About Us
Tom McDermott
Managing Director
In a career of over 30 years Tom noticed that routine tasks conducted daily in hospitality businesses can include 30% – 50% inefficiency!
Very few hospitality businesses use proven methodologies such as LEAN and Six Sigma to reduce waste and develop more consistent and efficient processes.
Tom created Agility Hospitality to provide continuous improvement training and bespoke LEAN transformation projects specifically tailored for the hospitality and tourism sector.
Before establishing Agility Hospitality, Tom worked internationally for Starwood, Cunard, Radisson and subsequently Hilton where he led their innovative “Operational Excellence” continuous improvement programme across Europe, Middle East & Africa.
Tom holds a LEAN Six Sigma Green Belt and recently completed a Certificate in Data Analytics for Business from DKIT and a Professional Diploma in Transversal skills at UCD and TU Dublin.
He is a passionate advocate of the “bottom up & leader led” approach to continuous improvement where leaders create an environment that nurtures trusting and respectful relationships that unleashes team member creativity.
There are many benefits of adopting a Continuous Improvement Mindset, here are just four...
01
Empowered Team-Members
Teams perform better when their opinions matter
02
Satisfied Customers
More timely and consistent delivery of personalised service
03
Improved Profitability
By reducing wasted resources profit flows straight to the bottom line.
04
A sustainable Environment
LEAN and Green initiatives very often compliment each other perfectly
Continuous Improvement is vital for success
In the Hospitality sector we need to remain agile and continually improve our process so we can exceed the needs and expectations of the customer. Customers are “delighted” when their experience exceeds their expectation, but expectations change over time.
It is not that long ago when a Hotel guest was delighted with a room that had en-suite bathroom facilities, colour TV and direct dial telephones. Today’s Hotel guest expects to go directly to their room, access it with a smartphone, have their personalised streaming services pre-loaded on the entertainment system and the room temperature to be pre-set to their specification.
Other elements such as scrupulous cleanliness, inspirational food & beverage options and fantastic leisure facilities quickly become "baseline expectations".
By working together everyone achieves more!
It is true to say that Lean Six Sigma is not widely practiced in the Hospitality Industry and this is where we see an enormous opportunity. There are pre-conceived notions by some that it cannot work in this sector as it is seen as a methodology suited more to manufacturing and is perceived to be less successful when dealing with the nuances of the general public.
We believe nothing could be further from the truth; Lean Six Sigma principles foster teamwork, open communication and collaboration amongst all departments. Communication between departments could never be perceived as a negative thing.
That is true in every industry, especially Hospitality!
