My friends Jo, Sadhana and I used to be regulars at the Taj Coromandel Coffee Shop and mithai shop – not to dine there, but to work. We used to be paid a princely sum of Rs 100/= for day long assignments. As students at the Hotel Management School, this was a great opportunity to work while you study, and experience the industry first hand, and of course, to earn some pocket money.
We would turn up in our white shirts and grey skirts, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to do whatever task is assigned with enthusiasm – whether it was frilling the buffet table, or wiping a whole stack of cutlery and plates, or packing boxes of xmas cakes or mithai boxes (as the season demands). The ones who graduated to playing ‘hostess’ and order-taking would preen over the great assignments we got. Clocks were the farthest from our minds when we were there on these stints – we would work 16 to 18 hours, and still be fresh and eager for the next day.
The days we really did a fabulous job, Pasu, the dashing young restaurant manager, would sit us down at the coffee shop after lunch service, and ask us to order whatever we wanted to eat. Invariably it was the tall, gooey icecream concoction called Knickerbocker Glory, or the large, decadent slice of Blackforest Gateau that we would order, struggle through in ecstacy! And at the end of these stints, the team at the coffee shop would take some cash out of their ‘tips pool’ and buy us girls a little something!
As I think back to those days, I realise that the leadership team of the coffee shop were a very smart bunch, who knew exactly how to get the best performance out of their trainees. So many lessons that managers of today can learn – from this bunch of managers, who went with their instinct and sensitivity rather than anything a B-school could have taught them.
Let me list a few of the smart moves they used to motivate us, and feel free to try them out with your teams – especially the youngest and the newest.
Instant, immediately after the event – hard and tough days always ended with the offer of the dessert. Pasu never waited for the week to end, or for us to finish our stint. So, tough days actually ended with good memories. And he made it a point to tell us ‘Girls, you have earned your dessert today’ How easy is that!! Reward, and reinforce!
Small, multiple, consistent – a dessert out of the kitchen didn’t cost Taj much, and was valuable to us the recipient. He could repeat it often enough, as often as it continued to motivate us. And packing sweets always ended with a box to take home!
Inclusion, creating a feeling of belongingness – by giving us something out of their tip money, the team there made us feel like we were a part of them. To add, the team would share anything guests gave them (many tour groups leave gifts for the staff) with us – so we were made to feel part of the ‘family’. We also had our meals together, and were considered part of the ‘Pavilion’ bunch.
Coaching, feedback and guidance – it wasn’t all fun and games. Every task was taught meticulously to us; every day, we had to, along with the others, learn one set of items on the menu and describe it and explain it; after we completed any job assigned to us, Pasu or one of his able lieutenants – Lionel or Mammen, would come and critically examine our work. We would glow if the job was appreciated, and they would show us what was wrong when it wasn’t to their standards (and they had very high standards). I know that the basics I learnt there stayed with me and continue with me!
Support, stand up for them – I know I dropped a whole tray of imported wine glasses – all 24 of them one day! It must have cost a bomb, and I stood there, ready to cry, especially as the food and beverage manager just walked in. Calmly, Mammen moved me aside and took over, before the F&B manager could react or say anything to me. On a similar note, no guest was ever allowed to be rude or misbehave with any of us. One of the supervisors was always around to take care
Show you care – If we finished up late, but too early to qualify for the ‘cab’ drop, one of them would personally ensure we reached home safe. On a similar note, I was touched when I realised Ashwin’s manager got his mom to cook dinner at 2 in the morning for the whole team when they worked late! I always contrast this in my mind with some of the large companies today who allow their women staff to go home on their own, even after office parties.
Make it fun – these days, fun at the workplace, and ‘inclusive fun’ are conscious HR led programs. Back then, it was a natural outcome of a mind-set that made work fun; pranks were common, no one was spared; neither was anyone exempt from nick-names and jokes. The more the work, the higher the stress, faster and thicker flew the jokes. Stress? I never knew what it meant till about fifteen years ago!
In all the workplaces where I have been since then, ‘infant mortality’ as we call it, is one of the most common phases of attrition – within the first six months to a year of an employee joining. I believe that many of these ‘inclusive’ and ‘nurturing’ practices have been lost. Partly with technology coming in the way of people management – we don’t talk to people, we mail them; partly with managers being too ‘busy’ with their own tasks and routine to take time out to nurture; and partly because we have forgotten how such seemingly small acts and behaviour can make all the difference between the ‘infant’ surviving the initial days of the work place, or getting disillusioned and quitting.
So folks, buy a KnickerBocker Glory to the next newbie in your team when she does something you appreciate and watch her glow!!