We may not be aware of them, but we use standards every day, in all aspects of our daily lives – in communications, education, healthcare, food, transport, construction, furniture, customer service and in many others.

Some standards have been around for hundreds even thousands of years – weights and measures for example. It is also thought that the railway Standard Gauge is derived from the groves worn into the ground by Roman chariots and carts. Users of carriages and wagons in later centuries discovered that the ride was more comfortable if the wheels fitted into those grooves. Then, when the first railways adopted the available carriages and wagons, the track spacing was determined by their wheels. That spacing was thus ‘standardised’, saving all the additional cost and effort of devising a new ‘standard’.

On 20th December, my wife and myself visited the main branch of our Bank, to meet the supervisor of the credit card division – a  senior employee with long years of service ,(let’s call her Bernadette), to obtain travel insurance for our son. After taking down the details, Bernadette promised to send us the quote from the Credit card Company’s partner Insurance agency. Six days passed and as we heard nothing, my wife sent an SMS that went “Hi Bernadette, any info re my son’s insurance?” Bernadette instantly replied “Yes I did get a response-will send it. On leave these days”.

Fourteen days go by and still nothing. A reminder SMS to Bernadette elicits a hurried (or harried) “Will send it. Please send me your email address”, response. Now this was surprising – the bank has our email since we receive our monthly card statements via email.  I can only surmise that Bernadette was still on ‘holiday’ mode despite being at work and my reminder had ‘miffed’ her. However, after the prolonged delay, we eventually received the quote from Bernadette with nary an apology.

More astoundingly, we observed that the Insurance agency had emailed the quote to her on the 20th of December, (the same day we met Bernadette at the bank).The information we sought stayed with the Bank for 14 days – when all it took was a click or two from Bernadette to forward it to us. I asked myself; doesn’t this International bank have any standards that go beyond financial expertise? What about its culture of work and how it operates? As much as telephone operators are required to answer the phone within three rings as a Standard of Operation (SOP), shouldn’t the bank have a standard for addressing guest queries? Going by this experience with the Bank, I reckon it has no standards or it encourages its staff to apply the following Standards of Operation: 1). Do not be ‘helpful’ if there is no immediate profit in it. 2).When going on an extended period of ‘leave’, leave all ‘pending’ work on ‘hold’ until you return to work - to assign it to a colleague is unacceptable. 3). Wait until you receive a reminder from the customer. 4). Be ‘open’ and tell the customer you have the information needed and to be patient as you are on leave. 5). When you return to work, attend first to matters that are important to the bank -‘customer’s needs’ are low in priority. 6). Be ‘courageous’ to force a second reminder from the customer, it means you are diligently following point 5). Finally, under no circumstances should you apologise for delays when communicating with customers – to do so is to acknowledge failure. Time indeed, for the employees of this bank which opened its office in Sri Lanka in 1858 and is ‘here to stay’, to remind themselves of the core values the bank professes to cherish.





You can’t ‘pick’ SOP’s off a shelf
TQM (Total Quality Management), HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), ISO9000 (International Standards Organization), and Six Sigma to name a few are several  management programs designed to help companies maintain process and quality control, and remain competitive in a global business environment.
At the heart of each of these programs, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), as they are sometimes called, drive the results. While business research and company performance continually demonstrate the power and effectiveness of these structured management control programs; a lesser known fact is that one (especially those in the hospitality industry), can benefit from the potential of SOPs without the added detail, development and expenditure that these complete programs demand. Ofcourse it would not stop those businesses who insanely enroll for as many programmes as possible in order to ‘appear to be doing the right things’ as a marketing ploy.

John Hendrie writes of the imaginary auditor who tells the equally imaginary hotel manager: “I’d like to review your standards”. To which, the manager confidently responds: “My accountant uses Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in recording, summarizing and in the preparation of financial statements; my chef follows the Requirements of the Public Health Department; my architect and builder always work with the Building Inspector to insure that we are in code; my elevators are up to spec; the Fire Department has approved my capacity and evacuation routes; my pool has been inspected with rules posted; and all my servers in the cocktail lounge have gone through TIPS training. Which one do you wish to review?” Unfazed the auditor replies, “I would like to see your Hospitality Standards, please”.
This left the hotel manager stuttering: “Oh!” Obviously this hotel had none!  Of the total hotels (and restaurants) currently operating in Sri Lanka, I believe less than 20% of them have established well – defined Standards of Operations. Think about it. You have your business model and your hotel design established. You know the star level you want to operate at and the features and facilities that you want to market to your target customers. Now what do you need? You need to know every task that has to be completed by your staff in order to operate the systems of your business and deliver the product that you envisage. This is where Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are so very critical. And, you can’t just pick SOPs off a shelf.





Vacuum of best intentions
 John Hendrie goes on to remonstrate hoteliers who constantly whine about having to follow Laws, Rules and Regulations or face fines, potential closure, and even lawsuits, all the while ignoring that their business is really about Hospitality Standards that they sell to the public – standards of Quality, Service, Products and Satisfaction.  Where are they written? Who has seen them?

How do your Standards drive your business, or are they implied? Implied is not reliable or even relevant, for that really means interpretable, and that welcomes trouble and disconnects. You think you know what you want — how the guestroom should look, how the entrée should be served, how to greet the guest, what it takes to make the experience memorable - your story and your passion.

But, success does not exist in a vacuum of best intentions. Your expression of excellence must better than meet the expectation of your Guest and be perfectly delivered by your staff. How do you translate that to your Guests and your employees? This all starts with the knowns - your Hospitality Standard Operating Procedures. They should be written, discussed, reinforced, and rewarded with your staff all the time.




What will SOPs achieve?
People need consistency to achieve top performance. Doing jobs the same way every time rather than wondering, “How does the boss want it done today?” Do I greet the well dressed customer and grunt at the casually attired teenager? Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) eliminate or reduce service variations, which is the enemy of efficiency and quality control. Well-written SOPs facilitate training. Having complete step-by-step instructions helps trainers ensure and provides a reference resource for trainees.

SOPs help in conducting performance evaluations. They provide a common understanding for what needs to be done and shared expectations for how tasks are completed. Employees can coach and support each other if there is documentation available on exactly how various tasks must be done and everyone knows what their co-workers are supposed to be doing. This can also help generate a more cooperative team approach to getting all the daily tasks done correctly, everyday. Without Standards of performance you are doing a great disservice to yourself, your employees and especially to your guests.

(Shafeek Wahab has an extensive background in Hospitality Management spanning over 30 years. He has held key managerial responsibilities in internationally renowned hotel chains, both locally and abroad, including his last held position as Head of Branding for a leading Hotel Group in Sri Lanka. Now focusing on corporate education, training, consulting and coaching he can be contacted on [email protected]. Website: www.in2ition.biz)