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HR / Training

Finders, keepers...the old rules no longer apply

The problem of attracting and retaining qualified workers is increasingly becoming a global challenge. Negative perceptions of the industry, wage levels, failure to adequately address, worker satisfaction and a reputation for long hours and low pay are all cited as read more...

The benefits of ' on going on - the- job training '

As a passionate trainer, I would like to share with you my reasons for strongly advocating ‘on the job training.’   I have personally experienced the numerous benefits of ‘on the job training’ in hotels, which ultimately increases staff moral and business read more...

Transforming the hiring process

  This scenario must be familiar to many. Whilst conducting a special projects meeting which has stretched beyond the stipulated time, someone from HR calls us to remind us that the scheduled interviews will be held in 15 minutes. Frantically, we up read more...

Manpower shortage in the hospitality industry

  The hospitality industry in Sri Lanka has just begun to come of age as a mainstream socio-economic sector, with recognition of its job creating importance. What is relevant today however is the fact that our industry needs to adapt and read more...

Does your job have a purpose?

  The other day I went to pay my monthly electricity bill. Payments are made to the cashier housed at the 5th floor of the CEB building. It has always made me wonder why the Electricity Board could not arrange for read more...

When did your hotel last hold a fire drill?

Fire kills, and it usually takes victims of negligence and chaos. But if you apply sufficient fire safety measures in your hotel, you can prevent tragedy. One important fire safety measure is evacuating your guests and everyone else as quickly read more...

A professionally designed Induction and Orientation program

A well crafted Induction and Orientation programme is more a bare necessity than a best practice and the prelude to a healthy beginning of a long relationship.   The words ‘Induction’ and ‘Orientation’, though used synonymously, has somewhat different meanings. Induction is read more...

What you achieved, not what you did

A friend and former colleague is looking to return to the hospitality industry after a two-year break. She shared her resume with me, and while she is an incredible employee, her resume did not read nearly as well as it read more...

Hoteliers', now's the time to upgrade your employees

The hospitality sector is experiencing labour shortages worldwide. For Sri Lanka, these labour shortages have temporarily ceased after the 21st April terror attacks drastically reduced business activity and employment. Hoteliers are scrubbing their businesses for ways to cut costs. Now, read more...

Terrorism in tourism is the new norm

Earlier this year, my son returned from India and remarked that he had observed hotels checking all bags of ‘arriving’ guests. I recall telling him that this was after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that included the Taj Mahal read more...

Forever changing employees

The global shortage of 10-15 million workers in this industry will result in hotels having insufficient workers to operate, staff wars, exploding salaries and eroding profits. So, where does that leave Sri Lanka?  It’s not as if our youth are read more...

Staff to guest ratios

The idea of generous staff-to-room ratio sounds outstanding, an arrangement where you’re every need is catered to because there are more people on hand to deliver the goods. So, is saying “we have a high staff-to-room ratio so each guest read more...

A rotten apple can keep your customers away

We’ve all heard the saying “ one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch”. Yes, it does happen with some fruit like apples . As they ripen apples produce a gaseous hormone called ethylene, which is among other things, a read more...

How well does your team know the industry?

Reading industry trade publications is a critical aspect for on-the-job learning and career advancement, not to mention helping guide any business in a healthy direction. And yet we seldom hold our immediate subordinates accountable to this task, instead letting their read more...

Educating the next generation on project management

As mentioned in my first blog, my personal objective is to help the hospitality industry to transform itself and embrace project management as a strategic competence. One fundamental component of achieving this transformation is to educate future generations of hospitality managers read more...

Reducing excess motion by going lean

All process have steps…and some of these steps may be a waste of time, and money. Talking steps reminded me of the electrician who came by to fit a new ceiling fan. During his work, he needed a tester, screwdriver, read more...

Whose job is it to fill the soft skills gap?

Although I recognise the fact that there are several educational institutes that are doing remarkably well, I am also made to understand, that there are many other providers of hospitality training who offer sub-standard and inconsistent training. I am also read more...

Lying in anchor

We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift nor lie at anchor. In my article titled ‘Time to tackle manpower dearth in the hospitality industry’ published way back in April read more...

Duty meals - Part 2

Like they say, showing up is half the job. Another acquaintance from my last hotel saw me in the cafeteria one afternoon after one of my lunch shifts. She asked me how it was going. I told her it was read more...

Weird and wacky (but often necessary) hotel jobs

As the hotel industry changes, so do positions, roles and titles. There’s the traditional valet, bellman, front desk attendant, concierge, housekeeper, chef and operations roles. But the effort to offer refreshed guest experiences and services are swaying hotels to recruit read more...

The 'new rules of engagement'

Government restrictions and ‘stay at home’ measures have stopped people from leaving their homes. In the wake of these unprecedented changes, hoteliers need to look ahead to how people will restart travelling once the coronavirus outbreak is behind us.   As the read more...

The busy hotel executive

Coaching people around the financials in hotels is what I do. I accomplish this by one-on-one coaching, usually on the phone or through Skype, or in workshops where as a group we explore and debunk the mystery around the numbers. read more...

Proud of our industry- and its bright future

Every corner of the hotel industry has done its part to stay viable in the many meaningful, creative ways that it does during crises. One of our pillars is the hospitality ethos – delivered by people dedicated to service and read more...

Low skill and a whole lotta initiative

I was watching  the TV series ‘Blue Bloods’, where, in one episode, the character portraying Chico, a demobilized army soldier who had served in Iran, now wishing to join the Police force, was asked by the interviewing Police Commissioner “So, read more...

Not all managers make for good interviewers

'A picture is worth a thousand words’. Who, it was, that married ‘ten thousand words' with 'picture'… isn't known, but what is known, especially by those in the human resources business is that when hiring; ‘words count more than looks’.   Looks read more...

Training for trouble

Guests who complain are everywhere and that includes the hospitality trade as well. In most instances it is for a good reason. Some encounter problems associated with attitudes – such as staff being impolite, indifferent or displaying unprofessional behaviour. Other read more...

The lost art of reading

A famous quote by Former Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon states “Reading Maketh a Full Man”.  Truthfully, that is an incomplete version of the quote that actually says “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact read more...

The 3 types of employees in your organisation

Much has been written about the three types of employees most businesses carry. They include:-   ENGAGED employees who work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They consistently perform above expectations, are innovative and drive the organisation to read more...

Hospitality delivered by humans will prevail

When reading the headlines in lodging industry trade publications these days, nearly every new post seems to be about how a new app for guest communications is going to revolutionize the hotel industry in the post-COVID-19 era. Certainly, some of read more...

Diversity in hospitality

I have been thinking about this topic for some time. Especially now in 2020 with the social unrest in this country and elsewhere in our world I think it’s time to speak up. For me, that means offering what I read more...

"Device discipline"...are you for or against?

One of the ongoing debates among faculty is when to prohibit use of tablets, phones and laptops during in-person lectures writes Donna Quadri-Felitti -  Marvin Ashner director and associate professor, school of Hospitality Management, Pennsylvania State University. Admitting that are read more...

HR people: your time has come, are you ready?

Anyone who cares about meeting workplace objectives should seriously value human resources, especially today. But why is it that for years HR professionals have been at the butt-end of never-ending humour- that seriously belittles the profession? Go on, just do read more...

The 'Triple A' mantra: 'Attitude - Above All'

In 1939, British intelligence agency MI6 recruited Cambridge mathematics wizard Alan Turing to decipher the Nazi ‘Enigma’ codes which were considered unbreakable. He advertised to put together a cryptography team of experts to decipher the codes. There were no interviews, read more...

This downtime is a gift...use it to your advantage!

Why do militaries continue to hold physical training sessions, strategy formulation meetings and practice drills in times of peace? Surely, it’s a waste of time and money you may think. Not so. Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “You cannot read more...

Are you looking to hire Marty?

In his book titled “the Richest Man in Town” Author V.J. Smith (VJS), wanted to write about leaders who changed the course of history. He wished to understand what made their lives great and what might be missing in his. read more...

Dealing with despicable and uncouth customers

A few weeks ago, Hospitality Sri Lanka featured an article written by Ashraaq Wahab, titled ‘Have you encountered these types of difficult customers?  In it, he identifies eight main types of customers that workers in the tourism trade – especially read more...

Where are they?

Picture by KJ The number of times history is allowed to ‘repeats itself’, is in the hospitality industry. Whenever the same issue surfaces, we hardly take any notice or action. Some of us prefer to sweep it under the carpet, while read more...

Whose 'doggie' is that?

Let’s use a classic scene from a ‘Pink Panther’ movie. Inspector Clouseau: “Does your dog bite?” Hotel Receptionist: “No.” Clouseau (bowing down to pet the dog): “Nice doggie”. (The dog bites Clouseau’s hand.) Clouseau: “Ouch…I thought you said your dog did not bite!” Wait for it…up read more...

The 'Beauty and the Bias'

Picture by KJ   ‘The right person in the right job’ is considered important for success in any business, and, it is no different for hospitality operations.   Many hotel HR personnel hire staff – particularly for entry or supervisory level vacancies rely on read more...

Keep it real

Three words can make or break a hotel – Standard Operating Procedures. The importance of SOPs is universally recognized and big chain and branded hotels seem to have an SOP for almost everything. Most Standards of Operations (SOPs) include certain read more...

Why the big secret?

I’ve always been somewhat intrigued as to why over 95% of the jobs that are listed in various media platforms do not carry that all important ‘what’s-in-it-for-me?’. I don’t mean details about medical insurance, vacation leave or career prospects– which read more...

Don't forget the humanity in hospitality

What is hospitality? The age-old Oxford dictionary defines it as “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers”. In fact, if you ask most non-industry personnel what hospitality is, they will probably define it in various read more...

Nicky - an amazing and inspiring story

I was managing a Wendy's in Florida. Unlike today, staffing was never a real problem. I was searching for someone to work three hours a day at lunch. I went thru all my applications and most were all looking for full read more...

Bad managers, burnout and health fears

Why record numbers of hospitality workers are quitting the industry for good. About 3.5 million people have at least temporarily left the U.S. workforce since March 2020. Over one-third of them – 1.2 million – are in the leisure and hospitality industry. This has created read more...

The quitting trend that won't quit for some time

The global job market continues to plummet, with millions of workers continuing to leave their jobs each month. Worker disengagement and unhappiness is also booming - according to a Gallup poll. Remote work options and schedule flexibility, although providing some read more...

Taboo around the tattoo

Dress code policies have swung to the extreme in recent years. Companies either maintain no guidelines at all or establish such rigid policies that they almost appear to be a joke. For example UBS bank’s edict of over a decade read more...

When push comes to shove

When a major crisis (recession, terrorism, natural disaster, etc.) occurs, the first reaction by companies is to fire employees, and after the dust has settled, the last measure taken is to hire anyone. Even during normal times, where the hotel read more...

Hiring - part science, part art

Deciding who to hire is part science, part art – even if you actually are a scientist.   Take Thomas Edison. When he interviewed candidates for research assistant positions, he offered them a bowl of soup. Why? He wanted to see whether read more...

Hiring 'MisFit' - a lesson learnt by Santa

Ever since the phrase “customer is king” was coined, most companies began placing ‘keeping their customers happy’, at the top of their agenda. However, many forgot and others still forget, about another set of people to whom happiness is very read more...

Exemplify spirit of hospitality in hiring, on-boarding

Application process proves frustrating for hotels, applicants.   Somehow in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was invited to become a member of a Facebook group called Hospitality Family, which currently counts nearly 60,000 hoteliers as members.   It has been both read more...

How much staff is too much staff?

Hear me out. I know talking about cutting down on staff is a prickly issue. It’s people’s jobs, after all. But, is there something as too much staff? A few experiences over the past month had me thinking, can you read more...

Isn't professional courtesy a thing, anymore?

Several years ago, a hotelier friend of mine bemoaned of an interview the hotel held, where out of fifteen applicants called, only eight turned up. Most of the follow-up calls went unanswered with one saying he was on the way...only read more...

An employee scorecard to solve labor shortages

A central problem with the hospitality industry’s current labor crisis is that by framing it as a ‘crisis’ we are presuming that the shortage will naturally pass by and labor conditions will eventually return to how they were in 2019. read more...

The future of work and staffing in the hospitality industry

During COVID-19, the operating workforce of hundreds of businesses plunged to near zero. This upheaval has caused a material shift in how the hospitality industry approaches recruitment and retention - post-pandemic.   Securing and retaining frontline workers has always been a challenge. read more...

Labouring under an illusion

The success of the hospitality industry has always been entrenched in the provision of service and the continued fostering of relationships. At its core, the role of hospitality was, and still is, to hook up the different essentials of a read more...

Epic hospitality training

EPIC - Empathy, Patience, Intuition and Compassion. Most guest service training focuses only on interpersonal communications, yet when you only teach politeness and obsess on overly scripting conversations, the result often is fake, disingenuous service.   Most hoteliers I speak with clearly read more...

Hiring front line customer service stars

Following my article titled “If hospitality is theatre are you hiring proper stars?” which we recently featured, I’ve had several people from the hotel industry ask me, how can one ensure hiring the best customer service people? When I discuss read more...

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