One of the most dreaded site for me as an early Executive Housekeeper was looking at my Human Resource Manager walk into my office with a pile of Appraisal forms.

After the dust settled on the initial apprehension, many a questions used to arise in my mind –a) How do I judge the authenticity of the targets set by my predecessor?b) On what grounds do I set the Targets for the next year?c) How do I quantify the output for the last year and the coming year?d) How do I prove the efficiency of one team mate over the other?e) What are the immediate and long term training needs for a team member?f) Would my successor be able to understand the grounds on which I have planned the growth for

my team?

Although an annual routine, I could understand what it meant for my team as I myself used to be very anxious over my own appraisal. A good appraisal system where in I was constructively criticized as well as appreciated on measureable grounds could keep me motivated for the entire year and revitalize my faith in “Good work never goes unnoticed”. Appraisal was the time of the year when a person was judged for the entire session and all the efforts put in by him/ her were recorded, mapping his growth plan and benefits. This meant aggression from the team members too as whatever discussed and agreed to would be the benchmark.

I was always on the lookout for a fair means of judging and analyzing the year, which would be mutually agreeable for not just the appaisee and the appraiser, but also for the entire team. As housekeeping usually has the maximum number of team mates in a hotel it makes it even more necessary to have an absolutely fair and justified modus operands for the appraising. This led to the origin of the early draft of Kazzam – A comprehensive housekeeping software solution.

Kazzam can not only record the daily audit for the team members but also plan the growth sheet with training needs. It assists the Housekeeper in the Herculean task of setting KRAs for individuals, as per the actual performance, and have quantifiable targets set for the coming year. A tool wherein the Housekeeper can track individual performances on soft skills and formulate corrective action on a daily basis, with the consent of the team member, making the appraisal system a very healthy exercise.

As Kazzam can also assist in highlighting the training inputs required for individual team members, it ensures mandatory training is imparted to members who are in actual need of the particular training. By analyzing growth sheets the Housekeeper can now judge whether or not the training imparted has shown results or there is further intensified input required.

Guest satisfaction surveys are a good way of understanding what your guests have to say about your services but keeping track of what was said about which room and which team member has always been a challenge. Kazzam now offers a solution for the housekeepers to track guest feedback which can be viewed room-wise / team member wise or even concern wise for the selected time period. This enables the housekeepers to analyse problem areas better and also understand why a particular room or a particular staff member is attracting comments. The housekeeper can then move towards achieving a zero defect room in a six sigma approach.

We housekeepers have to keep the most detailed organizers to keep track of our weekly/ fortnightly/ monthly/ quarterly extra activities. Finding which room is defaulting on a quarterly mattress turning or a monthly carpet shampooing is a task in itself. Kazzam makes this as easy as a click of a button, as it tracks down all scheduled activities and highlights the defaulting rooms for every task. This makes it easier for the supervisors to know which of their rooms has pending tasks. These can be briefed to the team members at the beginning of their shifts. Data handling and shift take over become much more easier as the cumbersome task of log sheet filling can be minimized.

Controlling costs of guest supplies and cleaning supplies is also a challenge. Getting to know of the expenses incurred at month end does not allow room for timely corrective action. Kazzam tracks the cost incurred for every guest/ cleaning supply item on a daily basis. The same can be also analized on per occupied room basis so that the team members can be made aware of the financial position of the department. This also assists in forecasting budgets for the coming months and helps in making a much realistic budget for the coming year.

The following features are also included –a) Lost and found record keeping and tracking.b) Inventory control and record keepingc) Keeping track of per occupied room cost for Guest and Cleaning supplies.d) Snag list updation and tracking of to be rectified room defects.e) Planned preventive maintenance scheduling and tracking.f) Top performers and their strengths g) Training records for individuals and the department.h) Top GSS concerns

Kazzam is a web based software and does not need to be integrated with any existing property management software. It can be accessed on any internet friendly device and does not need heavy investment on appliances or hardware. Moreover it brings the department a step closer to becoming paper-less. It provides the user accurate data instantly and on the go, making decision making faster. It also enables the Corporate housekeepers to view and track all units under their leadership from one place. Thus ensuring that all the units are in tune with the company mission and vision.

Manish Jain919958867299

Kazzammanish@kazzam.in