Yes, feed back from our guests is important. We have established that fact already. What about feed back from our employees?

Someone said this: One cause of stupid management is stupid employees. It is easy for the Emperor to go naked when everyone's telling him how good he looks.

Many junior staff would choose to keep quiet rather then speak out and inform his or her superiors of the problems. But equally sad is a lot of the middle and higher management staff also do not bother to speak out.

Lack of understanding is one of the reasons. Once I discussed a problem with a department head in the hotel and he replied that it is a management problem. I asked him who is the management and reminded him that we are the management team and it is our problem.

Of course, most of the hotels is run with a capable and experienced General Manager. It does not help when the GM is authoritative and full of confidence and so many procedures and processes are carried out based on his direct instruction and direction. This has created an environment where most senior staff would "just do it" and keep quiet.

Another reason is that the messenger always get shot. Because I am the bearer of the bad news, I was shouted at and reprimanded. Why would I bother?

So both the employer and the employees can be at fault. It is important to realize that we are one team and we are here to do a successful business. The channel to encourage feedback from staff must be open and likewise employees must realize that his feedback is necessary and he cannot afford to shut up while assuming that completing his shift of work would guarantee job security.