Food and Beverage Service Intra and Inter Departmental co-ordination:

Food and Beverage Service communication: Intra and Inter Departmental Relationships:

No hotel can develop in the absence of effective communication- both internal as well as external communications.

1.      EXTERNALCOMMUNICATION:

It includes the communications of hotel with external sources and officers that may be government agencies, post-office, licensing authorities, foreign trade officers, income tax, transports, financial institutions etc.

2.      INTERNAL COMMUNICATION:

It includes communication within the hotel itself, i.e. transmitting information within the organization, its departments, sections etc. and between the same chain.

Internal communication can be formal (or official), informal or consensus.

a)      Formal or official: this line of communication is used to transmit the official messages or information within or outside the organization. These communication flows along prescribed channels, which the staff members wanting to communicate are obelised to follow. Formal channels can be horizontal or vertical.

Horizontal communication or lateral communication is between workers and other workers, supervisors holding coffee break to discuss organisational problem. The horizontal communication is important for promoting understanding and co-ordination amongst various departments. Face to face, exchange of views or telephonic conversation is very convenient for horizontal communication. The congenial atmosphere in which oral communication takes place allows freedom of expression. There is immediate feedback and all doubts and misunderstanding are sorted out.

Vertical communication usually associated with formal structural relationship of the enterprise set-ups. Vertical communication can be in the upward or downward direction.

Upward communication flows from bottom to top of a hierarchy. In this, the managers receive information continuously stemming from levels below them. Open door policy, suggestion complaints box, and counselling are the best methods used. The limitation of this communication is that at times the employees may be unenthusiastic to express themselves and fear that their condemnation may be taken as sign of peculiar weakness and may be taken personally by the superior.

Downward communication flow from top to bottom of hierarchy. In this, the orders, instructions, guidelines, policy statements, job sheets, circulars etc. are flow from top manager to concern subordinates. It can be both verbal and written. The drawback of these types of communication are under or over communication, delay in action, resentment by subordinate staff and probable loss of information.

b)      Informal: with formal channels of communication informal channels also exists in every organisation. It does not arise out of organisation needs but is an integral part of communication.it is characterised by the network of interpersonal relations among personnel not formally as people have tendency to cut across formal channels, and communicate informally with different part of organisation. Rumours that are all time spreading in any organisation follow of communication. In this form of communication information passes quickly. In addition, the panorama to form a social group is high. The chances of incomplete and distorted information may be carried as people add their personal interpretation to the evidence, these data are fly-by-night, and information is impulsive and ambiguous.

Grapevines is of four (4) types-single strand, gossip, probability, and cluster.

c)      Consensus: agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole; "the lack of consensus reflected differences in theoretical positions"; "those rights and obligations are based on an unstated consensus.” The advantage of this form of communication is that the decision is easy to accept, preserves harmony, avoids conflicts and splits, and the hindrances are that the rebellion is often hushed in the name of consensus.

Inter departmental coordination and communication with F and B service and other departments

The Food and beverage service department is seen to possess a very vigorous intra and inter departmental interactions in prospect of accomplishing works. This has also made the functioning of the organisation very suave. Positive mutual aid and harmonisation can be found in between the intra departmental staffs, as they are willing to lend a helping hand during busy operation hours and favourably exchange their ideas and views with each other.

With f and b production: It coordinates with kitchen department for the preparation of various food and beverage items as per the orders. The kitchen also coordinates with food and beverage service department regarding the functions, outdoor caterings, and promotional activities.

With housekeeping: It coordinates with housekeeping department regarding the cleanliness of the outlets, different F&B sections and regarding the regular supply of staff uniforms and soil linens. The coordination of housekeeping department with the restaurants and banquet halls is mainly concerned with the provision of linen and uniforms. The linen room supervisor, under the supervision of the executive housekeeper, needs to have sufficient stock of clean napery to meet the demands of the F & B department’s restaurant and banquet function. On his/her part, the restaurant manager should ensure that the time set for the exchange of linen is respected; that linen is not lost or misused; and that intimation of forthcoming banquet function is conveyed to housekeeping department well in advance. Beside extra/special linen, housekeeping may also have to arrange for flower decorations for banquet.

Coordinating between two departments becomes particularly necessary in the case of room service, so that friction does not arise over matters such as waiters not collecting trays from guestrooms or room service staff leaving soiled trays in the corridors or causing extra work through careless spills on the carpet. In many hotels, housekeeping department also looks after pest control in restaurants, kitchens, and store attached to them. Special cleaning of this areas call for coordination with the housekeeping department. Restaurant staff required clean uniforms on a daily basis, for which they need to communicate with housekeeping department.

With front office department: Communication between the food and beverage department and the front office is also essential. Some of this communication is conveyed by relaying messages and providing accurate information on transfers, which are forms used to communicate a charge to a guest's account. Communication activities also include reporting predicted house counts, an estimate of the number of guests expected to register based on previous occupancy activities, and processing requests for paid-outs, forms used to indicate the amounts of monies paid out of the cashier's drawer on behalf of a guest or an employee of the hotel. These vital services help an overworked food and beverage manager, restaurant manager, or banquet captain meet the demands of the public. Incoming messages for the food and beverage manager and executive chef from vendors and other industry representatives are important to the business operation of the food and beverage department. If the switchboard operator is given instructions on screening callers (such as times when the executive chef cannot be disturbed because of a busy workload or staff meetings, or vendors in whom the chef is not interested), the important messages will receive top priority.

In a hotel that has point-of-sale terminals, computerized cash registers that interface with a property management system, information on guest charges is automatically posted to a guest's folio, his or her record of charges and payments. When a hotel does not have point-of-sale terminals that interface with PMS point-of-sale terminals, the desk clerk is responsible for posting accurate charges on the guest folio and relies on transfer slips. Also, the night auditor's job is made easier if the transfer slip is accurately prepared and posted. The front office manager should work with the food and beverage director in developing standard operating procedures and methods to complete the transfer of charges.

The supervisors in the food and beverage department rely on the predicted house count prepared by the front office manager to schedule employees and predict sales. For ex- ample, the restaurant supervisor working the breakfast shift will want to know how many guests will be in the hotel so he or she can determine how many servers to schedule for breakfast service. Timely and accurate preparation of this communication tool assists in staffing control and sales predictions.

Authorized members of the food and beverage department will occasionally ask the front office for cash, in the form of a paid-out, to purchase last-minute items for a banquet, the lounge, or the restaurant or to take advantage of other unplanned opportunities to promote hospitality. Specific guidelines concerning cash limits, turnaround time, prior approval, authorized signatures, and the general manager and front office manager develop purchase receipts. These guidelines help to maintain control of paid-outs. The banquet department, which often combines the functions of a marketing and sales department and a food and beverage department, requires the front office to relay information to guests about scheduled events and bill payment.

The front desk staff may also provide labour to prepare the daily announcement board, an inside listing of the daily activities of the hotel (time, group, and room assignment), and marquee, the curb-side message board, which includes the logo of the hotel and space for a message. Since the majority of banquet guests may not be registered guests in the hotel, the front office provides a logical communications centre.

The daily posting of scheduled events on a felt board or an electronic bulletin board provides all guests and employees with information on group events. The preparation of the marquee may include congratulatory, welcome, sales promotion, or other important messages. In some hotels, an employee in the front office contacts the marketing and sales department for the message.

The banquet guest who is unfamiliar with the hotel property will ask at the front office for directions. This service might seem minor in the overall delivery of service, but it is essential to the lost or confused guest. The front office staff must know both how to direct guests to particular meeting rooms or reception areas and which functions are being held in which rooms. Front desk clerks, must be ready to provide information for all departmental activities in the hotel. The person responsible for paying the bills for a special event will also find his or her way to the front office to settle the city ledger accounts. If the banquet captain is not able to present the bill for the function, the front desk clerk should be informed about the specifics of food and beverage charges, gratuities, rental charges, method of payment, and the like.

Human resources department: The human resources management department may rely on the F and B service staff to act as an initial point of contact for potential employees in all departments. It may even ask the F and B service to screen job candidates. If so, guidelines for and training in screening methods must be provided.

Some directors of human resources management depend on the F and B service to distribute application forms and other personnel-related information to job applicants. The potential employee may ask for directions to the personnel office at the F and B service. The human resources management department may also develop guidelines for the F and B service use in initially screening candidates. For example, the guidelines may include concerns about personal hygiene, completion of an application, education requirements, experience, and citizenship status. This information will help the executives in the human resources management department interview potential job candidates. Each situation will describe some communication problems between departments, trace the source of mis-communication, analyse the communication system, and present methods that will help improve communications. The purpose of this method of presentation is to help future professionals to develop a systematic way of continually improving communications.
Security department
It coordinates with security department to create a safer environment for the guests, hotel personnel and the assets to control them properly.
It coordinates with engineering department for repairs, maintenance, and installation of various equipment and physical features required during operation hours and special functions.

Information system
It coordinates with information system department regarding the updating and installing of different electronic information system. Every personal are provide with the password as access into the computer system of the hotel by the IS department. Similarly, the micros cards are also issued to the F&B staffs and the degree of accessibility is governed by the rank of the staffs.

Stores: It coordinates with materials department for regular supply of food, beverages, and essential stationeries for the outlet.
Sales and marketing department: It coordinates with sales and marketing department for the sales of banquet halls, fixing the menu price, and providing provisions and service as per the Banquet Event Order. F & B personnel will do the necessary arrangement for the preparation and see to guests needs. Get clients to hold functions using hotel facilities in banquets.

Finance department: It coordinates with finance department for payment of salary and budget development