Service System Design Considering Employee Satisfaction Through Introducing Service Robots

Abstract

In this paper, we perform a basic analysis on employee satisfaction and production planning by introducing a service robot which delivers dishes in restaurant service. As an example of a service robot introduced in a Japanese restaurant, we focus on the pantry staff, kitchen staff, and customer service staff, as well as production planning that individual employees implicitly plan and update in their heads. The service robots are used to deliver the dishes prepared at the kitchen to the customer service floor, where the worker specifies the destination and transports the dishes while patroling the restaurant. By analyzing the productivity and employee satisfaction before and after the introduction of the service robots into the categories of serving, cooking area, and customer service, how employees can identify and coordinate work between humans and machines and change process design. From December 2019 to January 2020, an analysis was conducted based on the results of employee questionnaires and interviews conducted at a restaurant.

Selecting Robots to Take Over Tasks in Hospitality Settings: Joining Two Research Fields

“…The two studies that have shown the improved production resulting from the implementation of food delivery robots were both conducted in restaurants with more than 150 tables (Nonaka et al 2020;Shimmura et al 2020). The food preparation robots also show this.…”

“…The few studies that did study robots in a hospitality environment provide us with knowledge that correct implementation of novel hospitality robotics takes time and some iteration. The studies by Shimmura et al (2020), Nonaka et al (2020) and Odekerken-Schröder et al ( 2021) furthermore show that implementation of restaurant robots can have a positive effect on sales, employee satisfaction and guest satisfaction. However, there is no study that has evaluated the effect of robotics on all three of these factors and there are no similar studies on robots other than food delivery robots.…”

“…In recent years, robots have also been developed specifically for the field of hospitality, where they are able to take over tasks such as cooking food, operating a reception or transporting items through a hotel. A number of recent publications start off by stating how robots are currently changing the hospitality industry (Belanche et al 2021;de Kervenoael et al 2020;Webster 2017, 2019;Nonaka et al 2020;Vatan and Dogan 2021;Pitardi et al 2021;Tuomi et al 2021;Shin and Jeong 2020;Merkle 2019;Pizam et al 2022). Although it is true that robots are being introduced in hotels and restaurants more often, the range of tasks that are being taken over by them is still rather narrow.…”

“…However, nowadays these robots are implemented to deal with labour shortages, which increased due to the COVID pandemic. Studies by Shimmura et al (2020) and Nonaka et al (2020) report increased productivity and employee satisfaction when food delivery robots are introduced. The design of these robots comes from automated guided vehicles (AGVs), which are normally used in factories to transport items.…”

“…The first case study comes from a Japanese restaurant that implemented food delivery robots. The efficacy of these robots is evaluated in Shimmura et al (2020) and Nonaka et al (2020). Both papers discuss the same restaurant with food delivery robots installed.…”