The Ultimate Training Myth

There's a myth about training lurking in the tourism sector and we think it's about time the truth prevails.

It's no secret that tourism is a hectic sector, constantly abuzz with things to do in order to meet the travel, accommodation, and gastronomic needs of visitors. As a result, many tourism employers are more concerned with the day-to-day operations of their organizations than they are with training staff.

This can make training programs hard to find and even harder to implement, thus lending credence to the myth that there are no good training programs for tourism sector professionals.

Myth: Training programs for staff in the tourism sector are difficult to find and even more difficult to implement.

Fact: There are three factors that affect your capacity as a tourism operator to find great training programs and to implement the lessons learned once the programs are delivered.

1. Employer and employee motivation: The motivation to learn is a desire that both employers and employees must have in order for an organization to be truly successful in training staff. Find out how your staff learns—classroom setting, discussion, workshops, hands-on, mentorship, feedback—and look for available programs that meet their needs. Delivering training programs that meet employees’ individual needs will not only motivate them to learn, but also will make participants feel more at ease and comfortable in the learning process.

2. Availability of organizations that offer training: In every province and territory across Canada, there is one organization that specializes in training tourism sector professionals. In our province, this organization is the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC). STEC provides a variety of training opportunities that have the potential to meet the learning needs of all employees, from face-to-face workshops to online learning, mentorship opportunities, and more. The best part of this training is that it’s standards-based, developed by the industry for the industry. All of your training needs should be met by going to www.stec.com, and if they’re not training consultants are available to discuss how they can meet your specific needs with customized training programs.

3. Goals and objectives to strive towards after training is delivered: A discussion needs to take place before, during and after training programs are delivered in order to determine the goals and objectives of both employers and employees. What do managers and frontline staff members hope to gain from the training? What lessons are being taught in the training program that applies to these goals? What changes and improvements is staff committed to make in order to meet them? Are there any measurements in place to ensure that the objectives of employers and employees are being met? Goals may include improved services, increased profit, and low turnover. Even if you belong to an organization where these goals may seem difficult to achieve at the outset, remember with the right motivation, training programs and objectives the only way to move is forward.

For more information on STEC training programs, click here.

Professional Recognition Dinners

STEC's 17th Annual Professional Recognition Dinners are less than one month away and the office is abuzz with preparations for the big event. As many of you work in the accommodations industry, where event planning is a core component of the services offered, we know you understand how frantic it can get in the days leading up to a ceremony.

But do you understand the importance of recognizing those individuals in your organization who have gone above and beyond the call of duty? We're referring to employees who have taken a moment to reflect on their personal and professional lives to ask: What more can I do to improve?

These individuals have answered this question by obtaining Professional Certification and/or Journeyperson status in a tourism occupation in the past year. They've invested much of their own time and energy into making your business better by pursuing the training they need to be the best in their field.

Being the admirable employer you are, you've likely already congratulated these employees and acknowledged them in some way--mention in a company newsletter, a $0.50/hour pay increase, and/or some other equally rewarding acknowledgment.

Even though some of your employees may have completed the certification process months ago, it's still important to publicly recognize them at a dinner where they can share their accomplishments with colleagues, family, and friends. If you haven't already done so, encourage your employees to attend one of two dinners in Regina and Saskatoon, and don't forget to purchase tickets for yourself and other colleagues to attend.

The dinners only happen once a year, so now is your chance to show employees how much you value and appreciate their accomplishments and achievements.

To learn more about the dinners, click here.

Employers: You Should Want to Work for You Too!

Coming up with ways to entice your employees to want to work for your company is a challenge. It means reviewing, and often revamping, your recruitment and retention policies, compensation packages, and diversity programs. But it also means asking yourself, as an employer, a question that is at once simple and complex: Do you want to work for your company?

Asking yourself this question (and answering honestly!) is the first step to becoming an Employer of Choice. After all, if you don’t want to work for your company how can you expect your employees to want to?

While some employers will answer the above question with a straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no’, many will find themselves on the fence hemming and hawing. This invariably leads to more questions: Why do I like working for this company? Is it because of an excellent compensation package? Or is it a combination of benefits ranging from a health and wellness policy to flex hours, casual dress, and a year-end bonus?

Conversely, you may be asking yourself: What can be improved? What programs and policies are outdated? What are my competitors doing that I am not? How can I revamp my recruitment and retention policies?

Here’s the good news: Saskatchewan now has a program for tourism employers that will not only assist you in answering these questions, but also will provide you with the tools and resources you need to improve those areas in your organization that you may find lacking.

There are two major components to the Employer of Choice program, which is designed to assist tourism businesses across the province in attracting and retaining staff by providing employers with the tools and resources to engage in best practices, increase staff training, improve organizational human resources practices, and be recognized as a leader in the tourism sector.

The first is a comprehensive questionnaire that covers the seven functional areas of human resources: staffing; learning, training and development; compensation; employee and labour relations; professional practice; organizational effectiveness; and occupational health and safety.

The second is an employee opinion survey. All participating employers are asked to encourage a minimum of 25% frontline and 25% managerial staff to participate in an employee opinion survey. The survey allows for areas of excellence to be identified, shows which practices employees appreciate most, and enables employers to build on success.

Although the results of the employee opinion survey will not determine whether your business is successful in obtaining an Employer of Choice designation, the results will provide you with valuable feedback about how your recruitment and retention activities and training initiatives are perceived by employees.

In the 2010 program, four tourism operators in Saskatchewan were recognized as Employers of Choice, including the Days Inn, Regina; Gold Eagle Lodge, North Battleford; Prairieland Park, Saskatoon; and Radisson Hotel, Saskatoon.

Granted these are all larger organizations, participating employers from small businesses have said the program is not only providing direction on how to implement their own human resources plans, but also has reinforced their belief that human resources planning is essential.

Likewise, managers at larger organizations have indicated that the directional approach of the program is filling in the missing gaps in established human resources plans.

Regardless of business size, all participating employers expect that the program and the Employer of Choice designation will generate well-deserved recognition on their behalf as leaders in human resources development in the tourism sector.

How can your organization gain a competitive edge? Become a better employer. Become an Employer of Choice.

The 2011 program opened on May 1 and runs until November 30, 2010. To register, visit http://www.steceoc.com/.

To learn more about the Employer of Choice program, click here.

We're Having a Contest!

We're having a contest, and we want your community to enter and win! It's easy. Just make sure your community has the most participants in attendance at one or more Create Curiosity Sell Saskatchewan workshops from May 1-31. The community with the highest number of participants in attendance at all workshops combined is eligible to win.

The objective of the Create Curiosity Sell Saskatchewan workshop is to generate an appreciation of all that your local area has to offer. Anyone in your community can participate - business owners, supervisors, managers, frontline staff, and even the young woman who you see working at the library every weekend.

As a tourism sector professional, you understand the importance of being an ambassador for your business and community. You know how important it is to be proud of where you work and live. Great customer service means better sales and higher profit. But there's only so much you can do.

That's why it's so important for the members of your community to be just as proud of your corner of Saskatchewan as you are.

Let's say Susan and her husband, Mark, are driving through your town on a hot day in July. The windows are down and their three young kids are getting restless in the back. Susan and Mark see the young librarian walking down the street and decide to pull over and ask her if there's a nearby park where they can have a picnic.

In this scenario, there's a number of things that could happen. The young woman may shrug lazily, mumbling that she doesn't know (or worse doesn't care). She may smile and direct the couple to a nearby location. Or better yet, suggest that if Susan and Mark's family really want to experience the local culture, they should stay overnight at a quaint little Bed & Breakfast just a few minutes out of town and attend the strawberry festival the next day.

The young woman in this story is more than just a resident of your community, she's an ambassador. After taking the Create Curiosity Sell Saskatchewan workshop, she appreciates the unique qualities of her small-town community and the tourist attractions it has to offer. She also has a better appreciation of the economic benefits tourism brings to the entire community.

If you want to ensure that everyone in your community, not just your staff, is on board when it comes to attracting visitors to your corner of Saskatchewan consider registering for a Create Curiosity Sell Saskatchewan workshop. With only three weeks left in the contest, now is the time to get your community involved!

To learn more about this workshop, click here. To learn more about the contest, click here.