Nearly all organizations (across all industries) implement an initial training program or onboarding period for new employees to gain the relevant skills and knowledge to successfully perform their new positions. Hotels are no different, as most first-time hospitality employees haven’t had relevant formal training on industry basics. The days or weeks of initial training in a hotel workplace plays a pivotal role in each employee’s success.
Not all training programs are created equal. Many aren’t comprehensive or engaging enough to adequately prepare individuals to succeed in their roles. Hotels with the strongest team members are most often the ones that prioritize training that is holistic, proactive, and ongoing – and provide employees with the tools, skills, and expertise to both succeed and grow.
A Mix of Multiple Modalities
Individuals learn in a variety of ways (and speeds), so a holistic training program incorporates multiple learning styles in its approach. Most often, adults learn best via visual and auditory learning experiences. Within a hotel setting, that means that training should be provided in both formats – written and verbal. Presenting material in a written format that employees can refer back on in addition to talking through the content is a great way to ensure the information is processed effectively by all.
Training for roles with a lot of physical responsibilities (i.e. housekeeping) should also include kinesthetic learning opportunities. Training that involves performing the tasks required in a role helps embed that knowledge and ensures employees can perform the tasks effectively once they go solo.
Hard Skills + Soft Skills Training
Two types of skill sets are required to succeed in a hotel job – no matter what department or seniority level. Hard skills refer to job-related competencies or skills required to perform tasks associated with a role. For roles on a hotel housekeeping team, that might include steps to properly make a bed in compliance with housekeeping standards. For those working in a front desk role, hard skills might include competencies around specific booking software or processes involved in certain administrative and reporting tasks. While some hard skills are transferable among multiple roles, organizations, or industries – they are often most relevant to a specific role within a specific organization.
Training should cover appropriate soft skills needed to succeed in the workplace – which are those personal attributes or qualities that affect how you perform a role. Soft skills are sometimes referred to as emotional intelligence (EQ) or “people skills” because they are utilized during interactions with others – in a hotel that includes other team members, leadership, and guests. Learning effective communication skills, time management, teamwork, and customer service skills is just as important for new hotel employees as learning how to make a booking or what’s required for the daily turnover of a room.
Comprehensive Coverage
Strong programs are holistic and comprehensive – covering all the knowledge and skills required to succeed in job tasks (hard skills) as well as in the workplace in general (soft skills). Training should also include guidance around company policies and procedures – such as scheduling, disciplinary processes, payroll, etc. Many of the employee issues and misunderstandings that arise within hotels or other businesses stem from inadequate communication upfront or lack of clarity around how the hotel operates.
While some incoming hotel staff bring prior industry experience and knowledge to the table on day one, employers can’t assume all new staff grasp industry best practices. Reviewing advancement opportunities within the industry and the organization itself is also important to engaging new employees to take ownership of their time with the company.
Two-Way Learning Experience
As mentioned above, a purely lecture-based training experience isn’t going to be nearly as effective as one that incorporates multiple learning modalities. Similarly, hotels must incorporate opportunities for feedback and questions from new employees throughout the training process – ideally, throughout the entire employee experience as well.
Simply allowing new staff to ask questions during their onboarding process isn’t enough. Employers and organizational leadership need to encourage it to happen by creating clear channels of communication and providing a judgment-free space for staff to pose questions, express concerns, and provide feedback on their training or employee experience as a whole.
Training Programs from the Westmont Hospitality Group
It can be intimidating seeking out a role within a new industry, so finding a hotel employer with a strong training program is key for those excited to succeed and grow in a long-term hospitality career. At the Westmont Hospitality Group, we welcome entry-level and experienced applicants to seek out opportunities to join our teams across the nation. Our comprehensive training programs for industry newcomers provide holistic guidance around success in the industry as well as the skills and expertise needed to succeed in your new hotel job.
For those with a strong hospitality background already, we are always seeking leaders to empower our teams towards success daily. Opportunities are available in departmental leadership positions as well as hotel management and regional leadership roles. Our jobs database is updated regularly with new positions and is simple to search and apply for roles that fit one’s background and career goals – take the first step towards a new career path in 2024!