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Benefit From a Culture of Continuous Learning

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CHTA Communications

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Benefit From a Culture of Continuous Learning

Written by OBM International

Fast-paced and fiercely competitive, the hospitality industry demands its professionals to stay on top of the knowledge and skills relevant for their work while providing excellent service to your guests making them want to return time and time again. The best way to provide this exemplary service is to target the specific areas that ensure your employees have the skills and competencies they need to succeed and contribute to the company’s growth. Thankfully, there is a range of methods to support training your employees to develop into extraordinary hospitality professionals.

Building Partnerships
Fast-paced and fiercely competitive, the hospitality industry demands its professionals to stay on top of the knowledge and skills relevant for their work while providing excellent service to your guests making them want to return time and time again. The best way to provide this exemplary service is to target the specific areas that ensure your employees have the skills and competencies they need to succeed and contribute to the company’s growth. Thankfully, there is a range of methods to support training your employees to develop into extraordinary hospitality professionals.

Learn From Others
As a global leader in master planning, architecture and design for luxury hotels and resorts, OBM International (OBMI) recognises the importance of providing continuing training to both new and long-standing employees as trends, products and tourist’s wants change. In response, OBMI created “Hotel University,” a unique initiative that is designed to expand the OBMI Team’s knowledge of Hospitality Design and Development, focusing on gathering, expanding and structuring information from both internal OBMI sources and external sources. The program also provides access, information sharing and a platform to showcase the firm and its leaders as destination creation experts.

As part of Hotel University OBMI conducts local hotel tours, unique opportunities for employees to have back-stage access to local hotels. During the tour, the designers are encouraged to speak with hotel operational staff and tour amenities allowing the designers to expand their knowledge of hospitality design, experience other firms’ work and professionally assess and discuss as a team their opinions of what worked well and what they would have done differently. These enriching experiences provide thought-provoking dialogue and design inspiration that is then translated into their designs for OBMI’s Caribbean clients. On a recent hotel tour the designers visited The Langford in Downtown Miami, the team viewed the property in the context of its historic renovations and how its designation as the area’s first historic hotel impacted the renovation’s architectural design.

Develop Leadership Skills
The world’s largest hospitality brands who have robust training and career progression programs dedicated to developing their future leaders. Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Hilton are well-known for their in-depth and successful development programs that provide the necessary backdrop for their young leaders to acquire the skills necessary to excel in their careers. Make leadership development a key component of your program to train your leaders as they grow within your company. Learn from large brands programs what the key elements should also be included in your program to best fit your needs. Ritz-Carlton has proven to be so successful in developing and training their leaders they have created a proprietary program of consulting and training services, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, to mimic the skills the teach their employees.

A successful company doesn’t just provide opportunities for training but cultivates a culture of learning.  Embrace a culture of continuous learning and reap the benefits of a workforce that feels valued and nurtured. Your investment in a well-trained and well-educated workforce will help your company achieve long-term viability and profitability.