Literature Review

The purpose of the report is to review service management excellence at Raffles hotel located in Singapore. Service management excellence has been outlined as an integral element of success for organizations in the service industry. The report has focused on the topics design of the service and the delivery process, managing people and service quality. Under every topic, the paper reviews examples of service management excellence in Raffles hotel within this scope. When it comes to the design of the service and the service delivery process, the paper focuses on the quality services in offer, accessibility to children and people with disability, and the convenience that is enhanced by the employees. Managing people, on the other hand, focuses on the creation of a favorable working environment, rewarding employees, delegation and employee empowerment. Service quality on its part has focused on how customers view Raffles based on the quality of the services. Among the recommendations that are likely to improve service management excellence at the hotel is designing facilities that are specifically meant for people with disabilities, having an elaborate bonus system, ensuring that empowered employees do not leave the organization and introduction of surveys towards customers to assess areas that are not meeting the desired standards of quality service.

Introduction

Service management excellence is vital for businesses in the service sector. How operations are run determines the longevity and profitability of a business. The climate that has been established within the workplace will go a long way into determining how the operations are executed. This implies that the management should always pay attention the organizational culture. The culture that has been adopted in the organization tends to shape the climate that prevails at the workplace. As a result, the management should take an active role in shaping the culture of the organization to ensure that it has a control on what the culture looks like. To bring about service management excellence in an organization, there is need of all the stakeholders involved to work in partnership. When one party fails, the effects are likely to be felt in other areas that are not even directly related. The organization should have the ability to communicate effectively to both the employees and the customers. There are businesses that focus more on customers and end up forgetting the employees, yet they are the ones tasked with the duty of making the customers happy.

The purpose of the report is to assess service management excellence at Raffles Hotel. Raffles is a 5-star hotel located in Singapore. The hotel opened its doors for the first time in 1887, and given the reputation, it is well recognized worldwide. It is located in an ideal area since it is in the heart of a financial district. Raffles is convenient even for visitors coming from foreign countries since it is only thirty-minute cab ride away from Singapore Changi International Airport (Goh, 2014). The hotel represents a tourist attraction on its own since in 1987 the government declared it a national monument. The report will examine service management excellence under design of the service and the service delivery process, managing people and service quality. Every topic will be reviewed independently. There will be a comprehensive discussion that will showcase varied elements in the organization that pertain to the relevant topic. The report will go ahead to highlight whether how the organization manages these areas portrays any form of service management excellence.

Design of the Service and the Service Delivery Process

The services at Raffles have been designed in a way that is likely to bring satisfaction to customers. To begin with, guests are usually welcomed with a glass of Singapore Sling upon arrival. This is an iconic pineapple juice cocktail associated with the hotel that was developed before 1915 (Goh, 2014). The butlers usually take care of all the customer’s need. They are there to fulfill customers’ every need including packing, pressing, unpacking and shoe shining. The butlers do not disappoint in their services since they are there when they are required. This type of service demonstrates service management excellence since it portrays aspects of quality. When an organization is offering services, quality should be enhanced at all times to ensure customer satisfaction has been actualized.

With the service design of the hotel, there is the provision of a bar, pool, laundry, fitness center, room service, spa, restaurant, sauna, parking, WIFI among others. Provision of these services brings about convenience and flexibility to customers that visit the hotel. Having all the auxiliary services that a client would need while on vacation under one roof saves them a lot of hassle. There is no stress that comes with moving from one place to another. Convenience is a very important aspect when it comes to delivering services. As a result, this shows that Raffle exhibits service management excellence in this area.

Raffles is also accessible to guests that have disabilities. There are butlers at the hotel that are designated specifically to handle guests with disabilities. The butlers have been trained to undertake such responsibilities. This is a favorable aspect since the hotel shows that it cares about all the customers that are likely to visit their premises. Not many hotels will take the initiative of ensuring that individuals with disability have been given the attention that they deserve. Raffles is also family friendly. Raffles grants amenities such as toothbrushes and bathrobes for kids in residence. Children are also offered a kid’s passport that helps them to access activities to keep them busy during their stay. These aspects show that the hotel can be depended upon. Customers will not have to worry when they are visiting the premises with their children or individuals with disability. The dependability aspect showcases an aspect of service management excellence.

Service delivery at the Raffles is top-notch too as exhibited by the employees. One thing that Raffles employees are known for is their aspect of being friendly. They have the tendency of giving clients that warm smile that lightens the mood. The employees are also accurate when conducting their work. From the many reviews regarding the hotel services, rarely will there be a comment complaining about wrong orders (Dang, 2017). The response rate is also quick. The employees seem to have their eyes on the customers at all times. When employees are working to ensure that the customers get the best experience, it means that the management is doing something great behind the scenes. When employees offer quality services, this gives the customers the desired satisfaction. As a result, this illustrates service management excellence.

Managing People

Employees are an integral part of any organization, as their actions determine how successful the business can become. They are usually in direct association with customers at all times and therefore can easily influence the experience that the consumers get (Boella & Goss-Turner, 2013). It is paramount to keep employees happy at all the times. Having happy employees is likely to translate to happy customers. Employees are usually happy based on the way they are treated. When an organization treats employees well, and with the utmost respect, they tend to develop a feeling of belonging. This drives them to offer their services in the best way possible due to the sense of belonging as they want to remain in the organization for as long as possible (Boella & Goss-Turner, 2013). This is to show that how employees are managed determines how they will extend their services to customers.

At Raffles Hotel, among the things that the management is instituting to ensure service management excellence is providing employees with a favorable working environment. To begin with, the management ensures that it has adequate knowledge regarding its employees. This is an initiative that the organization takes to ensure that employees are designated in areas that suit them best to help boost quality service. When employees are allocated duties that they are good at, they are able to deliver the desired services without difficulties. This makes them happy, and they look forward to executing these duties. Given the knowledge of the duties, customers tend to benefit with quality service. This is an example of service management excellence since the customers end up being satisfied most of the times.

The ability of the management to understand its employees well has been made possible due to aspects of delegation. The hotel manager has the responsibility of overseeing all the departments, but every department has a supervisor that is responsible for overseeing every employee involved. These supervisors help in gathering information about the employees to help ascertain what each employee would execute efficiently. Most employees would also find it difficult to approach the overall manager when they are faced with issues, but having the department heads makes it easy for them to communicate.

Rewarding of employees has also been among the management tools that Raffles aims to take advantage of. The management has understood that rewarding employees favorably works to make them happy hence enabling their ability to execute their services. The management has developed a reward system that helps to keep the employees motivated. There are bonuses, which are normally awarded to employees that have been outstanding during a certain period. Employees are given the opportunity to choose the best performing employees, and the management also picks its choices based on the observations made. The rewards involved work as a motivation for employees to work extra hard in the execution of their duties. This is an indication of service management excellence since the customers are likely to get quality services and satisfaction as a result.

Prospects of employee empowerment are also prevalent at Raffles. This can be viewed on the way the management delegates tasks, supports vacation time, encourage self-improvement, demonstrates trust and communicates with a clear vision. Communicating with a clear vision ensures that all employees are on the same page while encouraging self-improvement ensures that employees acquire that will make the entire organization happy. By supporting the vacation time, the management ensures that employees have a favorable work/life balance that helps in creating loyalty. Empowered employees usually have a greater focus, quicker response to customers’ needs, feel valued and are usually open to change. These positive aspects are usually reflected in customer experience as they derive satisfaction due to the service management excellence involved.

Service Quality

An organization that ensures to provide quality services at all times stands a chance of enjoying stable business throughout the year. This is usually enhanced by the number of return customers the business enjoys (Mandal & Vong, 2016). Quality improvements have the ability to affect the overall performance of an organization. As a result, organizations should aim at ensuring that there is a way of assessing whether service quality is being enhanced.

Among the things that showcase service quality at Raffles is the fact that it has been able to maintain a high-end status for a long time. This is a hotel that has hosted prominent people over the years. The fact that it remains up there is an indication that the quality of its services is high. When a hotel is charging high prices, and customers keep coming, it shows that they are getting value for their money. This is a good example of service management excellence.

Reviews that consumers give regarding the services of the hotel are quite compelling. Visiting varied websites that demonstrate services being offered in different hotels in Singapore will provide a good idea. It is rare to encounter a website that has listed Raffles showing a rating of less than 4 out of 5 score. This shows that customers are satisfied with the services that they receive during their stay. Of the many customers that do not give a 5-star rating, it is not usually about the services. It is more on prices as they tend to think they are slightly high. Through these reviews, existing customers are marketing the hotel services to other potential customers. This shows service management excellence since individuals that have encountered quality service and are willing to share the positive experience with others.

According to Dang (2017), the number of customer complaints at the hotel are few. This could also be viewed on how there is low employee turnover. Organizations offering services tend to experience high employee turnover, and most of the times it is associated with customer encounter due to varied complaints. Dang (2017) asserts that most of the complaints that arise at Raffles are solved quickly. This makes the aggrieved parties to return to the hotel due to the dependability of the management. Having the ability to solve customer complaints quickly is an indication of service management excellence. Every organization management should understand that for every complaint that is received, there might be other customers with the same issue but did not bother to come forward. It is more expensive to acquire new customers compared to retaining the existing ones, therefore, every organization should show effort in trying to retain the customers that exist at present.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

The report delves around the assessment of service management excellence at Raffles Hotel. The report has examined service management excellence under the topics design of the service and the service delivery process, managing people and service quality. When it comes to design of the service and service delivery process, Raffles’ service management excellence is evidenced by the way the butlers execute their duties with precision, the service design that encompasses numerous facilities within one premises hence bringing convenience to customers, dependability as it accords children and customers with disabilities targeted services and care to suit their needs, and the charming nature of the staff involved. These aspects enable customers to derive satisfaction from their encounter with the organization. Managing people, on the other hand, showcases service management excellence through the provision of a favorable working environment for employees, delegation of duties, rewarding employees favorably, and employee empowerment. These aspects make employees happy and motivate them to work efficiently in their respective areas. Since they are in direct association with the customers, the customers are likely to receive high-quality services, and this brings the desired satisfaction. When it comes to service quality, service management excellence is demonstrated by the positive reviews that customers post in varied platforms, the hotel has been able to maintain its high-end nature for a long time, and minimal customer complaints; most that surface are solved quickly. This is an indication that customers enjoy the services being offered and hence are satisfied with the current affairs.

Recommendations

The management can improve on some areas to help boost service management excellence further. When it comes to design of the service and the service delivery process, Raffles should design rooms that are meant specifically for people with disabilities. The hotel has designated specific butlers to attend to individuals with disability, but there are no rooms designed specifically for such people. Doing so will work as an indication of how inclusive the hotel is and this service will go a long way to satisfying the intended beneficiaries. The aspect improves service management excellence since there is a class of customers that will be deriving more satisfaction from the service compared to how it was before.

With regards to managing people, the bonuses offered by the organization help to motivate the employees, but this area can be improved further. The management ought to clearly state what exactly they are looking for when offering these bonuses. There are employees that might be thinking they work extremely hard but have never been recognized for their efforts. When it is clear on what the management assesses, employees will have the opportunity of putting more effort on what really matters. This improves service management excellence since employees serve customers better while trying to improve their wellbeing. The management also needs to do more on the employee empowerment program in the organization. They should instill a mentality among the employees that this empowerment is meant to make the organization even better, but not act as a leeway for them to search “greener pastures” in other companies. To make this possible, there will be a need for the organization to increase the wages of these employees to ensure that they remain with the organization.  This acts as a service management excellence since customers will keep enjoying quality services for a long time.

When it comes to service quality, the management should introduce surveys that will be taken by willing customers. The surveys will be meant to review the quality of services that the customers are receiving. Through the surveys, the management will be able to assess what they are doing well, and what they are supposed to improve. This practice will ensure that they get the information directly from customers. It works to improve service management excellence since the management will make changes on the services that are not going well with customers based on their feedback.

References

Boella, M. and Goss-Turner, S. (2013) Human Resource Management in the Hospitality Industry: A Guide to Best Practice. 9th ed. Abingdon: Routledge.

Dang, A. (2017) Singapore’s most famous hotel to close until mid-2018. [online] Traveller. Available at: http://www.traveller.com.au/last-drinks-raffles-to-close-for-renovations-gusmlr [Accessed 29 May. 2017].

Goh, D. (2014) Capital and the Transfiguring Monumentality of Raffles Hotel. Mobilities, 5(2), pp.177-195.

Mandal, P. and Vong, J. (2016) Development of tourism and the hospitality industry in Southeast Asia. 1st ed. Springer,.

 
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