“I no longer need to be on-site and use different communication channels to pass on information and track the progress of work: I can do all of this in hotelkit.”
Martynas Rutkauskas
Cluster Director of Operations,
Radisson Blu Manchester Airport & Park Inn Manchester
As Director of Operations of two Radisson hotels in Manchester, Martynas Rutkauskas is aware of the challenges that come with communicating via different communication channels. With hotelkit, it’s possible to communicate information to the entire team via one centralized platform. In this interview, he explains how the implementation of hotelkit did not only change the daily work routine in the hotel but also increased productivity levels.
In his role, Martynas Rutkauskas needs to be able to delegate tasks to the different teams and have an overview of the progress of the work processes in both hotels. In the following, he explains how hotelkit facilitated this task for him:
Challenge
Two hotels, different communication channels
The amount of information that was exchanged between our departments via different communication channels was challenging: Emails, WhatsApp messages, and handwritten notes, there were many ways of exchanging information. So it wasn’t easy to be on top of everything. Communicating took time and consequently also delayed our operating processes. Added to that, in 2021 we were merged with another Radisson hotel and led by a joint General Manager. The communication between the two sites, however, turned out to be quite challenging. At that time, we didn’t yet have a communication medium that stored all the important information and made it accessible to everyone, even those who weren’t on-site.
Solution
How does hotelkit support your role as the operations manager?
Monitor work progress in real-time without needing to be on-site
The digitalization of our operating processes boosted our productivity. All the information that we need in our daily work routine can now be found on one central platform, there is no more need to exchange information via emails, phone calls, or WhatsApp Messages. As Operations Manager for the Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport and the Park Inn by Radisson Manchester City Centre, I no longer need to use different communication channels to pass on information, be on-site to delegate tasks, or track the progress of work processes: I can now do all of this in hotelkit.
Maintaining an overview with digital tasks and checklists
I enjoy working with digital tasks and the checklist function; I have always been a big fan of to-do lists. hotelkit gives me the possibility to continually adapt my daily, weekly, and long-term goals. So, whenever I have a conversation about improvement measures that I deem relevant and that could be undertaken in our hotel, I immediately create a task in hotelkit and add it to my personal to-do list. This guarantees that no idea is forgotten, and it enables me to be on top of everything.
Prioritizing tasks for the entire team
Before I enter the hotel in the morning, the heads of departments already know — in order of priority — the tasks that need to be carried out today. To avoid distractions, each department can only see its own task list. My teams then start carrying out the tasks at hand, and the heads of departments and I can track the work progress in real-time in hotelkit.
No need for emails, WhatsApp messages, or phone calls
If complications occur, the employees can let us know about it by commenting underneath the respective entry – no more need for emails, WhatsApp messages, or phone calls. This way, even if we aren’t on-site, we can immediately respond to any questions or concerns as we are always connected with our teams via hotelkit.
Results
Automated daily routines
Security rounds supported by NFC technology
The walkthrough route is equipped with 56 NFC tags which need to be scanned on-site with a smartphone. Each NFC tag contains a hotelkit checklist that shows what needs to be checked at the control points. In case there is a problem, for example, a blocked emergency exit, and the checkpoint cannot be ticked off, one can immediately create a task in hotelkit and send it to the responsible employees. This gives us two clear advantages: Our safety walkthroughs are documented reliably, and we can submit these documents to the authorities in the event of an inspection. Furthermore, it is guaranteed that damages are quickly taken care of.
Recurring checklists for morning and evening shifts
We use recurring tasks including checklists for our morning and evening shifts at the reception. This way, it’s clear to all our employees what needs to be considered.
Manager on Duty rounds
The walkthrough of the Manager on Duty is also depicted in the form of a checklist, and he is required to scan NFC tags at some of the control points. Thanks to this logical depiction, even new employees immediately understand what needs to be done.
SOPs and documents accessible to everyone
In our handbook, the different departments can access SOPs, instructions, and safety documents. Moreover, the risk assessment which we update every year and which must be signed by our employees is saved as a draft in the digital handbook. In the handbook, you can clearly see by whom and when the document was last edited which enables us to prove that we carry out the necessary revisions on a yearly basis. Furthermore, it’s no longer necessary to print out each page, the changes can simply be done online. We then send out a task to the employees asking them to sign the document and upload the signed document onto hotelkit.
Highly efficient teams
The increase in productivity has certainly helped us: Thanks to shortened work processes, our employees save time, and our short-staffed teams can tackle more tasks. Furthermore, thanks to hotelkit new employees can adjust to their tasks a lot quicker as all the information that they need to carry out their duties is accessible to them digitally and in a well-structured document. We also noticed that in using this smart solution, the employees’ motivation increased as the daily work routine became easier to handle.
