Video Case:  Now Who's Boss? (7:01)

How can managers really find out what's involved in the jobs their employees do? Do the work yourself, of course. That's what Jonathan Tisch, chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, did at his Miami Beach property. For days, he donned uniforms and worked in six entry-level jobs--bellman, breakfast cook, room-service waiter, front-desk clerk, pool attendant, and housekeeper. Tisch was watched not only by his employees, but also by viewers who saw Now Who's Boss? when the segment was aired on The Learning Channel.  For the role reversal, employees worked alongside Tisch or kept a close eye as he checked in guests, cooked omelets, delivered drinks poolside, or made beds with hospital corners and military precision. The CEO put himself and his ego on the line; he is shown fumbling, sweating, and struggling through various tasks. Afterward, the usual jobholders were asked to critique his performance. Tisch says he wanted honest assessments, and got them, including a grade of C for his turn as housekeeper.

Working hotel service jobs was not an entirely new experience for Tisch, whose family owned a chain of hotels along the East Coast from New York to Miami. As a child, Tisch helped out in hotel kitchens during family vacations. At 16, he held a paying job as desk clerk at one of his family's hotels.¹ It had been a long time, however, since the CEO had worked in a service job. As a desk clerk, he lacked the computer skills needed to quickly register guests and saw firsthand the demands of welcoming tired or cranky arrivals. In Miami's summer heat, he sweated in polyester uniforms. He spent an exhausting three hours cleaning a room instead of the half hour it takes a housekeeper. The housekeepers laughed when Tisch recounted his troubles and applauded when he expressed his appreciation for the demands of their job--the toughest one, he said. 

The job switching required hard work and a significant amount of executive time--a half-day per job--but provided tremendous value. "Looking at all these positions with the eye of a CEO, I learned a lot,"   Tisch says." ²The experience opened Tisch's eyes to the difficulty of the work, the training and experience required to do it well, and the dedication of the employees.  Two big benefits he derived are rapport with employees and respect for them. "While it's true they have a responsibility to management, you have a responsibility to them, too."³ One of management's responsibilities is to give employees the proper tools to do the work, such as the cotton uniforms that replaced the polyester ones at Loews hotels. Another is to reinforce the importance of your staff to the company. As a banquet server, Tisch noticed that guests ignored him and failed to make eye contract. Yet banquet servers are an important factor of a hotel's service. Tisch suggests giving people in such jobs the opportunity to move up. He started a companywide "Now Who's Boss?" day that requires the managers and senior staff of each hotel to take a day a year to work in a service job. Employee roundtables often follow, so Loews personnel can share and evaluate experiences. The communication helps everyone recognize what's required in the day-to-day running of a hotel.  "When you are in the hotel business," Tisch says, "you have to create partnerships with employees and guests."⁴ The company fosters partnerships with employees partly by giving everyday recognition. One example is the housekeeping staff's morning break-out session, which varies from hotel to hotel but follows the same approach. The entire team gathers for breakfast in the employee cafeteria. They discuss any particular challenges for the day, such as which groups are in the hotel for the week or what unusual problems may arise. Then they read aloud some guest comment cards reflecting needs of improvement or complimenting staff. Managers single out Individuals for recognition and maybe award prizes, such as a meal in the hotel restaurant or a sweater from the gift shop, to housekeepers who go the longest without an accident or score high on room inspections. The session concludes with music, cheers, or high-fives. For employees whose work is physically demanding, mentally draining, and lonely, as Tisch saw when he did the housekeeping job, the morning time together provides a few minutes of high-energy encouragement and fellowship to start the day.⁵

Discussion Questions

1. 1. How might the experience of Johnathan Tisch and Loews hotel managers impact the company's performance management?

1. 2. Which approach to measuring performance would be most effective for a hotel chain to use? Why?