During service, if something goes wrong or the employee’s performance was not up to par with the standard that the establishment expects, the most obvious person to blame seems to be the employee in question. I will, however, delve a little deeper into this. Upon further analysis of the managers role, it may come to light that they are more at fault than initially thought.
In studying organisational culture and experiencing it first-hand, I have learnt that an establishment is much like a machine, that needs working parts to function. If one part is faulty or does not belong within this machine, then it will of course not work. The same is true of organisations. If one member of the team does not fit within the company’s organisational culture, issues will inevitably arise.
For the purpose of clarity, I would like to explain what I mean by the term ‘organisational culture’. It essentially means that the company has certain values and set behaviours that all employees are expected to adhere to, with the aim of maintaining a certain environment. This will vary from company to company, but everybody must be on the same page to ensure success. This organisational culture must then be instilled within employees by their superiors.
There are, however, some potential issues that may arise from this. On a basic level, it could just be that the employee does not want to accept the company’s culture or is not able to behave and perform in a way that aligns with it. In this case, the employee simply would not be right for the company. On the other hand, we could turn the tables and use an example that I am sure most, if not all of us, are very much aware of: inept managers. We have all heard that employees leave not because of bad jobs, but bad managers; but how true is this statement?
If a manager does not encourage a positive work culture, rather stifles it, how are employees expected to perform adequately? If employees are not acknowledged for their hard work or when they have an opinion to share, how can the organisation then say that it is the employee who is at fault? If the organisational culture has not been clearly communicated, or if the manager is incompetent in terms of their job or how they treat their employees (or both), how can the manager then blame the employee for unsatisfactory work?
In July 2019, The Independent found that a third of UK workers describe their work as ‘soul destroying’ and ‘utterly dull'.
This is extremely worrying; with such a high number of people not enjoying their work, there is clearly a larger underlying issue.
I feel that organisations should accept responsibility when they are wrong, as the excuse of employees not performing adequately will not work all the time. With reference to The Independent’s article, as well as what I have witnessed whilst working in the hospitality industry, I will highlight a few of the reasons why people are dissatisfied within their jobs:
• Boredom
• Work feels like a chore
• Long hours and low pay
• Lack of opportunities for career advancement
• The attitudes of superiors
With these issues still not being solved, it is no wonder why the hospitality industry has one of the highest rates of employee turnover than any other industry, with the UK reaching a whopping 30% in 2019. This is double the UK average.
I, therefore, hope that this time away from work will serve as time for everybody to think about how they are treating/mistreating their staff, and how this is negatively affecting employee morale. This will likely solve many issues within companies at present, such as improving their subpar employee retention rate and ensuring that employees are happy and motivated at work, thereby ensuring a better overall service being provided to guests. As seen from the organisational structure itself, all information travels from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom. Therefore, if the very top of the hierarchy is inadequate in their ability to perform, they can only blame themselves for the disappointing results that occur.
