Hotels to outsource FM services

Outsourcing facility services is the future in Hotel hospitality, say Executive Housekeepers of leading hotels across the country. In an exclusive group discussion on the “Changing Trends of Housekeeping in Hotels” organized by Clean India Journal at Hosur, hotel housekeepers expressed concern over availability of skilled labour to meet changing needs of hospitality in hotels. The majority agreed that the advent of integrated service by FM service providers which include Operational expenditure Payroll, Recruitment, Training & development, Insurance premiums, IT infrastructure – installation, operating and maintenance costs, Service quality management, HR, Equipment, chemicals & associated procurement and OH&S best practices have enabled the hoteliers to think about outsourcing the facility.

Srimanti De, Housekeeper, Maidens Hotel, avers, “In hospitality sector outsourcing is taking a centrestagespecially for non revenue generating areas driven by a desire to reduce cost but also maintain the brand’s standard. India has a large pool of educated semi skilled and skilled work force which due to globalisationare not limited to only few job roles.” The step can help improve the cost effectiveness, concentrating on core jobs rather than dealing with labour shortage and other housekeeping concerns.In such scenario, an FM provider will have to take utmost care of the services. “In hospitality sector as education and communication play a vital role, the personnel engaged have to match the criteria laid down by the brand in terms of grooming and attitude. The company should take complete ownership of getting a background check of all employees as there is a perception that people who aren’t on the payroll are a security issue,” says De.

Read more in the October issue of Clean India Journal.