Advantages of using contract services
There is no capital outlay for equipment, so that money is available for investment in other purposes.
(In most cases, the contractor provides all supplies and equipment.)
Contracts alleviate the necessity of buying or hiring specialized equipment.
The difficulty of finding, training, organizing, and supervising staff is passed on to the service provider.
Good contract firms provide skilled labourers, well trained in their area of expertise.
Extra work may be carried out at certain times without increasing the basic staff.
Accurate budgeting can be done for a fixed period.
Contractors provide uniformed workers and take responsibility for all their wages and benefits.
Contract services alleviate many of the problems between the management and workers’ union.
Contract services can generally be terminated faster and more easily than the services of regular employees, while reducing the likelihood of employment claims and lawsuits.
Disadvantages of using contract services
Contracting weakens the authority of the management over the quality and loyalty of the staff.
Workers brought in by the contract providers are not representatives of the hotel and may not have the
requisite skills for guest interactions, or the same pride in their work or job satisfaction.
There is loss of flexibility in effecting changes, as the housekeeper no longer controls the entire operations.
There is a natural tendency among contractors to use cheaper products, which may be of poor quality and may damage the building and its contents in the long term.
There may be poor supervision, with the standard of work falling below par as a result.
Workers may not show up within the designated time frame.
There may be problems regarding security.
There may be problems regarding liaison and cooperation between departments.
Contract cleaners may not meet the hotel’s standards of quality.
One of the reasons for this is the sudden growth of contract cleaning firms, resulting in cut-price tenders
being offered and accepted which do not enable the contractors to employ a sufficient number of employees of the right caliber to do the job properly.
