HR Corner Daily training achieves award-winning results by Charles Mak An alternative training approach has brought outstanding results for one leading hotel Prior to its grand opening in 2004, the Langham Place Hotel devised a training programme which it named "555 Service Excellence". The intention was to provide staff with 15 minutes' training per day and to meet three basic but tough business objectives: monthly revenue should meet 100 per cent of targets, and both the guest satisfaction index (GSI) and associate, or employee, satisfaction index (ASI) should reach 80 per cent. Since the hotel was a winner of the Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) Award for Excellence in Training for 2005, it is fair to assume the programme has had quite an impact. In the opinion of Ivy Leung, the hotel's director of human resources, the key to implementing any kind of training is to set clear and achievable goals and to test the water first. This was done at one of the hotel's F&B outlets, The Place. The process began with two training needs analyses (TNA). One involved a consultation session with 26 senior managers who identified five key elements for service excellence – product knowledge, professional skills, service concepts, communication skills and general knowledge. The second TNA exercise involved line managers and staff in producing a competency matrix, listing out the essential skills for each of the five key elements. For example, under product knowledge, restaurant staff would have to be familiar with menu items and ingredients; as professional skills, they would need to know about table settings and how to serve wine. The 555 training at The Place was done five days a week and 15 minutes a day. Being regular and brief, the effect was maximised and staff were able to apply the lessons immediately. "We can achieve excellent results in just 15 minutes," Ms Leung says. "The learning curve climbs during the first 30 minutes of learning, and then declines. Training is all about the impact it creates, not how long it takes, so our training manager actively participates in daily briefings to understand what is needed and to draw staff, line managers and the HR department closer together." Employees can see that good training really enables them to expand their career prospects Staff evaluation In the trial phase, participating staff were evaluated each week to check their progress against the competency matrix. Then, the ASI and GSI were introduced. For the latter, over 20 guest comments were received each day and by the end of last year, over 80 per cent of guests rated The Place's service quality as exceeding expectations. This was also reflected in the level of tips received by staff and by the fact that overall revenue exceeded the original targets by over 20 per cent. At the HKMA's award adjudication, the manager of The Place, rather than a sales or HR director, was chosen to present the methods and results of the 555 process to the judges and other competitors. "There's no use saying how good a training programme is just for the sake of winning a competition," Ms Leung says. "Therefore, we chose our frontline manager to present our efforts in order to reflect the true effectiveness of the training and not to sell it like a product." By winning this award as a new establishment with a limited training budget, the hotel has shown many other enterprises how effective training can be conducted in a highly cost-effective way. "Training is really all about the heart," Ms Leung says. "Each and every one of us is interested in other people and has a passion for helping colleagues. That is what makes us happy." Training plan The success of the 555 programme has given the hotel's business a great jump start. All departments at the Langham Place have now implemented the training model and specialised individual programmes for staff at all levels have also been introduced. "For example, make-up classes are arranged for receptionists working at our Chinese restaurant Ming Court," says Ms Leung. "We even arranged hair styling for them at Salon Esprit to make them more aware of personal grooming." She predicts that "barter" deals of this kind with external parties may become a trend in training and an element in staff benefits. At the Langham Place, horizontal career moves are encouraged as a way of maintaining motivation and developing new skills. "Our staff enjoy great mobility at work," says Ms Leung. "We have arranged transfers from HR to PR and from frontline positions to our call centre. All employees can see that good training really enables them to expand their career prospects both vertically and horizontally." Salient points Setting clear and achievable goals is important for the implementation of any training programme An initial training needs analysis (TNA) helps to identify which key elements should be included Daily instruction can maximise the power of training and allows staff to apply what has been taught immediately Horizontal moves help staff to develop new skills and to remain fully motivated Career Times talked to Ms Leung about the 555 Service Excellence Training Programme in March this year. Click here to learn more. Taken from Career Times 14 October 2005, p. C8 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]