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The Modern Butlers’ Journal, January 2019, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

 

 

Instructional Design, Part Two

There are several popular design models used to develop effective training. I like to recommend a simplification of the Gerlach-Ely design model, since it is suited to designers who have good content knowledge, but less experience in designing training. This certainly described me when I was in private service.

This model solves the difficulty of knowing where to start by reversing the intuitive order. You start by picturing the final outcome for your training. Once you know what you want to achieve, specify the standards participants must achieve in order to meet expectations. The setting of standards was discussed in “Chapter” 8 of our series.

Next, look at what they already know. Remember your TNA from Chapter 6? That’s right, it’s already done. Now we design only the training needed to bring our staff to where we want them to be. If someone is already at point ‘B’, don’t start at point ‘A’ to get them to point ‘C’. Finally, we conduct the training and test our participants to see if the training worked. This is a simple, effective model that really helps start the novice trainer.

I find the subject fascinating and I would strongly urge the earnest reader to research the topic online. Next month, we start a step-by-step explanation of how to conduct training.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years and can be contacted via the Institute. 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Frank Mitchell Newsletter

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, December 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

 

 

Instructional Design, Part One

Often considered a science or discipline, it may be more useful for us to think of instructional design as a systematic approach to designing effective, quality instruction. There are many theories and design models. All hope to achieve maximum learning and retention while using the fewest resources.

Instructional Design, at its most basic, is encapsulated in the mnemonic ADDIE:

Analyze – What is the problem? What is causing it? Set objectives that describe the improvement you wish to see.

Design – What must be trained? What skill will help them achieve the objectives set under ‘analyze’?

Develop – Plan your lessons and create any material needed.

Implement – Conduct the training.

Evaluate – Ask students how it went and test their application of the learning. Did they learn? What improvements can you make before conducting the training in future?

Experts will point out that there is a lot more to ADDIE, but the application of the basic principle can be as simple or as complicated as needed. For our purposes, thinking through the ADDIE steps, even in the most basic way, results in a more-ordered approach —a vast improvement on the haphazard “Come here quickly, let me show you how to do this” approach so often used.

Next month we will look at a popular model used in instructional design.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years and can be contacted via the Institute. 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Frank Mitchell Newsletter

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, November 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

Setting Standards

Standards are one of the three S’s of training; Service, Standards and Safety. It is the minimum performance required for competency and consists of Performance Standards and Quality Standards. (i.e. How neatly and how quickly a task must be done.) The trainer must decide, record and practice the standards before demonstrating them and testing them in training.

If a standard cannot be written down or measured, it can neither be taught nor tested, nor can staff be held responsible for not achieving or maintaining it. If staff perceive the application of standards to be inconsistent or arbitrary, it will lead to insecurity, low morale and high employee turnover. The same goes for unrealistic standards. If you expect a staff member to complete a task as fast as you can do it, ask whether you could realistically keep up that pace over the course of a workday. Nor is it realistic to expect an inexperienced staff member, the likely target of training, to complete the task as well and as quickly as an experienced staff member.

Before setting standards, ask if it is useful, helpful or necessary. Standards should not be restrictive – they are a minimum and high performing staff should be allowed the creative freedom to excel.

Next month we will introduce the concept of Instructional Design.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years and can be contacted via the Institute. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Butler training Frank Mitchell Newsletter Training

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, October 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

When is Training Not the Answer?

Training cannot be expected to be the solution to all ills. It will not compensate for under-staffing, poor management, nor unacceptable working conditions. A lack of structure or a negative organizational culture will not be remedied through training, nor will faulty, aging equipment, or inadequate resources. Nor can training offset poor hiring-choices.

Training is sometimes incorrectly used to improve low morale. In Herzberg’s dual-factor theory, hygiene factors do not motivate, but their absence will demotivate. If millennials expect training, the absence of training will demotivate, but it is not a motivational factor. Training for morale, instead of improving working conditions therefore, only results in a temporary improvement. When low morale inevitably returns, the trainer is blamed.

Inexperienced managers often retrain under-performing staff instead of disciplining them; yet if the staff member already knows how to do something but does not do it, how will it help to train them again? Where training is given as a possible solution to poor performance, clear performance expectations must be set before the training. The trainee must agree to these expectations and commit to improving their performance before time is spent on further training.

Training should never be used to punish a staff member, as any future training will also be seen as punishment, thereby hindering the career development of that staff member.

In next month’s newsletter, we will discuss why we need to set standards.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years and can be contacted via the Institute. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Butler training Frank Mitchell Newsletter Training

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, September 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

Training Needs Analysis

TNA determines what to train and helps justify training, especially if there is an associated cost. It directs time, money and effort where it is needed most, avoiding non-productive training sessions that frustrate competent employees.

At its most basic, TNA is a comparison of observed behavior to desired behavior. A performance gap may be remedied by training a skill or imparting knowledge. Start by knowing what the expected behavior is. Research minimum safety standards and legal requirements. Discuss service standards with your employer. Set standards in writing, communicate them clearly and then train your staff properly.

A good place to start is anytime you see the word ‘new’. (New staff member, new machine or appliance, new menu, standard, service, etc.). In other words, TNA not only determines what to train, but also whom. When a new member of staff joins the team, it is not necessary to train everyone again. Similarly, only those likely to use a new appliance will require training on it.

Do not be overly concerned with methodologies and formats – just doing the exercise will get you thinking clearly about what training is needed and will result in measurable improvement. You will develop your own methods over time, in your quest for continuous improvement.

In next month’s newsletter, we will see how training is not the solution to all ills.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Butler training Frank Mitchell Newsletter Training

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, August 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

What Makes a Good Trainer?

In the hospitality sector, the trainer is all too often whoever is available in the moment. Sometimes, the trainer might be chosen for their length of service or high performance. This is irrational. Training is a separate skill. Obviously, you should be a subject-matter expert in whatever you want to train, but you should also learn the skills required to be a good trainer.

A good trainer is available, well prepared and has the time, patience and inclination to help develop others. At all times, model the care, attention to detail, behaviors and hygiene standards you expect from your students. The right attitude and behavior in a trainer encourages learning.

A good trainer is self-confident but humble, organized but flexible. They should command respect through competence while respecting others. Good communication skills, coupled with patience is critical. A sense of humor helps, especially when things go wrong. And they will. At all times, demonstrate enthusiasm for the profession in general and the standards you are training.

Be a good listener. Invite questions and be honest when you don’t know the answer. Allow time for trainees to practice and make mistakes. Give praise and reward good performance, always encouraging students to find better ways to serve. We can all learn from each other.

In next month’s newsletter, we look at the advantages of conducting a simple training needs analysis.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Budi Prihardjanto Frank Mitchell Newsletter Steven Ferry

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, August 2018, Message from the Chairman

Steven Ferry

Message from the Chairman

by Steven Ferry

Robot butlers that are already in use in hotels to deliver toothpaste and cups of coffee, are being touted as “the future of room service” once their carrying capacity is increased. Hmmm…. The people who say this kind of thing are predictably people-challenged—they have difficulty relating to others and observing and appreciating their uniqueness, the life in them. So just because these robot gurus/wonks say something does not

a) make it true, nor

b) desirable outside of their own people-challenged point of view.

We would make a mistake considering them to be as we are, and falling in line with their goals. The goal of technology seems to be “no people,” if you examine the trends very carefully.

Personally, if I order room service, I appreciate having a real person deliver it—even if their service is poor or they are money motivated, or whatever worst-case scenario could exist. Why? Basically because life likes life!

In the US, the Institute has an office in a big city, and one high in the mountains where there are only 3,000 people in an area that is 17x the size of New York City (with its 8.55 million inhabitants).

When FedEx or UPS deliver something to us in the city, they drop it at the door, sometimes ring the doorbell in case you are in, and drive off (the new kid on the delivery block, Amazon, simply throws packages at the door as they drive past! And they are an abject lesson in what happens when robots and automation dominate an industry (shopping).

When FedEx or UPS deliver to us in the mountains, they stop, we chat for ten minutes, offer them a drink, the use of the conveniences, and look forward to their next visit.

When people become too great in number, they become invisible and lack value—same as any commodity that is too common or too scarce.

When people are scarce, they are valued. But you assign whatever value you want to anything. Look how valuable that Volleyball was to Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway—Wilson (the brand of the ball) was the only social company he had.

But you don’t have to live in the mountains, where people are scarce, to appreciate them, not if you make them the one and only person you are talking to, when you talk to them!

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Butler training Frank Mitchell Newsletter Training

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, July 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

Negligent Training

The American Hospitality and Lodging Education Institute defines “negligent training” as cases where hospitality guests, staff or 3rd party employees are harmed (physically, emotionally or psychologically) because of the behaviour of an inadequately trained employee. This includes instances where the employee was acting outside of the scope of their employment when the harm occurred.

I believe there is a parallel here for the private household manager to consider, whether this law applies or not. Any unfortunate occurrence will reflect negatively on you, on the estate, and on your principle. Staff should be trained to avoid all foreseeable harm. The importance of such training increases proportionately with the responsibilities of the staff member.

Ensure that staff are thoroughly trained in their tasks and responsibilities, especially when operating kitchen appliances, power tools, or motor vehicles. Document methodology, date, content, test and outcome of training as evidence of reasonable care in trying to minimise risk. It may not eliminate liability, but evidence of ongoing, thorough training reflects positively. Note that liability often only occurs when it can be shown that the harm occurred as a direct consequence of lack of training.

Outsource competency assessments to accredited training providers if possible. Give staff regular feedback on their performance and document discussions of concerns raised, including sexual harassment, discrimination, unsanitary food service, or irresponsible alcohol service.

In next month’s newsletter, we will look at the attributes of a good trainer.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several well-received columns for the MBJ over the years. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

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Butler training Frank Mitchell Newsletter Training

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, June 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

Adult Learning and Motivation

Adults want to be able to apply learning to real-life situations. It should save time, make their job easier or improve service. Otherwise they are likely to simply revert to old habits.

‘Wanting to know’ and being ‘eager to learn’ is the best attitude, but experienced managers will accept that it is not always present. The threat of discipline is a poor substitute. Newly appointed household managers must also take great care not to be overbearing or condescending when training long-serving staff members, particularly if they are younger than their direct reports. ‘Because I say so’ is ineffective and weakens your credibility.

Instead, explain the importance and benefits of the training or ask your principle to talk to the staff before the training. A handwritten letter of appreciation for successful completion is a good motivator. Reward competence with a cash bonus or a paid afternoon off, if within your discretion to do so.

For senior staff, competence can be a condition for pay increments and promotions or be part of the annual performance review. This requires a structured approach with a formal training program and precise recordkeeping. Ensure that training is accessible to all staff members in order to avoid claims of discrimination.

In next month’s newsletter, we will look at the issue of negligent training.

 

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several columns for the MBJ over the years. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.

Categories
Butler training Frank Mitchell Newsletter Training

The Modern Butlers’ Journal, May 2018, Staff Training

Staff Training

by Frank Mitchell

The Argument for Training

Most household training strives to improve attention to detail, teach the correct technique, or increase the speed and quality of service. Savings are also achieved through reducing food waste, chemical usage, and damage to delicate linens, silverware, art and antiques. As the workforce becomes older, training can also help aging staff members use emergent technology entering the modern home.

The ‘Millennial’ generation expects training from their employer and it is a requirement to attract them to the workplace. The hospitality industry sees a four-fold increase in staff turnover when training was promised and not delivered. Millennials accept that training is expensive and will accept a lower salary to start, if they see opportunities for development into a more senior and better-remunerated role in future.

There are enormous costs associated with staff turnover. Since the strongest team members with the best prospects are the most likely to leave, it is easy to see how important employee retention is to team composition and morale. Reducing staff turnover will save money that can be spent on better recruiting practices and improved staff training.

Lastly, if we consider the potential risks of not conducting safety training mandated by legislation, we can make a strong case for training in the workplace.

In next month’s newsletter, we will look at some principles of adult learning.

Frank Mitchell’s background is as a private-service butler who then became a head butler at a hotel, and then a butler trainer with the Institute. While he continues to train butlers for the Institute occasionally, his focus for the last decade has been on training hotel and resort staff. He has written several columns for the MBJ over the years. 

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.