Duties of a Housekeeping Supervisor: All That You Need To Know

Duties of housekeeping supervisor is known to manage and overseeing various hotel management operations.

If you are someone looking for an answer to “What does a housekeeper do?”, you have landed yourself at the right spot.

Understanding this profession both in and out will help you get a clear picture of if the job is a right fit for your aspirations or not.

Also, not only will you discover their roles and responsibilities they must fulfil, but also the skills required to become one.

But before we get into all the nitty-gritty, let’s discover the essence of who the housekeeping supervisors are, what are their duties and responsibilities?-

Who are Housekeeping Supervisors?

Duties of housekeeping supervisor is handling cleanliness and maintenance. They are the hospitality and cleaning professionals who play an essential role in supervising and managing cleaning operations.

The major part of duties of housekeeping supervisor is to develop a strategic strategy to improve and maintain space. And for that, they need to supervise cleaning activities while ensuring housekeeping staff efficiency and effectiveness.

Managing various work aspects like enforcing cleanliness standards, overseeing staff members, assigning tasks to housekeeping staff, setting schedules, conducting quality control aspects, and handling guest complaints, are some of the prime responsibilities.

They need to meticulously inspect to ensure quality standards are met and enforce health and safety regulations compliance.

Some sectors where you may find housekeeping supervisors providing their services are –

• Hospitality (hotels, resorts)
• Healthcare facilities (hospitals, clinics)
• Educational institutions (schools, universities)
• Commercial buildings (offices, shopping malls)
• Residential buildings (apartment complexes, condominiums)
• Facilities management

Since now you are aware of who exactly is a housekeeping supervisor and intend to pave a career for yourself as the one, make sure you are not just aware but understand the duties and responsibilities associated with the role.

Duties of Housekeeping Supervisor

The duties of housekeeping supervisor go over managing a vast range of hotel management aspects.

Here is the breakdown of some of the duties and responsibilities that they should adhere to. Also, these tasks may vary depending on the specific workflows and workspaces.

Duties of Hospitality and Cleaning Professionals

Some of the main duties of housekeeping supervisor are –

• Managing housekeeping staff for better efficiency
• Managing work on a routine basis
• Organizing schedules and finding coverages during staff absenteeism
• Plan occasional cleaning programs
• Handling guest complaints and requests for improved guest satisfaction
• Issue required pieces of equipment, training, and resources to team members in the department
• Be proactive in managing and resolving conflicts between team members for harmony
• Conduct performance evaluation of team member’s performance to recommend promotions, dismissals, and transfers
• Be hands-on in performing duties like cleaning, vacuuming, and handling kitchens yourself when required
• Ensure constant upkeep by procuring new fittings and furniture for department upgrade
• Ensuring compliance with cleaning standards to maintain a safe and hygienic environment for guests, staff, and visitors
• Ensure efficient and smooth operations of the housekeeping department

Responsibilities of Hospitality and Cleaning Professionals

Daily Tasks and duties of housekeeping supervisor.

1. Staff Assignments

The most critical aspect of becoming a housekeeping supervisor is that you will be the one deciding and assigning tasks to team members. And the idea behind the delegation is to ensure effective management of the housekeeping department. The entire delegation is planned after a thorough consideration of workload, priorities, and individual strengths. You could also outline some training measures for them to excel for success.

2. Create Schedules

Work schedule management is another crucial responsibility a housekeeping supervisor adheres to. Creating a daily staff schedule prior to shifts is essential to present a clear idea of what is expected of team members. This includes assigning shifts, breaks and lunch breaks, days off, and overtime (if necessary). The practice promotes efficient communication, coordination, and operations.

3. Inventory Checks

Inventory management is a critical aspect of hospitality and cleaning professionals. The major part of the duty is to order supplies to stay current with inventory demands and maintain adequate stock levels. The accuracy is necessary to ensure that staff members have all-time access to necessary equipment and supplies to keep up with routine tasks.

4. Prepare reports

For strategic analysis and decision-making, housekeeping supervisors need to make thorough, insightful reports for personal evaluation and present them to management. They need to record data regarding housekeeping operations, such as occupancy rates, room status, inventory levels, and staff performance. Reports for personal action, work assignments, and periodic reports help in identifying areas for improvement and assessing operations’ effectiveness.

5. Perform routine examinations

Conducting routine examinations helps supervisors find issues in premises, supplies, and equipment. Any kind of repairs, maintenance issues, and cleanliness concerns are identified during these inspections. By doing this you can report findings to management, and ensure proper functioning, repairs, and replacements.

Training and Development

1. Establish work standards and procedures

Being in a leadership position, you must first ensure your understanding is aligned with the establishment’s set procedures, protocols, and standards. Once you are confident of your own comprehension, you can pass over that knowledge to your team members by training and enlightening them about guidelines, procedures, and work standards. You can create SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), training manuals, and guidelines for staff to follow.

2. Onboarding New Staff

Integrating new aspiring professionals onboard falls as one of the duties of housekeeping supervisor. Screening new job applicants, conducting interviews and onboarding them for the departments is their role. Not just that, familiarising them with organisation protocols and policies, job duties, cleaning procedures, and safety standards is imperative. Somewhere in their role, they may also encounter situations where they will have to make tough calls of dismissing an employee due to their poor performance or failure to meet the organisation’s expectations.

3. Continuous Training Programs

Investing in staff training for improved efficiency and effectiveness is one nuance of housekeeping supervisor job duties. This may include providing training on new cleaning and maintenance techniques, customer service skills, organisational layout, and hands-on training and guidance on equipment procedures. Time-to-time training programs not only add to their skills and knowledge but ensure their department’s maintenance processes align with the organisation’s quality standards.

Compliance and Safety

1. Adherence to Health and Safety Regulations

Being in the hospitality industry, duties of housekeeping supervisor is not limited to housekeeping only, supervisor must ensure health and safety compliance. Adhering to these standards is crucial to safeguard your customers’ well-being and maintenance. And being in the supervising role, keeping all your team members on the same page is your responsibility to make sure no one falls short. It is essential to reduce the chance of injuries and other safety hazards.

2. Implementation of Eco-friendly Practices

With people becoming more environmentally conscious, showcasing your commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility is a great way to gain the trust of guests. Not only does it contribute to healthy environments but also helps you gain positive applause and recognition, ultimately boosting the facility’s reputation. You can do that by implementing measures such as reducing water and energy consumption, using green cleaning products, and cutting down on plastic usage.

Communication and Collaboration 

1. Attend staff meetings

Housekeeping supervisors’ responsibilities extend to managing daily operations and extend to being the representatives of their departments in organisational meetings. From arranging and hosting staff meetings to educating the staff members on updated policies, procedure changes, and important information, their role as a supervisor is crucial. They need to ensure that every staff member’s goals align with objectives for better collaboration.

2. Communicate and discuss 

Next comes facilitating seamless communication among staff members and interacting pleasantly with customers. From providing feedback to staff members and discussing performance expectations to addressing their concerns and educating them on best practices, requires them to have exceptional communication skills. That is they need to prove their excellence in both verbal and non-verbal communication, along with some written skills.

3. Provide recommendations 

Ensuring guest satisfaction is another trait housekeeping supervisors must possess, or we can say a priority they can’t compromise on. For that, they need to analyse and evaluate the areas that need improvement for better customer experience. Their role extends to collecting customer feedback, upgrading equipment, and levelling up staff. These findings are then reported to management for continuous improvement.

What do You Require to Become a Housekeeping Supervisor? 

The requirements to become a housekeeping supervisor vary from industry to industry. However, there are some basics that you need to fulfil to prove yourself as the right candidate for the role.

Education 

First thing first, get yourself a high school diploma or a certification in housekeeping supervisor to get started. While you may get into the position right after graduating from these programs, you can even go for higher studies and get yourself  an associate’s degree in

• Hospitality management
• Housekeeping management
• A related field

However, that is quite optional and depends on your own personal willingness to dive deep into the depth of the field.

Even if you already have a college or high-school degree, getting yourself certifications helps you enhance your resume and get an edge over other competitive candidates.

Experience

Right after your education or gaining a certificate, find yourself an entry-level position to build your hands-on experience. It is so crucial to land yourself a good and reputed position in large organisations. Ideally, 1-2 years of experience is good enough.

This will allow you to figure out if you are ready to take the next step or if you can handle the physical demands of the job.

Skills 

When it comes to honing the necessary skills .1 to be a housekeeping supervisor, you will have to master these. This includes acquiring some technical and soft skills.

Technical skills include –

• Use industrial cleaning chemicals
• Proper use of equipment
• Knowledge of infection control protocols

Soft skills include –

• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Organisational skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail
• Team leadership skills
• Team management skills
• Task management skills

Not just that, it even expands to assessing your physical stamina and ability to work across various shifts and performing physical tasks like lifting, bending, and mopping.

NFCI: Best Destination To Start Your Housekeeping Journey

National Finishing and Cookery Institute (NFCI) is a reputed institution that provides an advanced hospitality management course in housekeeping supervision.

With the advanced and trained faculty members, the institution commits to providing its students with expert training and making them ready for the industry.

So, if you are someone who wants to stay on top of everything, the profession is the right choice for you. And if you want a successful career start, the institution is your ideal destination as the certification it provides is enough to secure your first job.