the worker's Job is only one unit in a human organization which itself may require change in order to produce more efficiently. In the hotel being studied, the dishwashing area is one example where human engineering is needed. Attempts were made to choose workers for this area who were intellectually suited for repetitious work, and in this way, partially accomplish the requirement of fitting the man to the machine. Another influence of productivity is the number of sub- ordinates reporting directly to an executive. This is called a span of control. The principle of the span of control is that the larger the number reporting to an executive, the more difficult it is to supervise and coordinate them efficiently. The number of persons who can be effectively supervised is a function of the ability of the supervising executive and of the persons being. supervised. - 93 - "In addition to numbers, two other variables are involved in this principle. The first is the capacity of the higher executive to do his work; the second is the capacities of the executives supervised.” 50 There are two main organizational structures involved in the Span of control. These are the flat and the pyramid organizations. 51 In the hotel being studied, the pyramid type organization was utilized. After a complete analysis of productivity, standards for each Job category, pars for these categories must then be established. These pars are given to reSpective department heads, not as a directive for staffing, but rather as a guide to their Judgement eXperience. The final decision to staffing must remain with the individual immediately reSponsible for the results. Once the pars have been agreed upon, departmental staffing guides may be formulated. The designation of Job groups in each department are then reviewed to assure that they adhere to the Job patterns desired by the hotel and to simplify the Job group designations for use in establishing SOManagement Principles and Practices, Dalton E. McFarland, WM 174 51 Ps cholo of Industrial Behavior, Henry; Clay Smith ME-Graw’fiTII Book 00., Inc. (New York, oronto, London, 1955) - 99 - the staffing guides. Frequently, it will be found that the content of Jobs bearing the same title will vary be-‘ tween hotels. This is caused by peculiarities within a particular Job. In such cases, the title which is most descriptive of the duties should be assigned. At this point, it may be desirable to prepare abbreviated Job descriptions for the positions. The publication "Job Descriptions for Hotels and Restaurants", U.S. Department of Labor, may be of assistance and save time. In deterb mining under which department specific Job categories fall, the basic rule is that the Job is placed under that .department from which supervision will be provided. For example, if the housekeeper is responsible for lobby housekeeping and is to supervise the lobby porter, the I lobby porter Job category is placed in the housekeeping department, but if the superintendent of service is to provide supervision and maintain records, then the lobby porter Job category should be placed in the uniform ser- vice department. It is desirable that these Job groups be clearly establisheds not only for the staffing guides, but for uniformity in payroll format, time card numbering, time sheets, badge numbers, locker numbers, etc., to assure an integrated system. After the Job categories have been established, staffing guides are then developed by departments. Figures 12 and 13 -lOO-' show the staffing guide created for the housekeeping department of the hotel being studied. The first step in establishing a staffing guide is a listing by groups of the main Job categories. Figure 12 shows this breakdown which is an explanation of the actual staffing guide. It is important that a minimum staff be established in order to determine the minimum number of personnel by Job category that is necessary to have in order to maintain an operating establishment. The maximum range is determined at that point where addi- ‘ tional workload units cannot be added or where the phySical layout will not permit the use of a larger number of per- sonnel of the most variable Job category. The larger the hotel, the greater the variation between the minimum and maximum staff. In the housekeeping department there was little variation for the fixed and semi-variable staff. They were not greatly influence! by the fluctuation of .volume. The most variable Job group in each department determines the breakdown of volume of workload units. In this case, it is the day maids. The staffing guides in this hotel were broken down by hours per day and hours per week. The basis of rooms occupied per day then becomes the measure - 101 - YTCUS 17vath \IG Groun 1. Staff 1 Executive Housekeeper 3 hours per day- 48 1 Assistantl ousekeeln er 73 hours per da ay-521r 1 InSpectress :“ hours per day E_2 hours per day 153 Group 2 Linen Room 1 Linen Maid (Day) 7% hours per day- 52: l Linen Maid Night) 7? hours per day-5? 1 Linen Maid (FiB Issues)1+ hours per day-37-1 22 hours per day132§ Grouo Day Maids Based on 16 rooms per maid per "1 hour shift. Group A Night Maids 3 Night Maids 22; hours per day157k At volume lower than 50$ less 1 maid. Group 5 Wousemen 1 Linen Houseman (Day) 7% hours per day-52% l linen Houseman (Night) 7? hours per day-52f l lobby Porter (Day) 7; hours per day-5r.f 1 lobby Porter (Night) ?§ hours per day-372 2 General Housemen 15 hours per day-105 1 Outdoor Man 4} hours per day-2h; A95 hours per day32a; Department Head .2 Ifanage r Staff Planner HO U.EKEEPING EFFECTIVE DATE: Fig. 12 - Job categories \ per per per per per per per we per per w per per per - per per per per week week week week week week ek week week week week week week week week week -7102 - 21117 STANNING curve 1N "owes ggusokcepip; Department ooms Ceeur. % Group Group Group Group Group Per Day 00000. 1 2 3 A 5 .TOTAL Up to 48 23 225 22; 15 49% 132; 49 - 64 20¢ 30 140 65 - 80 37% 147% 81 - 96 30¢ 45: 155 97 - 112 23- 162: 113 - 123 407 60 170 12 - 144 50% 671 225 177-1 145 - 160 75 192% 161 - 176 60% 82% 200 177 - 192 90 2072 193 - 208 70% 97% 215 209 - 224 105 222% 225 - 240 801 112; 230 241 - 256 90% 120 237% 257 - 272 127% 245 273 - 288 100% 135 252% 289 - 304 142% 260 Over 304 150 257% :Tsrt: ”TAP?IIZG GUIDE IN HOURS Rooms Occup. fl Group Group Group Group Group Per Veek Coeup. 1 2 3 E 222£L_ Up to 336 153 142; 157% 104 322; 880; 337— 448 20; 210 933 44 - 560 262% 98 1 561-..672 303 315 1.038 m- 731 367-4 1,0902 76:- 896 40% 420 1.143 897 - 1,008 50” Z472-3; 1.195% 1,009 - 1,120 525 1.3002 1,121 — 1,232 60; 577% 157% 1.353 1 ,233 - 1.344 630 1,4052 1, 45 - 1,455 70; 602% 1,45 2:57 - 1,568 735 1,5102 1,569 - 1,680 807 787% 1,563 1,681 - 1,792 90¢ 840 1.615% 1:793:' 19904 89223: 1,668 1,905 - 2,128 100% 945 1.7202 2,017 - 2,128 997% 1.773 Over - 2,128 1,050 1.825% Fig. 13 Daily staffing guides in hours. - 103 - for this department. (In the restaurants, the measure is covers served per day.) For housekeeping workload purposes, rooms occupied are transients, plus permanents, plus com- plementaries, plus house use, plus commercial rooms, serviced, minus rooms not serviced, and sleep-outs. Figure 1318 the actual staffing guide from which the staff planner can obtain the housekeeping standards by taking the rooms occupied for a specific day and then finding the corresponding total hours that should be needed in order to accomplish this work. For example, if there were 200 rooms occupied on one Specific day, then the par for housekeeping for that day would be 215 maid hours. I The degree of accuracy of the staffing guides depends upon the minuteness of the breakdown in relation to volume once the actual staffing requirements have been established. This particular staffing guide was effect- ive in directing staffing to within 2% of the actual monthly payroll. Other staffing guides become more complicated, for it may become necessary to establish two or more workload units as the performance measure for the Job groups of a single - 104 - department. An example of this is the using of arrival and departures as the workload unit for bellman and rooms occupied as the unit for all other Jobs in the uniform service department. In order to standardize the workload units as much as possible, a breakdown of the variable Job groups was first established. WORKLOAD UNITS ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS PRIMARY VARIABLE JOB GROUPS Rooms Occupied Front Office Front Office Clerks Housekeeping Day Maids Arrivals and ' Departures Uniform Service Bellmen Covers Food Preparation Cooks . Stewards warewashers Food & Beverage Service - Waiters Banquet Waiters Dollars of Bev. . Sales Beverage Preparation Bartenders Cars Checked Parking Lot Attendants From this basic breakdown productivity standards were created by a study of past history and improvements made through work method studies. Past history will give the staff planner the units per man-hour by dividing the total number of units by the hours worked. _This does not necessarily mean that the units per hour found through past history are the productivity standards for that Job classification. A more detailed study is needed to deter- - 105- mine the model productivity standards. In a ticket agency, the productivity per agent man-hour spent in "processing" each customer can easily by figured, and so can a statement of unit cost. In a retail store, productivity per sales-person hour can readily be esta- blished and unit selling costs evolved. In the office, the productivity per clerical man-hour spent in posting. accounts leads readily to a calculation of unit cost. In each of these situations, productivity can be increased by the conscientious application of some well-contrived and tested specific techniques. The specific technique utilized in this investigation is the adaptation of production standards to form a s schedule that is called a staffing guide. After the initial installation of the staffing guide, the results should be closely followed and any changes indicated must be made by revision of the initial guide. More complete work method studies or a change in local operating conditions or policies may make it necessary to revise the existing staffing guide. The establishmsnt of a new operation, such as adding a new bar, will require‘ the creation of a new guide. The methods used in re- - 106 - vising staffing guides are the same as the ones used in creating the original guides. When the staffing guide has been completed for a spec- ific department,the signature of that department head, the manager, and the staff planner will then be obtained, verifying agreement to the guide. This is done in order to make sure that a complete understanding and agreement has been reached and that the utilization of these guides will be put into immediate effect. Staffing guides prove their usefulness in the budgeting of payroll and as a comparison base in the measurement and evaluation of performance results. Chapter VII shows the usefulness of this guide in regard to the finding of trouble areas by a comparison of the actual and the par. CHAPTER VII GENERAL MANAGER'S DAILY PAYROLL REPORT The main theory behind a daily payroll report is "Man- agement by Exception". This basically means that "certain standards, goals, and objectives are developed and used to measure any given activity. If the activity being measured operates according to standard, or attains it's goals or reaches it's objectives, no management is required. If, on the other hand, an activity fails to operate acc- ording to standard, or fails to attain it's goal, or reach it's objectives, management is required, hence, Management by Exception."52 The general manager's daily payroll report simply points out areas that do not achieve their payroll goals. This information serves asra directional sign to possible trouble areas. It does not indicate the underlining reasoning for a specific trouble area, but rather indicat- es that it exists and that some type of corrective action is necessary. Further investigation of staffing guides and forecasting usually indicates the corrective measures necessary. 52"Management by Exception", a report given during the Management Trainee Conference of December 21, 1964, by James E. Butler, Director of Profit Programming, Sheraton Corporation of America, Boston, Mass. - 107 - vfi‘r .1 7. - 108 - Deviation from the standard goals of staffing can be seen on a daily basis where otherwise it may take weeks to locate a specific trouble area. This report's useful- ness is found in the utilization of the par payrolls es- tablished in the staffing guides in comparison with the estimated payroll from each department's daily personnel report. Daily Personnel Report Figure 14 shows an example of a daily personnel report for housekeeping. This report is filled out daily by each department head and provides the basic data on which the daily payroll computations and the analysis of performance are based. The analysis block at the upper left hand corner should be completed by each depart- ment head. This is not only time saving for the staff planner, but it makes the department head aware of what his staffing is in relation to theuunits or volume. This self-analysis of performance by department heads is elem- entary in the staff planning system. All other data on this report is recorded by the respective department head in hours, with fractional hours repprted to the nearest half or whole hour. It was requested that this report be in the hands of the staff planner no later than 11:00 A.M. following the date of the report. The reason for this is -109- DAILY PERSONNEL REPORT Dept. NO. 2 Detail for Job Volume Equivalent Dept: HW$5K€EPING Group No. Limits; Hours Day: THLLRSDAY Initial Forecast: )60 Q50 ‘ : ‘? 1L.?ND Final Forecast: I'IO 7Q.S Date M—v or Wk. Endg: Actual Vol. 8: Par ‘76 . 82.0 . Date # Employees Needed H, , EXPLANATION: "Total" in Job 80.0 Group (Below) Difference (+ or -) '7 2.0 EQUIVALENT NO. ON DUTY (8 HR.‘ BASIS) Job.pl Job I Cas- To- Temp. IN”. I 1129.117 Re- ’ ggou Group. Reg.LO.T. ual 1.ta1 Assign. Total Pay mark4 1" 5mm: 23 23 23 2... LINEN Room 224’! 224 +4 2472 gfi’nf'i 3 DAY mmos 15 5 80 ‘80 1%: WW I mom mes 22‘}; 2252 ~ ‘! 18V; we??? 5 rious.-“c1159.: 50 7 57 ~ 4 53> E§£§2§5 6 7 8 f 9. 10 _ 11 12 ’ 13 I w 14 — m” NS 5' '7 295 .20! Dept. Head Fig. 14 Daily personnel report. - 110 - that the general manager's daily payroll report must be completed that same day if effective corrective action on the part of management is to be established. The department head should also furnish the following in- formation in the lower tabular section of this report: 1. Job Number Groups should be identical, with the number shown for those Job groups of the department concerned in the staffing guides. 2. Number Of hours A. Regular-total hours worked by regular full time en- ployees in the appropriate Job groups at non-premium rates. B. Overtime-total hours worked by regular employees in the respective Job group at the overtime rate. 0. Casual-total hours worked by non-regular employees in the appropriate Job grouper: D. Total-sum of the hours, by job group, shown in re- gular, overtime and casual columns. E. Temporary Assignment-total hours by Job classifica- tions of personnel who were temporarily assigned to other departments (minus) or total hours temporarily assigned from other departments (plus) or those hours worked in a different Job category in the same de- partment than that to which they were regularly assigned (plus or minus). Explanation must be given in the "Remarks" column by each department head who reports hours of temporary assignment, to assure that the staff planner can charge the payroll hours to the proper department, can maintain correct records of hours worked by Job groups, and can compute accurate payroll cost data. P. Adjusted Total-total hours worked by each Job group, minus or plus the hours shown as temporary assignment. G. Absent with Pay-total hours of regular employees, by Job group, who were authorized absent and who are to be paid for those hours, ie. sicktime, vacations, etc. - 111 - H. Remarks-explanations of temporary assignments, ab- sences with pay, hours spent on special work assign- ments, separate identification of reimbursed payroll hours by Job groups. When the staff planner receives the Daily Personnel Report, he must check it for completeness and accuracy of all data. It then becomes his responsibility to contact those concerb ned to assure the accuracy of the hours reported. Particular care must be taken that temporary assignment hours that have been transferred "out" of one department are picked up by the department they are being transferred to and vice aversa. The overtime hours reported should also coincide with the overtime hours authorized to be paid. All reimbursed pay- rollhhours should be identified and the hour reported must cross balance. When a mistake in the reporting of hours is discovered, the department head should show this adjustment on the next report he submits.‘ Estimated Payroll A After the verification of the Daily Personnel Report, the staff planner's next duty is to calculate the estimated payroll for that specific department. This is accomplished by the utilization of the payroll rate factor which was es- tablished in the statistical foundation discussed in Chapter IV. In the case discussed, it was decided that the estimated payroll rate factor for maids was 31.32 and for all other Job efl,b 4 _ ~ ‘- ‘ - 112 - categories, an average of 81.547 was established. Figurel4 shows a typical Daily Personnel Report from the Housekeep- ing Department. Four steps must be taken in order to ob- tain the day's payroll for this department.' 1. Subtract the total maid hours from the adjusted total. 201.0 Adjusted Total , -102.§ Total Maid Hours 9 .5 Total All Other Hours 2. Multiply the established payroll rate factor per maid times the total maid hours. 102.5 Total Maid Hours x 1.22 Maid Payroll Rate Factor 8 35.30 Maid 3 Payroll for Day 3. Multiply the established payroll rate factor for all other housekeeping job categories times the total hours of the categories. 98.5 Total All Other Hours x 1.54% .All Other Payroll Rate Factors 8 53.3 All Other 3 Payroll for Day- 4. Add maid 8 payroll for the day and all other 8 payroll . for the day in order to obtain the total 8 payroll for housekeeping. 8135.30 Maid 8 Payroll Per Day + l . 8 All Other 8 Payroll for Day 52gg.g3 Total Housekeeping Payroll for Day An average payroll ratio factor could be established for the entire department and is done so in the departments which do not have the great variable job categories. This is left up to the discretion of the staff planner and should be evaluated in relation to the desired degree of accuracy. - 113 - After the daily payroll for each of the departments have been calculated, this information is transferred on to the General Manager's Daily Payroll Report and placed in the "Today" section under the estimated payroll column for each department. See Figure 15. The "To Date" sec- tion of the estimated payroll is figured by adding the day before's estimated to date payroll to today's estimat- ed payroll. , From this information we receive three sub-totals for "Rooms", "Food", and ”Beverage”estimated payrolls and one grand total for the hotel. The rooms department estimated payroll is a simple addi-' tion of the front office, housekeeping, uniform service, and security estimated payrolls. Any payroll allocations are taken into consideration on the daily personnel reports. In order to obtain the food and beverage estimated payrolls, the staff planner must allocate a percentage of the payroll's of the department involved in direct proportion to the par- ticipation of that department in the sale of food and bev- erage. For an example, food preparation estimated payroll would be charged 100% to food because it is involved only in preparing food for sale. The main dining room payroll, - 114 - GENERAL MANAGER'S DAILY PAYROLL REPORT DAY DA TE_ EIEEE ESTIMATE PAYROLE""%‘PAR PAYROLL % To DATE TODAY To DATE __ TODAY To DATE TODAY ROOMS FOOD __ __ BEv. ,__ TOTAL _* ._. To DATE TODAY EST AR COST EST PAR COST # EMPLOYEES P R I R EXCESS P R P R EXCES 0V UNDER EXPLANA O DEPARTMENTS: Fron 4 S . Un . er ecu Foo re . ewar oun er Ser. {a n n. . S ec. oom Room er Ban ue C u ec. ar Bev. re F.& B Gen Te e one Valet ara e C so oom .& G Sa 03 & & d M. on 00 at 0 Fig. 15 General manager's daily payroll report. - 115 - however, is allocated in proportion to the food and bev- erage sales. If the main dining room sold $800 worth of food and $200 worth of drinks, then, according to the sys- tem used in the hotel being studied, allocations of this payroll would be 80% to food and 20% to beverage. This is analyzed department by department as suggested in Chapter IV concerning "Establishing a Statistical Foundation". These food and beverage percentage allocations are calcu- lated on a monthly basis, but subjected to revision in case of unforseen changes. The prOper allocations are then es- tablished daily by simple multiplying the percentage ratio times estimated payroll and thus obtaining the cost of payroll to food and the cost of payroll to beverage. An example of this is that the main dininga room has been given the percentage allocations of 80% to food and 20% to beverage. From the daily personnel report, the staff planner has ob- tained an estimated payroll of 8170. The calculations would be: 8170 Total Estimated Payroll of Main Dining Room x 80 Allocated % to Food Payroll 13 .0 Total Food Payroll of Main Dining Room 8170 Total Estimated Payroll of Main Dining Room x 20 Allocated % to Beverage Payroll 3 .00 Total Beverage Payroll of Main Dining Room Simple addition of the two totals proves that the percen- tages have been correctly allocated. These two figures are then placed in the appropriately titled columns and _‘_ _ —-_ A“.- .1 a- v _ K. \ \ -116¥- the other food and beverage departments follow the same pattern. Once the allocation» have been completed, the addition of each column will give the total food and bev- erage payroll for the day. The "To Date" figure is an accrual of the Today figures until a new month begins. These figures are then placed in the appropriate columns at the top of this report and will be used later to cal- culate the payroll percentage to sales. The Today and To Date Sales figures found in the upper left hand corner of this report are given to the staff planner daily by the auditor. Once these figures have been recieved, the staff planner divides the sales into the payroll dollars in order to obtain a percentage of payroll to sales or payroll cost ratio. Payroll cost ratios are computed based on the standards applied to the average week of the year in order to establish a payroll cost goal. These percentage ratios should be analyzed in relation to work units produced and both should serve as guides to trouble areas. Now that the estimated payroll has been established, the staff planner goes back to the Daily Personnel Report in order to Obtain the actual unit volume of each depart- -117- ment. By comparing this unit volume with the staffing guides, he is able to establish the par for that depart- ment. For an example, the housekeeping department's par . for 176 units is 200 total man hours. The actual man hours reported was 201 or one hour over par. By calculating the par payroll in the same manner as the estimated payroll, ‘we would arrive at a figure of $287 or 32 under the estimat- ed payroll. The cost excess column indicated the differ- ence between the estimated and the par payroll. In this example, it was a cost excess of 82. The pars for the rooms, food, beverage, and the total hotel are then placed in the upper right hand columns and the percentage to sales is calculated for today and to date. This then serves as the major comparison to the estimated payroll. The idealistic situation is to have the estimate equal the par. Any noticable variations between the two serves as a warning that something is out of line. A detailed inves- tigation of the payroll reports and pars should point out the trouble area. Summary_of Weekly Hours Besides the general manager's Daily Payroll Report, two other reports proved helpful in maintaining staff effic- iency. The first is the summary of weekly hours worksheet - 118 - as shown in Figure 16 . This report gives a breakdown in hours of job classifications by department. The exampl-e shown in Figure 15 is for the housekeeping department, but the master sheet takes in each department. From this re- Port, we can quickly see which areas are overstaffed and therefore correct the situation or adjust to it; Sales and Payroll Statistics An example Of the second report that proved useful in this case study is shown in Figure17, the Sales/Payroll Stat- istics report for room, food, beverage, and total hotel. This report shows the sales and payroll figures for the month of April. In analyzing these two months it can quickly be assumed that the hotel was overstaffed for the month of March. Total hotel payroll was down 8210 while sales were up 832,902. °This is only an example of a sales/payroll statistics sheet for rooms, food, and beverage, and total hotel. It does not attempt to show the long range effects of staff planning. A study of the fluctua- tions between sales and payroll and the correspondingupay- roll savings will be discussed in Chapter II when a compar- ison of the five months before the installation of a staff planning program and the five months after the installation of a staff planning program will be presented in detail. - 119 - SUMMARY OF WEEKLY HOURS WORKSHEET Week Ending APR'L 25 DEPT. & JOB SUN. MON.yTUEsy WED.yTHUR. TRIa SAT. TOTAL PAR OVER: GROUP ‘ h T. L UNDE HO USEKEEPI NG 3““ IS 23 23 23 23 23 23 :53 :53 0 WW“ :5 22A 225 22:22 2U: 22?: IS 142W“? 0 D” “31“ Am 75 m do we am to sue 513514-25"! “18“ M81“ '15 ‘22» 21V: 22v; 22v. [5 .5 RS 15121-22": Houses“ 323’, W’z 4‘1]: 4% WW2 4%; 152V: 3227: 3227: 0 m“ HSKPG- WS 192% 200 2077; zoo 16227215572 we 1.2mm (Workshegt continues, department by department, showing all job groups. Fig. 168ummary of Weekly Hours. Worksheet Fr “U Ur UL. qt: -120... SALESZPAYROLL STATISTICS ROOMS A ROOMS A % FOOD SALES FOOD PAYROLL Mar. 21 *Apr. 21' Mar. 21 Apr. 21 Mar. 51 Ip rII 21 Front Office a 85 489 3 97 127 s 4, 024 8 3. 322 4. 7% 3.4% Housekeeping 8,930 9, 42 6 10. 4% 9.7% Uniform Serv. ” ” 2.737 2, 614 3.1% 3.0% Security ” ” 406 420 .55 .4 GRAND TOTAL RMS.8 85,489 8 97,127 816,097 815,782 18.8% 16.2% Food Prep. 9 95,453 $105,054 $13,682 313,755 14.3% 13.0% . Steward ' 6,052 6,470 6.3% 6.1% F. A B. Gen'l. ” 9 3,119 2,923 3.3% 2.8% Counter Service 6,656 7,270 1,028 1,102 15.4% 15.2% Main Dining Rm. 25,050 23,450 4,496 4,294 19.5% 18.3% Specialty Rm. 30,479 30,050 3,613 3.481 11.9% 11.6% Room Service 3,677 4,350 1,158 1,150 31.5% 26.4% Banquet 17.150 27,900 3. 536 4,499 20.6% 16.1% Club 9,058 8,5001,876 1, 9962 07% 23.5% Specialty Bar 1.669_ 1.920 100 24 6. 0% 4.23 GRAND TOTAL FOOD3 95,463 #106,064 838,660 339,765 40.5% 37.5% GRAND TOTAL HOTEL BEV. 3 53.423 3 62,048 $15,121 314.977 28.3% 24.1% GRAND TOTAL ‘ HOTEL 4256.997 8289.899 895.625 895.415 37.2% 32.9% The month of March compared to the month of April. SALES UP 8 32.902 PAYROLL DowN 8 210 Fig.1? Sales/Payroll Statistics -121 - The major value of this report is that it created an awareness of payroll correlations to the department heads. It also brought out a competitive Spirit among the depart- ment heads for each week it was analyzed at the staff meet- ing. One of it's main assets is in it's comparitive anal- ysis of the previous month. It is based on a full week, Sunday through Saturday, so there would be less distortion in the comparison figures. A final end of the month report gives a comparison between the month Just ended and the pro-- vious month. The initiation of "Target" percentage goals also proved effective and created a competitive spirit among the department heads. The greatest asset of this report is that it served as a tool for creating awareness among the department heads responsible for staffing. The general manager's daily payroll report includes all the pertinent payroll information needed in order to obtain a quick insight into the overall operation. From this infor- mation, management is able to locate trouble Spots before they can develop into serious problems.. One of the most important responsibilities of the staff planner is to draw the manager's attention to these trouble areas and to main- tain a constant follow through and take remedial action necessary in the department continually over the standards. CHAPTER VIII PAYROLL SAVINGS THROUGH STAGGERED STAFFING Everyday hotel operations are typically a series of peaks and valleys. A dining room is set up for break- fast before the doors are Open. The breakfast service builds up to a peak and then diminishes almost completely until lunch. .Lunch usually takes the same trend followed by dinner which is also in the same pattern. There are ex- captions, but the average hotel dining room is-geared to operate for three peak periods each day. These daily cycles of operation should be measured.in or- der to obtain a deeper knowledge of the different operations. James Estey in .his book, "Business Cycles" points out the value of the time series measurement of buSiness cycles. "The statistical materials from which our knowledge of business cycles is derived take the form of "time series”. A time series is a number Of quantitative measurements 9 arranged in chronological sequence."53 This type of meas- urement can be easily adapted to the measuring of units per hour or any other time period desired. In the main dining room of the hotel being studied, by using the time series method of measurement, more covers 53Busing§§ Cycles, James Arthur Estey, Ph.D., Prentice- Haég, Inc. (Englewood Cliffs, N. J. 1956- Third Edition) p. - 122 - - 123 - were served during 4% hours of peak period time than were served in the other 11% hours it was open for business. Yet the staffing in this dining room remained basically the same throughout the day. The reasoning behind this was that the waitresses were needed in order to service the peak periods. If business did not meet the expected forecast, then the room manager would send some of his staff home early, but no real thought had been given to staggering the times of arrival so that there would be an overlap into two peak periods. The Shifts were the old basic seven to three and three to eleven. One hour of reorganization produced a yearly savings of 34,346 and increased service by having more people working during peak periods. Staggered staffing is the scheduling of employees in re- lation to volume in order to obtain a maximum staff at peak periods and eliminate excessive employees during the Slow periods of business. This is accomplished by over- lapping shifts through a staggering of the times of arrival on the Job. A basic tool of staggered staffing is a bar graph, similar to the one in Figure 18. This bar graph should include the following information: 1. A day by day breakdown of average staffing for a week. Each day of the week is treated separately and staffing should not be grouped together or a statement made indicating that Monday and Tuesday are the same as Wednesday. - 124- . mow>swm EnomHC: so%npsm£u sum ma .wwm poumsmmo aoum>wam mofifimm. In!" . cmgoon #1 CUEHHUQ l 2:398 Sea IIXI..- mofifimw mo pcmucmucwpmnsm '0', Crux A3: 2335 a , . a. 0303 05% mo ammo 05 Has pom .wwscfiEoo with 06 92 0.... Wm. ad. m... m3 0.: 3. 3.. 3. m... «.9 new”. 0.6 2. Ale. Li3¥1ieWMTven $1.. 52 Qoa , A? 1*1-W" VA VA XIIV0|IIXII$J IIIIK P» '5 rflllllqquHSGWAHUUWHFIMHHH IIIL Jaimwa we. mania. . .lw e. .1 m. .. liimfimiqlxé we 3 m.» «A. we “thwart “$419th $3M. \Vij __ _. ._ M f 4.0L 3 Alfie]. A A 4 + A . .2588 r , L WTWEM xvi LII—IL. basses“. .= o. .w w w n. ,1 3 m w . an. s c a 6d .mdwwfi 3&3 as .3532 :32 .- 93mg? . 2. The hours of operation should be listed across the top and graphically Spaced. 3. A color code should be established for each Job category. All the categories 0f the department should be listed so that the possibility of com- bining different areas may be discussed. 4. An hour by hour breakdown of the volume of business by workload units is to be established. Figure 18 shows a bar graph for the uniform service depart- ment of the hotel being studied. Although this was not a department where improper staffing drew attention to itself, by making a detailed study of this area, it was possible to save 82,372 per year. Bellmen service was also improved through the utilization of maximum staff at peak periods by staggered staffing. A study of a department with the end in mind of utilizing staggered staffing is initiated by first obtaining the weekly schedules of all the employees of the department. Figur819:is an example of a weekly schedule sheet that is made for each department. The time card number is placed in the first column on the left hand side. Along with the Job title, it was found helpful in recalling Specific shifts, to also include the name of the person. 'The weekly wage and hours column is a quick reference in re- gards to the total hours and rate category of each person. Any great variances in wages can be scrutinized for their »_‘ iqlpw - 126 - " \ 4 WEEKLY SCHEDULE, Department__ Date WEEKLY N2; JOB TITLE WAGE/HOURS SUN. MON. TUES. WED. THUR. FRI. SAT. Fig. 19 Weekly schedule vvfi‘ml-Iva-I“ f 1", - 121 - value in relation to the whole. The remaining columns ' headed Sunday through Saturday are to be marked with the person's shift and days off. The actual hours worked, 7:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M., indicate the shift and a "0" in- dicates a day off. Other information needed before this study can be effect- ive is the volume of business this Specific department takes care of during the different hours of the day. This is very important if the peak periods are to be es- tablished and thus, stagger the staffing accordingly. Once this basic information is obtained, the staff planner arranges a meeting with the department head and possibly his immediate superior. This meeting should be unintene: naked due to the fact that one thought follows into another as elimination, adding, or changing takes place. It is almost like a game of chess, as a man is moved from one another area to another in order to obtain the best advantage. The meeting opens with a review of performance standards in order to obtain a common ground of comparison. Spec» ial problems of the department and union regulations are then discussed so that there will be no overlapping or backtracking once the actual staff adjustments are dis- 1 ‘--——“’ —‘Qr—v-—- ’4 \ - 128 - cussed. After these preliminaries, the discussion is then directed to the weekly schedule, which is transposed to a day by day bar graph. Open discussion on each position and it's corresponding part Of the whole is really the purpose of the meeting. From this discussion comes sugg- estions for possible changes in relation to the volume of business. It is also very possible that by staggering the staffing, a position may be covered more adequately and yet a man can be eliminated. The advantages of staggered staffing and the utilization of the bar graph is that the overall picture of.a depart- ment's staffing and it's corresponding peak volumes can clearly be seen at a glance. It is then possible to ad- Just the staff in relation to the variances of that vol- ume by the overlapping of positions in order to obtain the desired standard of service with the minimum number of employees. This study of the operatiOn as a whole can then be broken down into individual analysis in order to establish the value of each part to the whole.‘ This, then, becomes a work method study as we analyze what is done, why is it done, is every part necessary, who does the work, could someone else do it, where, when, and how is it done. The ultimate goal is to increase service and decrease payroll. "\ ,-,._._.___. ' _._.‘~, “"- -129... The disadvantages of staggered staffing lie in the human element. "The demands that the human factors in an organ- ization place upon the administrator are considerable. But, under the pressure of day-to-day activities with their inevitable crises, executives often handle in a piecemeal fashion or neglect entirely their reSponsibilities involv- ing people. It is easier to work with inanimate things--V facts, figures, or machines--than with human beings; and administrators tend to concentrate on these kinds of ac- tivities while letting the people take care of themselves-- often to the detriment of total effectiveness."54 Although an ideal bar chart for staggered staffing can be created, it may not be operational in specific areas due to the‘ demand on individuals to work inconvenient and sometimes rotating Shifts. This depends upon the situation and the employees, but a high turnover of employees was noted in. the areas where regular working hours were changed to ir- regular working hours. The understanding of employee ‘ relations must temper the logical approach of efficiency. Probably the most amazing thing about the bar graph method of staggered staffing is that it is as old as common sense, yet relatively unexploited. In the eight hotels with which the writer has been associated, only one had established the system of the bar graph method of staggered staffing. 54Human Elements of Administration, Harry R. Knudson, Jr. Holt, Rinehart and Winston (N.Y., Chgo., San Francisco, Toronto, London, 1963) p.1 is f—_ __.__‘,..——_‘——-‘ _~‘,_ _ 130.. Yet after this type of analysis was initiated, each hotel that participated recognized considerable payroll savings. There were many small savings recognized in the hotel being studied by the utilization of staggered staffing and work method studies, but probably the most impressive savings from a Single department was in Beverage Prepara- tion. In this department, the following savings were recognized: Main Bar 1 Bartender 8 5,705 per year 1 Barboy 3,172 per year Specialty Room 1 Bartender 5,705 per year Lounge Kitchen Service 1 Barboy 3,112 per year Bar .TOTAL PAYROLL SAVINGS 317,754 per year These savings are a direct result of a study of the bev- erage preparation department in terms of bar graph and staggered staffing. It is very possible that these positiOns may have been eliminated sometime in the future after observation and the consclidation of duties, but the strength of the bar graph and staggered staffing is that it gives immediate awareness and immediate results. The staff planner in the hotel being studied found this to be an effective tool in decreasing the cost of payroll and improving service. "‘ " sv‘ \' " — "\. “-‘r —1 u‘ - * ~——. % ’—