Supervise reception services

This standard is about supervising the reception service to ensure that it has all the necessary staff, equipment and supplies and is likely to be used by a supervisor responsible for the activities within the area of work on a daily basis under the direction of the relevant manager.
As with the concierge and portering service, staff on reception are often among the first, and last people that guests engage with. A warm welcome and seamless service at reception makes a great first impression and smooths the way for other staff to carry it forward. To the opposite extreme, a bad impression may make the guest wonder how many more such experiences he or she is likely to have!

A good reception service will operate professionally and be aware of the diversity of guests and their requirements. Staff will be able to handle customer feedback, including complaints, and understand the organisation's polices on areas such as discounting or promotional offers.

This standard covers key areas essential to the reception service such as ensuring procedures are in place for running the service and that staff conduct themselves appropriately and are properly briefed. The standard also covers the monitoring and improvement of the service.

When you have completed this standard you will be able to demonstrate your understanding of and ability to:

• Supervise reception services

1. Allocate staff and brief them on duties, relevant procedures and any variations relating to their work routines
2. Make sure staff have the skills, knowledge and resources they need when they  need them and encourage staff to ask questions if there is information that they do not understand
3. Ensure your staff follow the reception procedures, maintain the appearance of the reception area and conduct and present themselves according to organisational requirements and standards
4. Lead staff to identify different customers and their real and perceived needs and communicate with customers in a manner that promotes a positive customer experience
5. Ensure the reception service complies with relevant legal requirements, industry  regulations, professional codes and organisational policies
6. Inform your staff and customers about any changes to the service that may affect them
7. Monitor the quality of work and progress against plans and take effective action to manage problems that may disrupt the reception service when they occur, finding practical ways to overcome barriers
8. Control costs, make best use of available resources and proactively seek new sources of support when issues arise
9. Monitor and review procedures to make sure the service meets the needs of  customers
10. Collect and pass on feedback and recommend improvements to the relevant people according to your organisation's requirements
11. Give feedback to staff to help them improve their performance where appropriate
12. Use effective methods to gather, store and retrieve information, accurately complete the required records and report on performance to support the service according to your organisation's procedures

1. The roles and responsibilities of different individuals within your organisation and department and how they affect the reception service
2. What services are available to customers and what customer needs and expectations are
3. How to obtain information on guests including, where appropriate, guest histories
4. What the department's service targets and standards are and how to assess performance of staff against them
5. Organisational standards for the reception area and the personal presentation and behaviour of staff
6. How the reception service integrates with other departments in the organisation
7. How to estimate the time and other resources required for activities, who to approach when you need approval for the use of additional resources and  ways of preparing contingency plans
8. How to implement the requirements of relevant health and safety, employment and equal opportunities legislation and other industry specific regulations and codes  of practice
9. How to deal with customers when fully booked and their  requirements cannot be accommodated
10. How to encourage staff to make decisions for themselves within the limits of their authority
11. How to write procedures and work instructions effectively and what the relevant channels of communication are for establishing and updating procedures
12. How to brief your staff taking account of the abilities and circumstances of individuals
13. What your organisation's discount policy is and how promotional offers should be handled
14. How to communicate with customers and suppliers and ways of handling customer complaints
15. How to build effective teams
16. How to monitor staff performance against organisational standards, supervise and take action to ensure the correct standard of  staff performance
17. What the limits of your own authority are when it comes to solving problems
18. Why it is important to seek the views of staff and customers and gain their feedback and how to collect and analyse feedback
19. How to give feedback to your staff to help them improve their performance
20. How to present recommendations.

The following behaviours are provided as guidance to underpin effective performance of a hospitality supervisor

1. You model behaviour that shows respect, helpfulness and co- operation
2. You demonstrate consistently high standards of personal presentation
3. You make best use of available resources and proactively seek new sources of support when necessary

Effective methods to gather, store and retrieve information include cost- effective, time effective and ethical means.
Information includes from customers and staff.

This standard is a sector specific standard and has particular links with the following standards in the Hospitality Supervision & Leadership suite of standards: HSL1-6, HSL14, HSL19, HSL23, HSL24, HSL25, HSL26