Profile Razia Bano: Happy work environment at the Hilton Auckland
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There are two main themes to Razia Bano's work at Auckland's Hilton Hotel. As executive housekeeper,
she has responsibility for maintaining the Hilton chain's demanding 5-star cleanliness standards.
But she is also a strong believer that her multicultural staff of 37 should enjoy their work and feel valued by their employer – an attitude that fits well with the Hilton culture.
"We are a team, we are a family at the Hilton," she said. "It comes right from managers at the top and goes all the way down the line."
And that means training staff to be able to carry out a number of roles, helping avoid them feeling trapped in just doing one job and equipping them for advancement in various aspects of the hotel's operations.
Mrs Bano came to the Hilton in 2000 as assistant housekeeper after working in the same role for another hotel company. Born in Fiji, where she had a clerical work background, she and her husband came to Auckland in 1989. The hotel, situated with spectacular views on Auckland's waterfront, was then brand new.
"The Hilton had just opened when I joined so there was quite a lot needed in developing the team. I think what I brought with me was my versatility – being able to adapt to different challenges in other areas of the hotel. I was able to multitask and manage the housekeeping department with my executive housekeeper.
"Our main task was to build a stable team because Hilton hotels are run to a lot of brand standards. "We needed to educate our staff in what we were trying to achieve as a 5-Star property."
In 2007, Mrs Bano became the executive housekeeper and was able to put her own ideas into effect. In her previous hotel experience with another company, she had a housekeeping manager who was very strict and insisted on work being carried out in a set way. "The housekeeper was the boss and she dictated all the rules, so it was hard to feel comfortable in that sort of environment."
But Mrs Bano embraced the Hilton culture and wanted a leadership style based on looking after her team, making sure everybody was happy in their work and cared about their job.
"Of course, everybody has a different style of management. I guess I am a very softly spoken person but we never compromise on standards. However, there are ways of dealing with things rather than with a whip I guess.
"I found at the Hilton that we do care about our people. It is like a big extended family to us. We should love coming to work. It shouldn't be a case of thinking: 'We have to come to work just to get the money.' We should feel passionate, and that is the culture we're trying to develop in our team.
"To be in hospitality you have to love it. This is a great industry. It was a complete change from what I was doing in Fiji but I don't think I could move away from hotels anymore because you just love the people you work with and the guests we serve from all over the world."
It seems the guests like Razia Bano, too, judging by their assessment of the standards she and her team are achieving. "We must maintain our very high 5-Star standard, and guests have the opportunity to rate us in their survey at the end of their stay. They always give us the highest possible scores."
She hasn't found any problems. "We don't regard things as problems, we say it is a challenge. Sometimes it is not easy to find people who will be suitable for this work environment because they have to have the right mindset for hospitality work. For room attendants, it is much the same job every day, but I tell my team they are professionals – not everybody can do what they are doing and they should be taking pride in what they are achieving. That helps keep them motivated.
"We also try to multitask which helps keep the team interested. Upskilling is also good for the hotel because it gives us a good deal of flexibility. The Hilton invests quite a lot every year to make sure we are looking after our staff, which includes developing them so they can have a long career within the hotel."
Mrs Bano has no regrets about her move into hospitality. "I love it. We have a very happy team atmosphere here at the Hilton."
