The importance of situational awareness - How aware are you of what is happening around you?

Some of us may naturally believe that we are in control of our lives but interestingly, many do not. It has led to many calling for greater training and development in helping people understand the real dangers which many others do see.

Research suggests that 74% of people are not as observant as they like to believe they are as most feel stressed and feeling overwhelmed by the daily pressures of life. In hospitality, this impacts in a very real way both in managing teams and in serving customers. Over 65% of front line, customer facing, staff will admit to having missed a customer’s needs at some point in the last six months.

It is natural and has long been the case. How many times have we all complained about a hotel welcome or some service we have had. In fact, standards have improved consistently over the last decade but more needs to be done.

• Some argue that there is a need to help train greater situational awareness which is the skill in being aware of what is happening around you in terms of where you are, where you are supposed to be, and whether anyone or anything around you is a threat to your health and safety
• Others argue that there is a need to help train and develop mind-sets from an early age to be able to cope with the daily challenges of life.

Whatever one believes there does appear to be a growing argument for greater focus on developing mindsets from an early age than has been the case in past times. There is a fair argument when one considers that:
• 76% say they feel overwhelmed by the pressures of daily life
• 32% note that they have harboured suicidial feelings due to stress
• 16% have self-harmed due to stress.

These figures are a cause of concern and are naturally too high so gives strength to the argument for a greater need in developing the mental skills of all to be able to manage the demands of daily life. It is not good enough any longer to say that life is hard and one has to learn to cope. It is very clear that many are struggling and this does impact on service.
The NHS have led the path with greater investment in doctors and nurses being able to have a stronger understanding of their situational understanding. It is important as it helps patients open up and talk about their real concerns and problems.

Situational Awareness is not just about gathering information from your surroundings; it is about being selective of the information gathered and analysed. A person should be able to perceive what is happening, understand the situation, and read the possible implications. The emphasis is on selecting and processing actionable information effectively.
It is what all hopes will happen naturally but, in truth, happens less than hoped. It takes a calm mindset with all the noise of daily distractions taken away. This does take training and learning. To be able to deliver, the right information (without a lot of noise) is needed at the right time, and the right skilled person needs to be prepared to receive it, then is capable of analysing it, and is then able to action it.

Funnily enough the concept was first founded in aviation. Why not adopt the same techniques in hospitality? It may not be as important but the same philosophy holds true. It is important for all to understand what is going on around them and this then can increase revenues and improve customer satisfaction.