What Your Housekeeping Staff Really Want

As travel volumes continue to grow–even beyond pre-pandemic levels–hospitality professionals need to ensure their housekeeping staff are set up to succeed. For many properties, the challenge is made even greater with staff who are new to the industry or seasonal workers.

Organizational change is possible, but only by first understanding what makes your housekeeping staff tick. You have your own KPIs and brand standards to meet, but what really motivates your housekeeping staff to support these organizational goals?

A recent article from Lodging Magazine offers some insight by asking an important question: What motivates your housekeeping staff?

Insight #1: Housekeepers take pride in their work

When you see a high-achieving member of your housekeeping team turn rooms efficiently, pay attention to details, and communicate effectively, you’re seeing the results of a deeper fact: they take pride in doing a job well.

Sometimes, the biggest difference between an effective and ineffective staff member are resources. An ineffective staff member may want to take pride in their work, but they simply don’t have the right tools to improve their performance.

Insight #2: Housekeepers want appreciation and recognition

According to a study from Gartner on motivational psychology, employees need to feel valued at work. Public recognition and celebration of a job well done isn’t just about expressing gratitude and positive reinforcement–it’s about demonstrating where organizational and personal achievement align, so that every last employee can feel they contribute something important.

Insight #3: Housekeepers appreciate technology

We all value our time, and technology that fits conveniently into our daily schedules or helps us complete tasks quicker is welcome in any line of work. Your housekeeping teams are no exception–many of whom are professional mobile phone and app users.

Insight #4: Housekeepers want flexibility

We’re all doing more with less these days, both at work and in our personal lives where we may be juggling family responsibilities on top of a demanding work schedule. Hospitality leaders who make it flexible, easy, and quick to fit professional development into existing work hours, routines, and tech staff already use will see results in performance.

Quote we are pondering:

“Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” - Vince Lombardi

At Atiom, we believe there are service stars on every hospitality team. In most cases, the problem isn’t a lack of motivation, it’s a lack of the right tools and tactics that unlock that motivation.

The psychology of motivation is complex. That’s why we’re excited about behavioral change technology, and the capacity this ever-evolving field has to empower all employees in their professional goals.

You don’t have a people problem. You have a tech problem. Ask us how Atiom can help!