EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

This begins my first post on education and training in the hospitality industry in Ghana. I find it necessary to set a tone for readers and to encourage interested readers to consider, in whichever small way they can, to help lift up this industry. Even if you are not heard about, like me, you could also know in your heart, "I did what I could." 

To write this article I went down memory lane, reflecting over various efforts made over the years towards capacity building/development in the tourism sector in this country. I felt disheartened. 

I gather other professionals in other sectors of the economy; health, legal and judicial, education, etc feel the same about their respective areas of specialization. My focus, however, is the hotel/hospitality industry.

What follows are just excerpts of selected efforts observed and/participated in, culled from my diary.

September 18-20, 1995

It was the 2nd National Tourism Conference. Of the five workshops under the theme "Quality Assurance of the Hospitality Industry", I participated in Human Resource Development and Professional Training- its impact on quality assurance.

The need to develop and train manpower in the various segments of the industry in all categories(from skilled personnel to managerial) glared at us.

We brainstormed and identified the main problems (summarized below):

• lack of qualified and/or experienced personnel at the managerial level
• lack of dedicated training institutions (for the industry)
• lack of coordination between public and private sectors in the area of training
• unwillingness of some private operators to invest in training their personnel but would rather poach trained persons from other hotels

We also came up with proposals to resolve the identified problems. Among these was the urgency to establish training institutions in the tertiary level to arrest the problems of quality personnel in the management level category and to assess and strengthen existing training institutions(named).
Short term measures were spelt out.
This was 23 years ago.

Excerpt of a speech delivered by a hospitality professional during the conference

After vehemently making a case for professional training for all levels, (late)Mr K.D. Annan said:

"One can say with certainty that the future of tourism is being jeopardized by increasing lack of qualified personnel. Even those with some threshold level of training in basic skills do not seem to have a career path because of lack of appropriate courses/curriculum to develop them for the industry".
The above took place 23 years ago.

Tulip News, Edition No. 3 2003


Golden Tulip Accra, 1st Teaching Hotel in Ghana
 This was a front page headline of 'The House Journal of Golden Tulip, Accra'. 15 years ago

Excerpts on a news article, TCDI, 19 May 2003

Jake Launches Tourism Capacity Initiative
A $4.8 m project, Tourism Capacity Development Initiative was launched in Accra. Its aim was to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders in the tourism sector as a means to attract tourists to Ghana. 

The Minister of Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City, (late)Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, who launched the project, said although the 15-year National Tourism Development Plan has chalked up a number of successes, there is the need for a redirection in the tourism sector to enable the sector to meet new trends in the global tourism sector.
 He announced that the government had set new targets for the tourism sector to make it the leading economic sector by the year 2007.

(Late)Obetsebi-Lamptey, therefore, cautioned the management of TCDI against re-inventing the wheel and to avoid over-ambitious tasks that will not make the project sustainable.

The Mission Director of the USAID, Ms Sharon Cromer, said 'the objective of the project is to provide technical assistance and training to improve the capacity, quality and performance of the tourism industry.'
She said the TCDI project, was scheduled to last for 16 months.

Reference from https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Jake-Launches-Tourism-Capacity-Initiative-36625
This was 15 years ago.

Implementation of the Technical Cooperation for Tourism Development Project Through Strengthening of Public-Private Partnership(PPP) -August 2008

There had been several meetings by 5 different work groups, sub-task forces and open PPP forums  organized by a secretariat, I think every quarter, where all were present and group chairpersons made presentations.

In reference to the above meeting in August 2008:

• Hotels were selected for experiential learning
• A legislative instrument was thought to be required for proposed training manuals to be made operational.
• A work group was in discussion with National Accreditation Board on the issue of development of standards for tourism and hospitality training institutions
• A task force was working on tourism training certifications

 The work group on human resource development outlined the objectives of the group as follows:
Completion of training modules for core competencies; front office, housekeeping, food and beverage service, food production and tour guiding; June 2008
Conducting a trainer of trainers program by September 2008 and evaluating the test before rolling out the main program early 2009
The Trainer of trainers program will be tested with the support of selected institutions and hotels using the reviewed curriculum at different certificate levels
A special task force was constituted to undertake specific projects in preparation of the test run.

This was 10 years ago.

Note: Highlights and italics my emphasis.

Where are we today? Has anything gone wrong? What went wrong? How can we rise above good intentions and bring about sustainable and progressive growth in this industry?

THE IMAGE OF HOTEL SUPERVISORS: THE TEACHER IN YOU

Are you a Supervisor? There is a Teacher in you!

This is the last under the series, “The Image of hotel Supervisors”.   

Did you know that secretly, higher management tends to look at us, Supervisors as super people? No wonder some get overly disappointed, understandably so, when we fail to meet their high expectations!

How are you doing in enhancing your image as a hotel Supervisor? It is hoped that you found the various topics discussed in the series useful. Remember, ‘Rome was not built in a day’, so do not give up on yourself. Discipline yourself to be consistent in the continuous application of the principles learned; it is most critical, a p p l i c a t i o n.

 I will be departing from the “The Image of hotel Supervisors” series to a new series, beginning next month. This brief may be considered as a 'bridge' to the new series which is going to be on education and training in the hotel industry. So let’s focus on ‘the teacher in you’.

Irrespective of the department you are supervising; kitchen, housekeeping, maintenance, front desk/office or food and beverage service areas, you must be conscious of and develop the teacher in you.

Supervisors are most valuable when they spend 100 percent of their time supervising. In our work environment here in Ghana, this is almost impossible, resulting in a blurring of the supervisor-employee distinction. We have also earlier established the demands we have on the job, which places pressure on us. It is easy, therefore, to become NEGLIGENT of the TEACHER in us.

You Have Teaching Skills

Your position as a Supervisor involves providing support to staff to do their jobs more quickly, effectively, and comfortably. Proper support maintains staff members and keeps them focused and determined over time despite challenges on the job. Identify those specific skills which you use to develop those whom you supervise.

You may not have any formal educational training under your belt but you do have the ability to impart skills, do not underestimate your worth; explore those potentials. 

Instead of coming up with reasons why you can’t conduct a training session when asked to, look instead to the following teaching skills that effective supervisors tend to exhibit, adopt them and continue to work on yourself:

• Bringing Out the Best in People

• Inspiring Trust

• Being a Good Role Model

In hotel operations, training generally comprises of the three S’s; standards, service and safety.

Look out for the next series where articles will zero-in on various concerns and issues on education and training in the sector. Together we will consider how to enhance the learning environment for our staff, interns and  students pursuing hospitality programs in traditional classroom settings.

THE IMAGE OF HOTEL SUPERVISORS -DEMANDS & UNIQUE CHALLENGES-PART V

Hospitality Under Pressure

First-level Supervisors wear many 'hats'.

“Our supervisors can probably have more influence on our productivity, worker absenteeism, product quality, morale of our work force, labor relations, and cost reduction than any other group in the company.” By a vice president of a company.

From the above quote, you realize that our role as supervisors is widely linked to the success of the organizations we work in, but many people underestimate this role, including, unfortunately, some of us.

We are pressurized by the demands of different groups of people within and outside the properties we work at. We are confronted with demands from employees, guests, government agencies, industry demands and managers(upper and middle management) as well as internal departments (human resources, accounting and purchasing) if the hotel is big and well structured. These demands are more often than not conflicting and even at times mutually exclusive. If the property is unionized we may also have pressures placed on us by union officials.

The bigger the hotel, the more the number and category of people we interact with, broadening the scope of demand. The smaller the hotel the more intense the pressure placed on us in handling the variety of issues which come up.

Since the beginning of the year, this blog has presented articles identifying and dealing with some of our challenges; considering the hotel industry as people-driven and as service oriented, respectively. Hopefully readers have been working on themselves towards developing a stronger image.

This article takes a close look at the diverse relationships we must build with the different categories of people who make demands of us. In handling the variety of attitudes and values required,
first-level supervisors must excel in interpersonal skills but this can be extremely challenging.

An earlier analysis of hotels in Gana, indicates that 74 % of our hotels are rated 'budget.'  1-star, guest houses and budget hotels together form 89% of our hotels.  Most of these hotels fall under small sized hotels and qualified supervisors working in these environments find themselves under intense work pressure.

The hotel industry is about the skills and attitudes of employees to deliver products and services required by guests. Finding qualified and skilled employees to meet these requirements and/or to support qualified supervisors is becoming quite a struggle. The industry has long been characterized by a workforce with relatively low levels of skills.  Despite the growing number of hospitality institutions and many more graduates in the system there seems to be very little impact, if any, on professional services delivered in our hotels. Some of the few personnel who seem to have been trained in various recognized institutions 'are not able to apply themselves' and guess who bears the brunt, the Supervisor (an entry level management personnel, also considered as key front-line management personnel).

Demands on Supervisors

By Higher Management
 
These are the Board of Directors. In our work environment, they may be the Owner-managers with selected family members.

The interests of serious minded Boards may include financial development of the company, quality of financial reporting and internal control and evaluating the operations. They may work with business plans and budgets, quarterly/half yearly reports, year-end financial statements and annual reports. Some may require you to contribute directly in suggesting operational policies and guidelines.

The pressure exerted by them includes meeting job requirements generally spelt out in our job descriptions irrespective of operational handicaps.

Being innovative and avoiding excuses will enhance our image and win their support.

By Middle Management

These are our direct bosses. Again in our environment, they are likely to be relatives of the Owners of the hotels. Although they are expected to communicate goals, strategies, tactics and policies they hardly do and a growing gap occurs if we do not 'take the bull by the horn' and assert ourselves by sharing information and seeking information.

Our immediate bosses expect us to meet quality standards set, maintain records and operate  within a budget.Unfortunately, most of the standards are verbalized and many operations have poor record keeping habits. Many complain about paper/stationary, yet they do not seem to be committed to support us with systems to go paperless!

Too many of us, supervisors, shy away from figures; many find them intimidating. Consequently, a number of supervisors are not involved in preparing their hotel's budget. We are also often unaware of budget allocations to our departments. We just consent to what the accountants tell us. (If this is you) You are shooting yourself in the foot!

Drawing up a budget involves people skills, negotiating and listening skills which we all need to sharpen whenever an opportunity! You will learn the processes and enhance your skills in decision making.

It is always useful to develop and maintain our own records on inputs and outputs. They serve as essential information in supporting evaluations and decisions made. 

By Employees

Employee pressures are usually in the form of complaints, problems and requests. Some can be quite personal. We must learn how to draw a thin line in exercising our role as a supervisor and as a counselor or  a confidant.

As responsible supervisors we must see it as our obligation, to provide a safe working environment, and provide opportunities to help good workers get ahead. We will also be representing employees' concerns to higher or middle management.

By Guests
You remember an earlier article in which we came up with different categories of guests; Very Important Patrick(VIP), Silent Sophia, Complaining CKwesi, Aggressive Ama and Know -it-all Nancy.

Once we are able to identify which categories are guests are in, we should be able to use the appropriate approach to provide a pleasant experience, meeting quality and quantity requirements.

By Industry Government Agencies

Supervisors may or may not deal with Government agencies directly. Their main demand would be meeting regulatory requirements. 

Lack of information on our the part creates an opportunity for Government agencies to flex their muscles at us. Current dispensations, however  depict some of these agencies placing a human face to in their dealings with us.

By Internal Departments

In well structured operations demands on supervisors involve requirements ranging from compliance with operating procedures, meeting targets set in productivity and making savings among others.

As first-level supervisors, we must have technical competence in the areas we supervise. We must be able to perform the specific tasks we ask our workers to do and must, to some degree, understand the equipment we work with.

Concluding Remarks

We need to watch out; too often when the pressure is on, our attitudes betrays us. 

  We will do well to demonstrate our attitude through:

• improving our appearance
• making decisive decisions
• handling mistakes calmly
• sharing humorous incidents
• demonstrating our ability to communicate with superiors