Too often a system is set up but insufficient concern is given to maintaining it. Over a period of time, small deviations from standards grow into major cost problems.
The key in evaluating the system is to compare actual performance with the standards, to report any significant deviation in a timely manner, and to take steps to correct any discrepancies.
The manpower required for scheduled housekeeping employees is contained in Table 2. In this particular example, productive scheduling is a product of the efforts of two people: the front-office manager who produces the forecast and the executive housekeeper who schedules accordingly. If the front-office manager projects 80 occupied rooms and is correct, the score is 100 per cent. If only 70 rooms are occupied, however, that error will result in excess staff hours being scheduled. At a level of 80 occupied rooms, 43 hours of work by day housekeepers would be required, while 37 hours would be needed for 70 occupied rooms. The wasted six hours must be "charged" to the front-office manager, bringing the rating to 86 per cent (of the hoped-for 43-hour staffing need: 37 divided by 43). It is as bad, though, to be understaffed with a score of 114 per cent as overstaffed with 86 percent.
| Occupied rooms | Hours of work by day housekeepers | Hours of work by laundry |
| 100 | 53 | 20 |
| 90 | 48 | 19 |
| 80 | 43 | 17 |
| 70 | 37 | 16 |
The other side of control is to determine how well the executive housekeeper schedules. If 90 rooms were forecast and actually sold, the standard for day housekeepers would be 48 hours. If they actually spent 50 hours performing the work, the executive housekeeper's productivity in scheduling would be 48 divided by 50, or 96 per cent. A score above 100 per cent might indicate that rooms were not being cleaned well enough to meet the quality standard.
At the room attendant's level, a score can be given after room checks. A measure of the employee's performance can be given by dividing the number of items checked as satisfactory by the number checked as unsatisfactory.
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