TRADING PLACES!

BOSSES at the Crowne Plaza got a taste of how the other half live and work when they swapped jobs and went back to the shop (or rather hotel) floor for a day.

The ten-strong senior management team traded places with employees to learn more about their everyday tasks and have a chance to see just exactly what they do.

The aim was not only to understand and get to know the employees better but also to set a good example as a management team and show they're not afraid of getting their hands dirty, something that was particularly evident for director of sales and marketing Kate Simmonds who took up her mop and joined housekeeping for the day.

She said: "This was a unique experience and opportunity, not only did I learn new things about how the hotel works and what my colleagues do on a day to day basis but I also got to understand about some of the issues they might face and how we can make our hotel an even better place to work."

Executive assistant manager James Hewitson spent the day ferrying staff around the island as employee bus driver. He said: "I thoroughly enjoyed the experience as the 'Team Driver' and I must say that the team kept me amused all day with their stories and jokes. I do hope that my driving was at their expected level, I didn't receive any traffic fines or have any accidents. It was a welcome change to the office and daily meetings."

And even general manager Ivor Prestwood did not escape. He found himself on the front desk checking in guests and dealing with their questions and needs.

He said: "Crowne Plaza Bahrain takes part in detailed employee surveys twice a year and one of the ideas that came out of this was that management should experience exactly what the team members experience on a daily basis.

"With this in mind the Trading Places concept has been developed. The positions were drawn out of a hat to ensure fair distribution of managers throughout the hotel and the whole initiative is to develop teamwork and understanding throughout the whole hotel of 'working better together'."

Other staff trading places included Gehan Helmy who went from housekeeping to waiting tables in Harvesters, front office manager Mishal Al Bahri who was sent to the main kitchen and training manager Caroline Valencia who found herself on a live cooking station.

And employees certainly liked the idea. Joel Tambis, from reservations, said: "It shows they do care about us and that they are willing to do what we do every day."

Throughout the day the managers were asked to fill in a questionnaire and staff members also got to interview them, feedback from which will be shared in a team briefing. And the job swap was also filmed with a video shortly to be released on You Tube.

Next the hotel plans a job swap in the other direction, giving the employees the chance to take on the managers' roles for a day.