Management Tools
Spheres of Influences and The Five P’s

By Mark W. Healey
CEO – Virtual Hospitality Group

Article 1 of 3

Introduction and Definitions

Management organizations like to use acronyms and catchy titles for industry philosophy, approach and best practices. This article is the first in a series of three aimed at managers and organizations looking to improve personal and organizational effectiveness from the frontline managers to the COO. Managers independently working hard can become stars and achieve great results at a particular location or point in time, however without an organizational pathway their individual feats cannot transcend the Company. Every good operating company either develops a management culture and approach, or lives and dies by the results of its individual stars and asteroids.

Paraphrasing NFL Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula: “If the dumbest guy on the field can’t understand the play, then it’s not going to work, and you can’t put it in the game.” At Virtual Hospitality Group we teach a “Spheres of Influence” approach using the 5 P’s. If this is the first time you are reading about spheres of influence and/or the 5 P’s you need some background and context. Our 5P’s offers an operating mindset that has been developed, honed and tested in large and complex hospitality environments over the past 25 years. It exists as a practical evolution of many of the mainstream books, authors, and organizational management gurus over that time. Our 5P’s approach is simple but not simplistic and this mindset becomes central in an operating culture.

The term “Spheres of Influence” was first used as a political term in the late 1880s. Generally it means the larger or more powerful/important country has influence over a lesser country. This was particularly true in the colonization of Africa by the European powers at that time.

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, A”sphere of influence” is defined as:

• a field or area in which an individual or organization has power to affect events and developments.

Restaurants and hospitality operations are complex to manage. As you consider the concept of “the more important” issue or circumstance having influence over the “lesser important,” the value of the 5P’s mindset becomes clear.

For example, in a restaurant the Chef’s special of the day—a real guest favorite—becomes of lesser importance if there are no servers in the dining room. If we have servers, cooks and ingredients, but the power and gas is off, the power outage is the leading influence over the operation at that moment.

As a manager and leader overseeing a single operation, or multi-unit managers or V.P.s leading larger organizations, we—our location(s)—are faced with hundreds of decisions (some large, and many small) every shift, every day. Having a universal method to assess and communicate influences, priorities, and delegate action steps to the team leads to better decision making, more consistent communication, and shared experiences with everyone involved.

So what are these “influences” that become a management priority in hospitality and food service? Well, since one or many issues can quickly become a problem (and a priority), we need to think more proactively in terms of influencing than interrupting. Influences are best thought of as the broader categories of aspects we oversee every day. We organize them as follows:

People, Products, Processes, Priorities, and Performance.

Hmm, five “P” words, let’s call this approach “The 5 P’s” – brilliant!

Each “P” is an area or range over or within which someone or something acts, exists, or has influence or significance. Each P is a sphere of influence. So to understand or try out the 5P’s approach we need to be able to fit every issue, circumstance, policy or best practice into one of these categories right? Not quite.

In reality these spheres rarely stand alone. Rather, every situation is a combination of these spheres which are influencing the situation. By identifying the weight of influence that each sphere is contributing to a situation, we can determine the best way to assess, problem solve, and take action. You may ask, why all the fuss about these 5 P’s? If this is problem solving let’s just call it that. We can agree that problem solving is the act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution.

The Spheres of Influence approach aids in problem solving, but more importantly the 5 P’s become the common language and guide for managers and the whole organization to more efficiently and effectively manage. Once every manager and team member understand what each “P” means and stands for, the ability to move quickly to the heart of problems and solutions is greatly increased.

Keeping in mind that entire books, college courses and many degrees come in each of these five subjects, here we identify the practical subtopics which help illustrate each for People, Products, Processes, Priorities, and Performance.

People

Encompasses all aspects of human resources and interactions. Examples include: recruiting; interviewing; hiring and on-boarding; technical training; soft skills training; scheduling and station/work assignments; communications/pre-shift meetings, counseling and incident follow-up to name a few. Note, for soft skills training we use Tiny Classroom Training. Their online series called Supervisory Soft Skills gives our newly promoted supervisors and managers a great foundation in communication, coaching, difficult conversations, multi-generational workforce management and preparing to lead. In most of the restaurant and hospitality world, labor cost (i.e. the cost of our people) has grown to be the single largest operating cost. Fewer workers are joining the industry, the concept of employee loyalty is changing, and the employee expectations and “need to know” has changed how we supervise our team members. For many operations, they are producing the same revenue with about half the number of workers. This places great weight on our people management skills and the consistency between managers and supervisors.

Products

Every aspect or item that delivers a concept or a brand to a guest falls under “products,” including: menus; service styles; brand and concept quality; inventory of food and beverage ingredients; websites and social footprint. Most restaurant and hospitality products require ordering, prepping, cooking or mixing, plating or packaging, and delivery to the guest at a bar or counter, tableside or room, or by a 3rd party. Product variety, quality and prices often differentiate competing businesses, and the service team’s personality and execution is an integral part of the product.

Processes

Processes can be technical, clerical, financial or even governmental in nature. Examples include: steps of service; technical or position training; policies and procedures; employment handbook; procurement; staffing; preventive maintenance; licensing; performance appraisals and development planning. Process as a sphere of influence maps the people, products, and priorities. For example, hiring and onboarding are important tasks that must follow equally important processes so that the new employee is properly welcomed and set up for success, as well as making sure their new hire paperwork, orientation, and schedule are fully and accurately completed.

Priorities

Prioritization is different than Priorities. Many tasks and functions have a timeline or deadline to complete, but of themselves, as long as deadlines are met, these tasks are considered daily routine. Priorities as a sphere of influence addresses time-sensitive programs, initiatives, and campaigns critical to short-term or immediate success. Examples include: promotions and marketing initiatives; programs for training or compliance; and projects/project management.

Promotions (as a priority) are strategies and tactics designed to build traffic, sales, and awareness for restaurants, hotels, and resorts. This includes loyalty clubs or players clubs, social media, as well as traditional ads, offers, and campaigns. Promotions are designed to entice a call to action and are usually time-sensitive (think “book now” or “limited time only”). Promotions are self-contained projects that require managing the design and planning, production, setup and breakdown, distribution of POP/marketing materials, staff training and rollout, POS programming, and tracking. Promotions have a lifespan. Big companies have departments dedicated to marketing and promotion, while independent restaurants and boutique hotels must take on and manage all these tasks. Promotions require prioritization and at any time can become the leading influence over a situation, shift, or day.

Priorities in supporting departments, such as administration, accounting, and facilities, include: public safety, financial deadlines (such as payroll, inventories, and sales taxes), as well as inspections and licenses.

Performance

The purpose of every restaurant, hotel or resort is to produce a profit for its owners. Profits are a result of performance; however, every manager needs to embrace “profit” as an actionable objective in their performance management. To be clear, the opposite of profit is loss. The measurement of performance as a sphere of influence runs the gamut of high and low. From the “high” of achieving or exceeding goals and objectives (financial or other), to the “low” of missing goals and underachieving or underperforming. Examples include: Mystery shopper scores and social media results; Profit & Loss Statement results; Board of Health audits; employee engagement, retention and turnover; management and employee reviews.

Over time, employee “annual reviews” have expanded and rightly become known as “performance management.” A good performance management program or system appraises the people, products, priorities, and profits, as well as providing development planning for the future for each employee at all levels of the organization. The performance appraisal for a dishwasher or housekeeper is very different than a restaurant or hotel manager’s performance appraisal; however, at every level, individual performance should be recognized and guided forward.

Ok, we talked about the spheres of influence and we illustrated the 5 P’s — in our next installment (article 2 of 3) we discuss how we put these concepts to work?

About the Author: Mark Healey is CEO and co-founder of Virtual Hospitality Group. In a 35+ year career, he has more than 17 years of F&B experience working with more than 25 Native American Casinos throughout the country. He can be reached at
m.healey@virtualhg.com

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