Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2006-08-30 08:35:41 - Graham Ellis
With Well House Consultants growing - just over a month now until we open Well House Manor, and lots happening on many fronts - we've instigated a monthly staff meeting. It's to ensure that everyone's in the picture as to what has been happening in all departments, and what will be happening in the coming months. It's to allow us to reinforce the company line and ethos so that none of us drift away from our objectives, and the strategies we're applying to achieve them. And it's to give everyone a chance to make inputs ... in addition to chances that are always open during the month. Sometimes, the more formal setting helps.
Here's a couple of inputs that came up, from Christne and Leah, during yesterday's meeting.
"The travel reps used to be so helpful on our holidays, and it was really worthwhile going along to the welcome meeting. But these days, they're not telling you about the local shops and cafes near the hotel and where to get loacl buses - they're intent only on pushing their own high priced excursions".
"Should we provide a vending machine to sell things that people might have forgotten to bring when they're staying with us?"
These two inputs have both 'hit' our thoughts - taken us in directions that we perhaps hadn't thought to explore fully prior to the meeting (excellent - THAT is one of the meeting's objectives). And indeed after the meeting, combining Leah's and Christine's thoughts lead us to some firming up of strategy ... and how to tactically move towards it.
Resolved ... that we'll be looking at vending a limited selection of items, both technical and nontechnical, that people may have forgotten. Whether we do so through a vending machine or via front desk sales remains to be evaluated, and has been set down as an action.
Resolved ... that items we sell will be supplied as a service rather than as a profit centre; in that way, we'll be happy to advise our clients of other products and greater ranges that are available close by.
See all my talk of "objectives", "strategies" and "tactics"? ... in order for us all to see where we're headed, I've laid down a few definitions and details here.