Don't get me wrong. I have always loved my job. The travel is taxing but the benefits are amazing. When you find the type of attendee that 'Gets it'! That one attendee who appears excited to be there! That special person who smiles, nods their head, takes notes, talks with you during the break, then leaves and immediately applies what they have learned. That type of trainee is what keeps a trainer going. What used to make my job frustrating was that "that person" was rarely the General Manager or Department Supervisor. They seemed to think they were too important to waste their time in "line level" sales, housekeeping or guest service workshops. They already knew it all. After all, it is Basic Hospitality 101, right? My question is…if they knew it…why didn't their staff know it and why didn't their hotel show it? Why were their sales down, their GSTS scores suffering and their hotel cleanliness leave something to be desired? Does any of this sound familiar? If you DO know it all, are you too important to take the time to impart some of your precious knowledge to your staff? In some hotels, it certainly appears that way.
It starts with you. If you, as the leaders in your hotel or restaurant, do not attend the workshops with your staff, how do the staff know that you believe in what is being taught? How can you ever reinforce the training after the trainer leaves? Answer…You cannot!
While training for our company, I found the properties that received the highest guest service scores, sales conversions, revenue and associate satisfaction scores, were the properties where not only the Department Supervisors participated in the training, so did the General Manager (and it didn't matter how many times he or she had been through the same training). Our best General Managers knew that their presence in the sessions was just as important as the trainer's presence. Without their support there was a subliminal message sent to all attendees: "This isn't really that important."
Most of the time when I leave a property, the staff is so fired up that they cannot wait to get back on the job to hone their new skills! However, I was finding that when the department supervisor and the General Manager did not attend, this enthusiasm very seldom lasted. Even when the leaders did meet with me after the workshop to go over what was taught; they promised to implement procedures and to follow up on the training, but I would go back three months later and see very little evidence that I was ever there. Did I fail as a trainer? In the beginning of my career I did feel responsible. I kept thinking - where had I failed our associates? We practiced the new skills, we played a knowledge game to test their recall of facts, and we even called their competition to compare our excellence to their mediocrity. When I left they all appeared to be passionate about service and ready to go. So, what happened?
Their leaders happened! Leaders who appear to be apathetic in the support of onsite training are the worst kind of example we can give our associates. These leaders are also contrary to the message a company sends by employing a trainer in the first place. When our owners spend their money on bringing a trainer to a hotel site, it is not just for show, it is for results! That is why our company has implemented a policy that Department Supervisors and General Managers will attend each and every on-site training session right along side their staff. The results have been immediate! I encourage you all to adopt a similar policy whether or not you employ a corporate trainer or incur the expense to hire an independent trainer. Your leaders must be present for everyone to benefit!
We've all heard the old saying "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make any noise?" Likewise, if training goes on without management presence and support, does anyone REALLY hear it?
Lizz Chambers conducts in-house training and training assistance for all properties managed by Newport Hospitality Group. She coordinates and conducts supervisory skills workshops to prepare supervisors to earn their certification through AH&LA's Educational Institute.
No comments:
Post a Comment