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A trainers’ network at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney, Australia

Background


Hilton Sydney has 577 rooms and is located in the centre of the city. The hotel reopened after a major reconstruction and refurbishment in June 2005; it is the largest Hilton Hotel in the Australasian region. Among the attractions are an extensive fitness ‘Living Well’ facility and a well-known restaurant with the celebrity chef, Luke Mangan, as ‘chef restaurateur’. The restaurant’s reputation attracts a number of chefs who wish to develop experience and skills and can secure travelling visas.

Overall, some 600 team members (Hilton’s preferred term) are employed at the hotel; about 80% of them are Australian nationality, but many of these Australian citizens will have different ethnic origins. The remaining 20% can come from a range of nationalities. Some of these team members will be working on student visas which allow them to work up to twenty hours a week – this is particularly useful in staffing the events and banquets functions.

The hotel contracts out housekeeping (the cleaning of rooms and common areas) and stewarding, (the less skilled kitchen activities and refuse removal). Some 180 staff are employed in these activities, and since there is a lesser requirement for spoken English, there will be a more multicultural workforce involved. However it is essential that Hilton brand standards are maintained in all areas, irrespective of employment status and job role.

The training requirement


Mirela Lane took up her current position as Human Resources Manager at Hilton Sydney in September 2006. She had previously run her own consultancy specialising in the hospitality industry. She reports to the General Manager and has a staff of four including a recently appointed training manager. The demands of her role means that she has to balance the need to meet short-term operational priorities with planning and implementation of a longer-term strategy to build up team member capability at the hotel. She has identified recruitment as a major priority: staff attrition rates are high. As she puts it, staff with previous hotel experience can all too easily “come to the Hilton to try us out and then leave to go to a competitor.”

So arrangements for the initial training of staff have recently received renewed emphasis. To an extent this reflects a changing focus over the two years since the hotel reopened. Delays in opening in 2005 meant that there was a ‘soft-opening’ for team members. There was a window of opportunity for extending training, delivered in part by external consultants, particularly for those team members who had not had previous experience of working in a hotel. However since the hotel reopened it has been working at high capacity with near-full occupancy rate. In Mirela Lane’s words

“We have all been waiting for a low period in the hotel to catch up – but it has simply never arrived.”

As a result there has been a reliance on recruiting staff with previous hotel experience, with the consequent problems of staff attrition identified above. Mirela Lane feels that this dilemma can only be rectified by improving the training capacity at the hotel and this is one of her highest current priorities.

The trainers’ network


A key part of Mirela Lane’s response has been the identification and implementation of a trainers’ network. In common with other hotels in the group, Hilton Sydney uses a Technical and Behavioural Skills (TBS) matrix; this is a list of relevant skills designed to ensure that new joiners meet required brand standards in their role. A network of skilled trainers has been in place to ensure that TBS requirements are met. However there was an over-emphasis on assessment rather than on-going development. The trainers’ network is intended not only to create a facility where staff without prior hotel experience can be recruited, and given the more demanding initial support that will be needed, but also to build a more effective capacity in supporting on-going skills acquisition.

At the time of writing the initiative is in its early stages. Initially an internal advertisement was placed in October 2006 and the best team members in the area were encouraged to apply. In operational areas where insufficient candidates came forward a proactive targeting of suitable candidates took place. Some 50 designated trainers have now been identified and the initiative was formally launched at a general meeting of team members (known as a ‘huddle’) in December. All have, or will shortly, undergo a three day train the trainer course delivered by the Training Manager. Members of the trainers’ network do not receive additional financial reward – though it may be that some incentives will be needed in the future. The membership of the network is seen as a form of recognition and an opportunity for career development. All network members will themselves embark on a programme lasting up to 18 months which will lead to a nationally assessed certificate in training and assessment.

The network meets monthly and after each meeting the trainer members will be expected to undertake a short-project in their operational areas and return with results to the next meeting. One important project has involved the preparation of initial learning check-lists for new joiners in their areas and their reconciliation with their demands for assessment under the TBS.

A job description has been made available for members of the trainers’ network and a statement setting out the commitment expected has also been issued to network members.

The multicultural environment


Mirela Lane is comfortable in facing the challenge of delivering training across a multicultural workforce. Indeed she believes that it can be an advantage if efforts are made to capture the different perceptions and share them in a way that leads to improved services. In choosing members of the trainers network efforts have been made to select people with different personality types and different backgrounds. In training courses there have been occasions where a certain word or term has been used which means different things to different team members. Efforts have been made, in the training room, to explore the underlying issues, since the hotel guests will themselves come from different backgrounds and interpret things in different ways. In Mirela Lane’s words

“Everyone can learn from each other, but if this is to happen we must try to be objective and considerate in our approach.”

As has been noted, the housekeeping is outsourced and the executive housekeeper places particular attention on this area to ensure that standards are maintained. In a hotel it can be the little things that make a difference. Greeting a guest in the corridor may not come naturally to someone whose spoken English is limited and does not come from a background where this is expected. It is important for all staff to understand the importance of simple gestures and courtesy and be able to deliver them appropriately.

Looking at the longer term, once the trainers' network is well-established, Mirela Lane hopes that it will deliver important business benefits. The trainers’ network will streamline the process for educating and training new people into the industry and ultimately retain their services for longer periods.

 
 
 
 
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