Literature review
Communicating with tact and diplomacy is critical to success for business (Soden, 2017). In today’s context, the value of communication skills is recognized in the professional workplace, and it is important to communicate with tact and diplomacy. Tact is defined as ‘consideration in dealing with others and avoiding giving offense’ (American Management Association, n.d.).
Contrary to what many people think, there is more to communication than just speaking. One way is to be mindful, and pay attention ‘on purpose’ about how you speak. Learning to pay attention in this way allows a fundamental shift in perspective, and this ability to reperceive is something that can be learned and consciously train in (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).
The objective of this research proposal aims to examine how communicating with tact and being mindful of an individual’s communication style can affect the professional workplace, specifically the hospitality industry.
Project focus
Miscommunication and misunderstanding often stems from a misalignment of explicit and implicit meaning between the sender and receiver. Such interpersonal communication problems are recurrent and evident in the Front Office Department. There are several types of relationships that may encounter these situations:
- Between front office agent and guest
Where the marketing orientation of “customers are always right” may not be entirely true, hoteliers and other service industry employee still have to deal unreasonable and abusive guest in the most light hearted manner.
- Between front office colleagues
A common occurrence where colleagues become too comfortable with one another often leads to insensitivity and lack of cognizance when communicating. This can eventually cast pallor over the relationship.
- Between front office supervisory positions and staff
There has always been tension between supervisory positions and staff. The pitch of politeness and directness are often neglected when the supervisory positions are speaking, resulting in negativity biased ambience when communicating.
Our thematic focus would revolve around the causes of these problems and how suitable phrasing of message in an explicit manner could potentially reduce or prevent miscommunication. This is relevant and vital for hospitality service providers to avoid getting stuck in these situations whilst providing enhanced guest experience.
Problem definition
As mentioned above, tactfulness is essential in both the front and back end operations of a hotel, additionally, it can also help to portray one’s character and professionalism. However, there are many ways whereby one can be tactful and the topic can be seemingly vague when it comes to identifying the exact strategies to communicate with tact. Therefore, there is a need to understand the influences, best practices and attitude towards tactfulness.
Research design
The research would be descriptive in nature and aim to explore the attitude towards tactfulness in the service industry. Both a semi-structured interview as well as a focus group would be utilized as this design would be able to yield a rich amount of data to enable and provide a snapshot of the current phenomena.
- i) Semi-structured interview
Firstly, a semi-structured interview will be used for this research to ensure the quality of the results. Such a method is an effective way to gather responses to specific questions as well as to create an opportunity for open-ended answers from the respondents. The collection of data would occur at the respective hotels within the city area (E.g. The Ritz Carlton, Marina Mandarin, Pan Pacific) over a duration of 1 week.
Data would be collected through random sampling, with a sample size of 50 respondents. There would not be an age group allocated for this research as it aims to gather results from all ages. However, the main criteria for the research would be that the respondents must be employed within the service industry.
- ii) Focus group study
Secondly, a focus group study consisting of managers within the service industry would also be conducted to gain a deeper insight of the issue. The focus group would aim to explore the topic with the managers giving their experiences of the issue of tactfulness within the workplace. This focus group would have 10 participants from various service industry and would be held at the Pacific meeting room within Pan Pacific Singapore.
Limitation of research
Since most of the quantitative study would involve employees from the hotel sector, this study might not be a true representation of all employees within the service industry and thus, the recommendations and findings might not be applicable for everyone in the industry. The findings from the focus group might also be very dependent on the abilities of the researcher who is leading the group as his/her abilities would have a direct impact of the quality of data gathered from the respondents.
Implications
Given the customer-focused and heterogeneity nature of the service industry, there is a prevailing need to understand tact so as to cater to guests in the industry. The results from this research would allow hotel management teams to gain valuable insight and importance of tactfulness with regards to customer service. From which, hotels can then create the right environment to enable effective communication with tact in the workplace.
Problem Resolution
Conflicts and complicated scenarios may arise on a daily basis in the front office department. To minimize and responds to those tricky circumstances in the future, our team recommend the front office staffs to follow the B.E.A.R.S guidelines. This effective guideline can also be applied the other departments in the hospitality industry. (need to identify the root causes)
- i) Be Considerate
It is important in considering other people’s feelings and well-being when performing some action. On top of that, treating them with decently and with respect will allow the tasks to be completed more efficiently. People will be more inclined to communicate and assist you with your requests if you are a considerate person. - ii) Empathize
It will be beneficial if one can take a step back and put themselves in the shoes of others from time to time. By doing so, it will potentially reduce the possibility of a conflict as the parties involved will have a clearer understanding of the situation with regards to the past experiences they had and hence react in a more positive manner.
iii) Act Appropriately
Similar to being considerate, this factor involves feelings and well being when carrying either a verbal or non-verbal communication. One should make wise judgement in advance and act suitably in different occasions. It is crucial to prepare and react accordingly in any circumstances.
- iv) React Rationally
Being rational allows both party to listen the contrasting views, negotiating and compromising before deciding on the conclusion. This step provide transparency in providing opinions which will conclude a positive outcome.
- vi) Say the right thing
As the saying goes “Think first, speak second”, it is vital that one should gather his/her thoughts before delivering the message. Also, one has to take in be sensitive and take into consideration about the profile of the person he/she is communicating with to prevent any disagreement. People will also improve in communication through experiences.
References
American Management Association. (n.d.). How to Communicate with Diplomacy, Tact and Credibility. Retrieved from American Management Association: http://www.amanet.org/training/seminars/how-to-communicate-with-diplomacy-tact-and-credibility.aspx
Chaskalson, M. (2011). The Mindful Workplace: Developing Resilient Individuals and Resonant Organizations with MBSR. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Soden, P. (2017, September 27). The Essentials of Communicating with Tact and Diplomacy in the Workplace. Retrieved from American Management Association: http://playbook.amanet.org/communicating-tact-diplomacy-workplace/
BHB 2802 Career & Professional Development II 
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