CHAPTER 7: TRAINING
AND DEVELOPING
EMPLOYEES TO SERVE
HOSPITALITY PRINCIPLE: TRAIN YOUR
EMPLOYEES, THEN TRAIN THEM SOME MORE
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, students will be
able to:
• Understand the importance of training
and development to hospitality
organizations
• Identify the training methods
• Analyse the measures on the
effectiveness of training.
2
LEN BERRY AND COLLEAGUES IDENTIFIED FIVE KEY
FACTORS THAT CUSTOMERS USE TO JUDGE THE
OVERALL QUALITY OF SERVICE OF THESE FIVE, FOUR
ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE ABILITY OF THE
SERVICE EMPLOYEE.
These five key factors include:
1. Reliability. The ability of the organization and its employees
to deliver service consistently, reliably and accurately.
2. Responsiveness. The willingness of the organization’s
employees to provide prompt service and help customers.
3. Assurance. The employee’s knowledge, courtesy and ability
to convey trust.
4. Empathy. The employee’s willingness to provide caring and
individualized attention to each other. “putting yourself in
other’s shoes”
5. Tangibles. Address the appearance of the service employee.
3
EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Hospitality organizations face the
challenge of training not only in the
required job or task skills; they must
also teach the server how to solve
inevitable problems creatively and how
to interact positively with the guests.
4
THREE EXEMPLARY TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT
SHOW HOW OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATIONS
TRAIN THEIR EMPLOYEES.
1. Training at Starwood Hotels ( Sheraton, Le Meridien,
Westin, Element, W Hotels, Aloft Hotels, St. Regis, Four
Points by Sheraton, The Luxury Collection).
-Service Culture Training which involves three phases.
1. What it means to be on brand,
2. Bring the brand’s core value to life,
3. Living the brand.
5
THREE EXEMPLARY TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT
SHOW HOW OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATIONS
TRAIN THEIR EMPLOYEES.
2. Training at Disney.
Disney’s training program is made mandatory from all new
employees. The program teaches everyone the company’s
history, achievements, quality standards and philosophy.
Four Parts of the Disney Mission in their order of importance:
• Safety
• Courtesy
• Show
• Efficiency
6
THREE EXEMPLARY TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT
SHOW HOW OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATIONS
TRAIN THEIR EMPLOYEES.
3. Wall-to-Wall Training at Scandinavian
Airline Services.
The value of including all the employees in the
training program creates total organizational
enthusiasm for service.
7
BERRY’S FIVE
TRAINING
PRINCIPLES
BERRY’S FIVE TRAINING
PRINCIPLES
FIVE KEY PRINCIPLES IN DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE
STRATEGY
1. Focus on Critical Skills and knowledge.
This involves identifying skills employees must have.
2. Start Strong and teach the big picture.
Teaching the big picture means teaching the employees the organization’s values,
purposes and culture and how, what they do helps the organization achieve success.
3. Formalize Learning as a process.
The process of building learning into the job, making learning mandatory for everyone.
Sending a strong message to employees that learning is vital to the organization and
everyone must participate.
4. Use multiple learning approaches.
Because different employees, learn differently, using a variety of learning approaches is
important.
5. Seek continuous improvement.
Employees must have continuous commitment towards improvement
9
DEVELOPING A
TRAINING
PROGRAM
Training should always be preceded
by a needs assessment to
determine perceived organizational
problems or weaknesses should be
addressed by training or some
other strategy.
TRAINING METHODS
1. Mentoring
A formal relationship between junior and senior colleagues. The mentor gives
advice regarding functioning in the organization and career development.
2. Coaching
One person who has necessary knowledge instructs other individuals on a one-
to-one or small group basis.
3. Apprenticeship
Trainees spend a set period of time learning a craft or trade under the
guidance of an experienced master.
4. On-the-job training
The employee learns the job by doing. The individual is placed in the work
situation and a supervisor instructs the employee on how the job is done
directly at the work station.
11
TRAINING METHODS
5. Cross-functional training
The trainee moves through a series of job assignments over specific time frames
6. Classroom training
Content is delivered to trainees using a lecturebased format.
7. Simulation
The employee practices the job in a simulated work environment.
8. Audio-visual training
Training using a video, such as through DVDs or online content.
9. Computer-assisted instruction
A computer program guides the trainee through a pre-programmed training course.
The training is conducted on a computer.
10. Training at home
Self-paced and self-directed learning where individuals learn the material in his or her
own time, and away from the job site.
12
PASTRY CHEF
APPRENTICESH
IP
MOCK-UP
HOTEL ROOM
WHICH CAN BE
USED FOR
SIMULATION
AUDIO-VISUAL
TRAINING OF CEBU
PACIFIC FLIGHT
ATTENDANTS
FLIGHT SIMULATION
16
CLASSROOM
TRAINING FOR
FLIGHT ATTENDANT
OF VIETNAM AIR
17
COMPUTER-
ASSISTED
INSTRUCTION FOR
A HOTEL FRONT
OFFICE
18
MEASURING TRAINING
EFFECTIVENESS
FOUR BASIC MEASUREMENT METHODS ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSESS
TRAINING’S EFFECTIVENESS.
1. Participant Feedback
Ask the participants how they feel about it. They fill out questionnaires based on
general evaluation criteria.
2. Content Mastery
If the point of the training was to learn a specific skill, competency or content
area, it should be possible to design a test to determine whether participants
learned what they were supposed to learn.
3. Behavioral Change
Assess the behavioural change in the participant. As the saying goes, “use it or
lose it”. It is important that participants actually do the training and then
determine if there were changes.
4. Organization Performance
The ultimate and most sophisticated level of evaluating training is to watch what
happens to the measures of overall organizational performance.
19
EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Hospitality organization provide many opportunities for employees to
grow and develop, they give employees the chance to work their way
up through their individual efforts.
Employee growth can be facilitated by means of the many techniques
discussed in this unit Employee development involves a combination
of work experience, education and training.
As Norman Brinker said “People either shrivel or grow. Commit to
helping people help themselves.”
And Walt Disney stated “Get in. Be part of it and then move up!”
Current hospitality organization leaders should make it possible to
employees with ambition, ability and willingness to rise as high as
they want to.
20
THANK YOU
References: Ford, R. [Link], Total
Quality Management for Hospitality
and Tourism (2012), Cengage
Learning. Singapore