CC BY
34IV. ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ СФЕРЫ УСЛУГ
УДК 394.9
A.L. Zelezinskii, O.V.Arhipova
THE ROLE OF STAFF EMOTIONAL AND CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN FORMING COMPETITIVENESS HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
In the hospitality industry, guests are provided with a standard set of services. However, in order to create a positive impression of a hotel, its employees must be able to find a special approach to their guests. In today's globalized world and the hospitality industry, emotional intelligence and cross-cultural competence in serving guests of different nationalities becomes important. Cross-cultural and emotional competence of employees is an important aspect of strategic and corporate management in the hotel industry. The authors of the article focus on considering the problem of the formation of cross-cultural and emotional competence of the personnel of the contact zone of a hotel enterprise. The specificity of cross-cultural interaction in the hotel business is preliminary revealed and the need to take into account the cross-cultural characteristics of customers of different nationalities in the process of servicing at hospitality enterprises is substantiated.
Keywords: hotel business, hospitality industry, personnel, emotional intelligence, cross-cultural competences.
А.Л.Зелезинский1, О.В.Архипова2
РОЛЬ ЭМОЦИОНАЛЬНОГО И КУЛЬТУРНОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА ПЕРСОНАЛА В ФОРМИРОВАНИИ КОНКУРЕНТОСПОСОБНОСТИ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯ ИНДУСТРИИ ГОСТЕПРИИМСТВА
В гостиничном бизнесе гостям предоставляется стандартный набор услуг. Однако для создания положительного впечатления о гостинице, её работники должны уметь найти особенный подход к своим гостям. В условиях глобализации современного мира и индустрии гостеприимства важное значение приобретает эмоциональный интеллект и кросс-культурные компетенции в обслуживании гостей разных национальностей. Кросс-культурная и эмоциональная компетентность сотрудников выступает важным аспектом стратегического и корпоративного менеджмента на предприятии гостиничной индустрии. Авторы статьи сосредотачивают внимание на рассмотрении проблемы формирования кросс-культурной и эмоциональной компетентности персонала контактной зоны гостиничного предприятия. Предварительно выявляется специфика кросс-культурного взаимодействия в гостиничном бизнесе и обосновывается необходимость учёта кросс-культурных особенностей клиентов разных национальностей в процессе обслуживания на предприятиях сферы гостеприимства.
Ключевые слова: гостиничный бизнес, индустрия гостеприимства, персонал, эмоциональный интеллект, кросс-культурные компетенции.
DOI: 10.36807/2411 -7269-2022-4-31-47-50
A significant number of indicators affect the competitiveness of hospitality enterprises, among them are the cost of services, characteristics of the room stock, infrastructure and material and technical base of the hotel, catering, provision of additional services. At the same time, the availability of highly qualified personnel, as well as the use of emotional resources and
1 Зелезинский А.Л., доцент кафедры менеджмента и маркетинга, кандидат педагогических наук, доцент; ФГБОУ ВО "Санкт-Петербургский государственный технологический институт (технический университет)", г. Санкт-Петербург
Zelezinskii A.L., Associate Professor of the Department of Management and Marketing, PhD in Pedagogics, Associate Professor; Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University)", Saint-Petersburg
E-mail: uchposob@yandex.ru
2 Архипова О.В., профессор кафедры гостиничного и ресторанного бизнеса, доктор философских наук, доцент; ФГБОУ ВО "Санкт-Петербургский государственный экономический университет", г. Санкт-Петербург
Arhipova O.V., Professor of the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Business, Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor; Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics", Saint-Petersburg
E-mail: olva@list.ru
knowledge of cross-cultural communication in the work process is essential for maintaining and strengthening positions.
With the development of the hotel industry, the number of contacts increases, and, consequently, the collisions of various interests, values and cultures. The development and training of personnel is now becoming a vital element of the existence and development of the organization. Personnel development is now considered as a type of investment in human capital, which is no less important investments than financial ones. The personnel development system of a hotel company is designed to increase the efficiency of employees due to their qualitative growth, which ultimately is a prerequisite for the success of the company in the market and obtaining a competitive advantage.
Emotional intelligence of employees and effective intercultural communication are important aspects in the activities of the hospitality industry. The ability to listen and hear, verbally demonstrate understanding of the situation, the ability to assess and predict the development of dialogue, manage their condition and choose a communication style are skills that must be constantly developed by employees of the hospitality industry. Where employees are open and good-naturedly attuned to the understanding of guests, are able to show sincere concern for them, are able to anticipate their requests and reactions, are able to reduce emotional stress, customers always positively evaluate their stay at the hotel. The process of interaction at the same time becomes inspiring, and the hotel acquires a new value in the eyes of guests [1]. Most often, recruitment requirements are limited to job descriptions, but qualities such as empathy, the ability to establish and maintain the necessary emotional background of communication are valued today no less than the experience of an employee. Emotional intelligence means a person's ability to recognize emotions, understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people and their own, as well as the ability to manage their emotions and the emotions of other people in order to solve practical problems. As part of the work of the hotel, it is primarily necessary when contacting a guest [10]. Developed social and emotional skills allow you to successfully build relationships with others, whether they are guests or colleagues.
The term "emotional intelligence" first appeared in the 1960s in the writings of psychologist M. Beldock, devoted to the expression of experiences. And the concept of the emotional coefficient EQ, as opposed to the classical IQ, was introduced by the American psychologist Reuven Bar-On. In 1986, he began studying this phenomenon, defining EQ (Emotional Quotient) as a set of emotional, personal and social qualities that affect the overall ability of someone to effectively cope with the demands and pressures of the environment. If traditional IQ tests measure the ability to reason, logic and mathematical knowledge, then emotional intelligence EQ allows you to successfully use these skills [10].
At the hotel, the EQ-related competencies of employees are mainly applied in three main areas: the ability to work in accordance with service standards, the ability to do up-sell and cross-sell, and the ability to resolve conflicts. The ability to work in accordance with the standards implies strict adherence to the operational procedures established at the hospitality enterprise. The up-sell and cross-sell processes assume a special skill. The employee must have complete information about the client's reservation, know all the offers of his company, and be able not just to list additional features and characteristics, but to present the services and products of the hotel in terms of benefits and benefits for the guest. The employee should be like a subtle psychologist who knows how to notice the needs of the guest, understand what he needs, awaken interest in time, arouse desire and increase the emotional tone of the client. This ability correlates with a well-developed EQ of a hotel employee, his ability to maintain his energy and perseverance at the proper level, often overcoming fatigue from heavy workload in the workplace [10].
The ability to effectively resolve conflicts is the most important skill of the hotel staff. It is often easier to prevent a conflict than to deal with its consequences in the future. Thanks to the ability to distinguish emotions well and recognize them, it becomes possible to establish the right contact with the guest and choose the right way to build interaction. By facial expressions and posture, by changes in speech and voice, by the behavior of the guest, competent staff can understand how a person is set up and anticipate his reactions. The hotel administrator, who can read the visitor's condition by face and nonverbal behavior, faces a minimum of surprises and extracts maximum mutual benefit. Thus, along with the ability to actively listen and adapt to a wide range of emotions, understanding nonverbal communication is one of the main skills of emotional intelligence.
Every day there are situations in the hotel when it is necessary not only to be able to anticipate reactions, but also to put yourself in the place of another. And empathic people are much better at picking up signals that indicate what the client really wants. Such emotional empathy and empathy presupposes sincere attention and involvement in the client's experiences,
the adoption of a set of measures. And, as a result, it serves as a basis for the manifestation of assistance - a set of measures designed to resolve the issue in the best possible way. In relation to the work of the hotel, this does not mean an indispensable concession to the guest, but reflects a real interest and respect for his needs and experiences.
Thus, it is safe to say that in the field of HoReCa, it is the EQ level that plays a decisive role in professional success. And there is something to work on here, while a person's IQ practically does not change after a certain age, EQ (coefficient of emotional development) continues to develop throughout life.
When compiling training programs for service providers, the emphasis is usually placed on techniques and techniques of effective communication, but cross-cultural factors are often not taken into account. But the problems of intercultural communication in the hospitality industry are the most common and vulnerable, this applies both to the relationship between customers and employees, and within organizations. Therefore, the hotel staff needs to have knowledge about the cultural characteristics of their guests, which implies not only the ability to speak the guest's language, but also knowledge of traditions, customs, religious peculiarities, gastronomic preferences and many other important moments of the daily life of guests from different countries.
When we receive our guests at home, we select an individual approach of hospitality for everyone, because we know their characteristics and habits, therefore, a personalized approach in the hotel is the key to success. The hotel staff should treat their customers the way they would like to be served when they themselves find themselves guests in another hospitality enterprise [6]. Having information about cultural and national peculiarities and applying it in practice, you can please every guest, make his stay pleasant, and increase his loyalty.
National peculiarities, lifestyle, habits, traditions, religion, superstitions can be called elements of intercultural communication. Therefore, it is relevant to include factors of intercultural communication in the system of customer service of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The innate or acquired ability to adequately perceive unfamiliar or ambiguous gestures and actions of representatives of another culture and to give an adequate reaction for this culture has received the definition of cultural competence [5].
According to E. Ang and V. Dean, cultural competence can be defined as "a person's ability to adapt when interacting with representatives of different cultural regions" and has behavioral, motivational and metacognitive aspects [3]. Cultural competence can be measured in the same way as human intelligence quotient (IQ) is measured. Personnel with a higher CQ have a higher ability to successfully adapt to any environment. Cultural competence has four possibilities: motivation (CQ Drive), cognition (CQ Knowledge), metacognition (CQ Strategy) and behavior (CQ Action). At the same time, the value of CQ shows the results of all four possibilities.
Emotional intelligence and cross-cultural skills are necessary not only for successful interaction with guests, but also within the team. Do not forget that Russia is a multinational and multi-confessional state. Therefore, healthy, respectful and friendly relations within the organization are the key to the success of the enterprise as a whole. And here, too, emotional intelligence and knowledge of national, cultural traditions and peculiarities of each member of the labor collective come to the fore. Along with the self-development of the staff, the management of the hotel company, for its part, should contribute to the development of each member of its team, the ability to avoid conflict situations with guests or between them, positively influence the emotional state of employees, staff cohesion, and, consequently, to improve the quality of service provision and increase the efficiency of the entire enterprise.
First of all, employees who have direct contact with guests should be informed about the peculiarities in the service of guests from different countries. It is important to familiarize them and teach them the necessary skills to communicate with foreigners, explain and, if possible, demonstrate the most characteristic phrases, gestures, and behavioral features inherent in guests of a particular nationality. The HR department of the hotel should, through mini-lectures, pre-prepare employees for the specifics of working with guests from different countries. Cross-cultural communication skills should be taken into account not only in the practice of staff training, but also in the practice of hiring, selection, adaptation, stimulation, evaluation. Cross-cultural specifics should also be reflected in basic professional service standards, such as job descriptions, regulations and regulations.
In order for the staff to master the knowledge of intercultural communication and the development of individual and collective emotional intelligence, it is necessary to conduct role-playing games with them, video or audio cases of "difficult guests", training sessions, which will give the basics of psychology, cultural norms and restrictions in communication, knowledge of customs, traditions, elements of "cultural shock", etiquette, operational and practical skills will
also be honed. It is important to understand here that the effectiveness of such events will be extremely low without post-training support. The main purpose of any training is to accumulate and change the knowledge, skills, skills and attitudes of the training participants. Without periodic reinforcement, the acquired knowledge and skills quickly return to the previous or even lower level. In fact, post-training support should not stop, the staff is periodically updated and posttraining is started again [1].
For a long time, the main emphasis in the formation of professional guest service skills in the process of staff training in the hospitality industry was placed on the technological component of the service and management process. It was considered important and a priority to teach an employee how to properly perform various operational tasks: book, clean rooms, set the table or serve dishes in a restaurant, have skills in working with information systems, etc. However, practice shows that up to 80 percent of emergency situations account for the process of communicating with a guest. The behavior of the staff in these situations determines the guest's perception of the quality of the services provided. That is why it is so important that an employee has high emotional intelligence, is able to regulate emotional state, resolve conflicts, and build communication within the team and cross-cultural communication with guests.
Thus, emotional intelligence and cross-cultural intelligence are the competencies of the XXI century, which cannot be dispensed with in the labor market. They are classified as meta skills - those that are associated with interpersonal interactions and are necessary in every department of the hospitality industry enterprise.
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