Safety first. It’s a phrase we all come to know early on in our lives and which continues to inform many of the personal and professional decisions we make at every turn. Minimize risk, where possible, and do what you can to protect and enhance the safety of yourself and others. In the world of hospitality, guest and staff safety is an ever-evolving concern and consideration. In many ways, a hotel’s reputation hinges not only on its ability to provide an exceptional guest experience but to offer an environment that proactively advocates for the safety and wellbeing of all those on property.
With this in mind, countless hotels around the world have looked to invest in staff safety, specifically, the implementation of a dedicated staff safety platform that arms staff members with BLE/Wi-Fi enabled panic buttons. Using these devices, hotel staff can rest assured that help is always just one click away in the event of an emergency. Even better, new-age panic buttons offer hotels access to a robust safety solution that has a measurable impact on a hotels’ daily operations.
Advocate for Employee Mental Health
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, “people have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, that is, to be all they can be. In order to achieve these ultimate goals, however, a number of more basic needs must be met such as the need for food, safety, love, and self-esteem.” Towards the base of the hierarchy, we see the need for security and safety. Until this need is adequately met, we cannot make our way through the rest of the hierarchy. Within the workplace, this is an increasingly important consideration.
Employees have to feel safe and supported at work and, in this regard, the use of programs, policies and technology that help to advocate for staff mental health and well-being is paramount. Although safety isn’t the only consideration that informs an employee’s mental health, it is one of the most influential factors in this equation. By implementing panic buttons and a comprehensive staff safety program/protocol, hoteliers can take a meaningful step towards ensuring a happy and healthy workplace for their staff.
Improve Staff Retention
Staff retention is a well-known challenge across the hospitality industry and, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, hotel brands are facing uncharacteristically high staff turn-over and departure. Understandably, this isn’t just an inconvenient problem – it’s an expensive one. According to Employee Benefit News, employers spend an average of 33% of a worker’s annual salary to replace just one employee. Moreover, the process of attracting and hiring new talent is time-consuming and often eats up vital resources.
Fortunately, investing in staff safety technology is an easy way for hotel brands to show their employees (both current and prospective) that they care about their staff and workplace culture.
Track Inventory, Room Trays, and Vendors
New-age panic buttons don’t just offer emergency alerts. For hotels looking to increase productivity and better manage inventory and services, panic button platforms can also provide inventory, room tray, and vendor tracking. From an inventory and room tray perspective, when a guest requests an item, the system can let hotel staff know the real-time location of that inventory so that your employees can deliver the items quickly and efficiently.
The platform can also provide hotels with a list of which vendors are on-site and their real-time location, enhancing labor management by knowing how long vendors are on-site and allowing hotels to restrict what areas vendors can access.
Manage Cleanliness Standards
In the post-pandemic landscape, hotel cleanliness standards are more important than ever before. Fortunately, hoteliers can better manage and maintain brand standards by utilizing panic button technology as the platform can provide a real-time audit trail for housekeeping activities of hotel staff in all guest areas. This feature helps to ensure all essential cleaning standards are met, providing critical peace of mind to both guests and staff.
Reduce Hotel Liability and Risk
In an emergency scenario, the use of panic buttons ensures on-property support or first responders can reach the individual in need faster. This ensures staff safety and helps to de-escalate violent situations and, in some cases, reduce the severity of the incident. For hotels, this is critical, as a fast response can decrease a hotel brand’s liability and, in many cases, create evidence that can hold up in court and minimize associated legal fees.
Commentaires