In a recent article on training practices, Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at NYU stated clearly the value of Training.
“There are 228 hotel brands in the United States, and the two ways to be distinctive are design and service,” he said. “Service can be a great differentiator.” Hotels, he added, “are in a period of experimentation. Some brands are employing skills unrelated to the lodging industry to transform service styles and delivery.” The article (“Hotel Chains Try Training with Improv and ipods”, New York Times, dtd Sept. 6, 2010) discussed the innovative approaches a number of companies in the last few years are employing to elevate delivery of a memorable Guest Experience.
I flashed back to my first job after college – Training Manager at the WESTIN Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, where I was responsible for the pre-opening training for the entire hotel. There was a lot of ground to cover – establishing a program format, writing the programs for all the departments and job classifications, training the managers, scheduling logistics and resources and actually holding the training sessions, well over a one week period for many. Atlanta in the mid 1970’s was not known for a high level of service or service delivery in the hotel arena with the only competition being the Hyatt and the Omni. This was a new Hospitality landscape, requiring more of the basics than innovative training techniques.
With the exception of a few managers, this undertaking was filled with trepidation – very few had engaged training in their careers, certainly not in a formal fashion. However, one manager had several openings under his belt, knew the ropes and was driven to do it his way. He was responsible for the Rooms Division Front Office personnel. Needless to say, we clashed, actually ending up in the General Manager’s office where we came to a tentative truce – he would follow my overall training format but do the training his way. I can laugh now, but it was tense, as the Front Desk was the high profile department, and everyone was watching – from Corporate through hotel Executives.
This manager was brilliant, and one highlight was hiring local actors to play the role of a variety of guests and situations – all challenging the Front Desk Clerks. So, we had the drunk, we had the “rant and raver”, we had the non-payment, the move me to another room – literally every situation which could occur at a Front Desk. The manager had brought the real world into a training perspective, and it was fun, entertaining, educational and transformative. I still bow to his innovation. By the way, he went on to run a major hotel company and is still very much in the business (and, we are still friends).
The message here is that training should never be shelved or discredited. There are simply too many options out there and inexpensive “Blends” to bring your training message to your people, whether it be remotely by internet or DVD’s, in class or home and even on Sony Play Stations. Plus, training can be innovative and has been well before the 21st century. Creative Training techniques do lead to heightened service requisites, resulting in a memorable Guest Experience.
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