Role design and job descriptions for Business hotels: Scope for Multi-skilled Desk and Floor Posts
In a lean business hotel one associate does the work of two. Without written scope, people are blamed for gaps nobody assigned. Clear roles save tempers and guest time.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in business hotels
Business hotels run with fewer staff than their room count suggests. The front desk associate also handles the lobby, the room service call and a guest asking for a printout. The breakfast attendant may help in the kitchen. This is a sensible way to run a lean team, but it becomes a source of argument if nobody agrees where one job ends.
A good role page is short. It lists the main duties, the extra tasks the post picks up when it is quiet, the person who covers when it is absent and the point at which a task is passed on. Guests then see calm teams, and associates see a role that can be grown into a higher grade.
How to set it up
1. List real tasks by hour
Ask a sample of associates to write what they did last Tuesday from start to finish. Group the tasks into main duties and extras, using their own words.
2. Set the boundary between roles
Decide which tasks belong to the desk, to the floor and to engineering, and which can be shared. Note the rule for when to hand over to a supervisor.
3. Name the backup for each post
Write who steps in for the desk, for breakfast and for the engineering technician. Check that the backup is trained and has been told.
4. Link scope to grade and pay
If a post carries extra tasks, reflect this in the grade. Use compensation benchmarking to compare with nearby hotels.
5. Review after one season
Ask the team what changed. Update the pages when a new meeting room or a revised breakfast service alters the tasks.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Compare what a desk associate writes as their day with the existing job description.
- Ask three associates who covers for them when they are on leave.
- Count the tasks that no one has been told they own, such as late wake-up calls or printing.
- Check whether two posts with similar loads have different grades.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
One page in simple language is enough. List the main duties, the extra tasks, who covers for the post and who to call. A document nobody reads will not help the associate or the guest.
It can if added work is unpaid and undefined. When scope, back-up and reward are agreed in the open, most associates see it as a chance to learn and move up.
The head of department with two or three associates, so the page matches the real work. HR can edit for clarity and make sure the format is the same across departments.