Introduction
Lately, hotel management around the world has recognized the critical importance of hotel training. They have ascertained that customers can be retained through effective service more than the attractive prices, which is only possible when staff is trained appropriately.
Strategic and Performance Consulting Approach in Training
Grand resorts and luxury hotel chains like Starwood, Choice Hotels, and Ritz-Carlton, have been concentrating on nurturing a positive organizational culture among the whole staff; employees, administration, and management. They employ trainers to qualify and guide their staff all over the localities of their chains and hotels.
The Starwood group of hotels recently conducted training of 185000 employees to refine their skills in the line of work like public dealing, work relationships, and conflict handling to provide the best possible quality service to customers at their place. Employees learn how to greet guests, respond to customer demand and act in critical situations. Management is guided to communicate effectively through eye contact and assessing the customer’s body language. Starwood executives identify employees’ training and development as a major component of competitive success.
At Choice Hotels, role-playing in staff training is a priority. From travelers to businessmen, couples to families, each guest should be satisfied with the likes of a custom-made accommodation. Dealing with a variety of customers proficiently boosts a healthy culture of customer service. This leads to both customer and employee satisfaction.
Ritz-Carlton brought about a unique performance-support system called “Mystique” to strengthen customer relationship and their active engagement. Their knowledge-management system is maintained by keeping a record of their customer’s preferences and satisfying even their unexpressed desires through informal observation by employees. What made this a practical reality is a great extent of strategic planning, effective communication, and constant training of employees.
Train-the-trainer conferences were carried out to refine the proficiency of Ritz-Carlton managers. Currently, work details are being incorporated with an understanding of Mystique in their extensive orientation training for the new members of the Ritz Carlton family.
Prospects of Ritz-Carlton Mystique Program
In Organizations training is considered to generate a return on investments. Training helps the business achieve its goals and objectives therefore its evaluation is essential. It could be carried out through methods like cost-benefit analysis, benchmarking, and return on investment. The outcome of training is measured by assessing the cost incurred and benefits obtained by the training process. However, a few benefits can’t be graded or qualified, though their careful assessment gives way to return on investment. It could also be evaluated by stepping out of organizational boundaries and employing benchmark measures by comparing the particular standards of performance in the said organization with the best and competitive ones.
Ritz-Carlton turnover rate shrunk and customer satisfaction results climbed the scale each year since the Mystique was conceptualized and put into practice (Timmerman). They have so much as traced and presented their employees remarkable efforts in customer service and measures of their customer commitment, before the expense of it- which attributes to their customer and employee loyalty. Ritz-Carlton deserves to be benchmarked and shore up as a paradigm. (Kalmar)
Works Cited
Kalmar, B. “The Ritz-Carlton Mystique.” Quality Digest. Web.
Timmerman, J. “Values Evolve at the Ritz-Carlton.” HOTELS magazine. Web.