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Orientation and Training: Sweat the Small Stuff!
by Suzanne Mark
Owner - MARK of Excellence
MARK of Excellence
Start them off on the right foot and they’ll dance to the music you’re playing! How frequently we fail to do just that as we hire folks ‘just in time’! Just in time to make a bed because housekeeping is short handed; just in time to cut the grass before the weekend rush; just in time to welcome that guest at registration because someone called in sick or quit! Yet, are any of these folks mentally, physically or psychologically let alone ‘professionally’ ready to assume the responsibilities for which they were hired?! Probably not!
Frequently, we literally drop folks into their responsibilities with very little orientation and training. They may not even have time to get their coat off, let alone know where to put it. In fact, that’s a good starting place for orientation. Here are some quick and easy items for your orientation check list to help you sweat the small stuff.
Have an assigned staff person meet the new employee when they arrive at work. Provide them with a basic introduction to where they can store their stuff. It might be a locker, a storage bin, closet or desk drawer, but they need to know where they can safely leave coats, extra shoes, purses or their lunch. Don’t overlook if their lunch needs refrigeration, they need to buy a cold soda or a cup of coffee. If the resort provides free or reduced cost meals, that needs to be explained as well. These small subtle things mean a lot. People work better if they’re not hungry AND if they don’t feel uncomfortable about basic daily activities.
And speaking of daily activities, did anyone point out the available bathrooms and where they can and cannot smoke or take a break? We are particularly limited for space in many resorts. Our back of the house areas for staff use may be extremely limited if not non-existent, yet folks need their private staff places.
In fact, private staff places for breaks or meals may be very shabby. If you believe in the premise, take care of your staff and your staff will take care of your customers, then take a look at where and how your staff are ‘being served’ by you. It might be a rude awakening!
Arrange for someone to have lunch (or a meal break) with them the first few days. Meal breaks can be difficult lonely times, if you’re the new kid on the block and you don’t know the rules and policies or have someone to dine with. Meal breaks and breaks in general can be a terrific way to integrate the staff into ‘the team’ OR make them feel like an outsider. We’re a touchy feely industry; we need to be sharp on our customer service toward our staff!
If you require uniforms (and the most successful resorts do) take time to go over the standards expected in wearing of the uniforms. Personal hygiene should also be addressed. Don’t overlook the obvious. What might be the obvious to you may not be for a new staff person especially if they are young and new to the job market or of foreign decent and new to this country and culture. Customers and revenue are lost due to a poor staff image.
There should already be an established dress code and code of conduct. This may be in an employee manual, but a few words of caution. Habitually we give out a printed manual and expect them to read and understand it. But we may need to consider the literacy of our personnel, the primary language of our personnel and the readability of the material. Normally, we assume that staff can read and write and that their primary language is English. However, especially with domestic and maintenance staff, this may not be an accurate assumption. Pictures or a video may be a preferred way of presenting dress and conduct standards. Perhaps printing the manual in different languages - especially Spanish - may be a tremendous help and certainly a gesture of good will.
We’re all familiar with sexual harassment policies and concerns, but it may need special attention with young staff and with staff from other cultures. Even subtleties of gestures and vulgar language or humor may be offensive not only to staff but to guests within earshot. Revenue may be lost by rude, vulgar or inappropriate communication skills by unthinking staff. Improper procedure even on 2 way radios can be harmful to customer relations if overheard by the wrong person.
Whether office staff or other job areas, simple things like personal use of the telephone need to be addressed. If staff is to answer the phone, procedures including greeting format need to be carefully reviewed. Furthermore don’t assume they know how to use your fax machine, your copy machine, and your internal wireless communications systems.
One really important concept for all new employees is a basic understanding of the resort. One easy way to provide a ‘staffless’ tour is to develop a check list procedure using an Excel or Word program and a PDA. Make the ‘discovery’ of sites around the resort a fun treasure hunt for each new staff person. Simple questions like: What color is the playground apparatus at the beach? How many lounge chairs are at the pool? What are the hours in the restaurant?
This fun exercise requires the new person to walk the facility and see for themselves what is there. A map and brochure incorporated into a manual just doesn’t do it! This unique kind of orientation can also be developed around a series of frequently asked questions from guests (FAQ). “What number do I dial to get an outside line?” is a good one for any housekeeping staff. “How late is the pool open?” is a must for a resort staff answering the front desk or ‘operator’ phone.
Orientation should also be expanded to include familiarization to the area immediately surrounding the resort. Rarely do customers care what the specific job responsibilities are of an individual staff person. They see someone in a resort uniform, nametag or with some form of resort identification and that staff person is fair game for their questions and concerns. Guests assume that staff know the local area and may ask for a restaurant recommendation, the nearest McDonalds or directions to the outlet mall or special attraction. If staff cannot answer this type of basic question, then they at least need to know who or where to send the guest to get the correct answer.
The security of facilities, equipment, supplies and keys is a must during orientation. Keeping doors locked, ignition keys out of vehicles except when in use and putting away tools, equipment, vehicles and cleaning carts can save thousands of dollars. Loss can be from customers but also from staff. More resources go out the back door with staff than through the front gate with guests!
While job descriptions, scheduling and time keeping - including sick, comp and overtime as well as vacation procedures - may have been covered during the hiring process, a review is always in order during orientation. Both oral and written reinforcement can help eliminate misunderstandings later down the road. It should also be noted that people learn in different modes - some by hearing (auditory); some by seeing (visual); others by doing or through hands on procedures. This basic principle should be applied to both orientation procedures as well as the specific job training techniques.
Some small stuff to sweat during training may include:
Train them to do the right job right. If they don’t have time to do the job right, will they have time to do the job over? Simple tasks like care and feeding of the vacuum cleaners, weed whackers, and golf carts may seem condescending, but your weed whacker may not be exactly like the one the person used on their last job. Don’t forget emphasizing any safety concerns and proper use of OSHA required safety gear and appropriate procedures.
By the way, is the OSHA HAZMAT information somewhere that it is accessible 24 hours a day or is it locked at night in the maintenance area or a manager’s office?
Review back burner projects for periods of slow or down time. If you can lean; you can clean. Low occupancy, inclement weather or other unforeseen factors are no reason for lack of productivity. Back burner projects need to be readily available and staff properly trained to seek them out.
Take time to review business confidentiality policies as well as socialization and fraternization with the customers. Especially in leisure and vacation settings, it can be so easy for staff to forget they are on duty. If they are having a great time with the customers they can let down that thin veil between the professional in a leisure setting and a staff person who oversteps the boundary. Lost ideas and business edge practices may be lost revenue.
Carefully review contingency and emergency plans with all staff in the event of natural disaster, fire, power outage, water & sewer interruption, lost person/pet or emergency medical situations. Actual periodic drills may keep the procedures fresh.
Emphasize to all staff to be alert to the total resort environment to prevent accidents and exposures to themselves, our customers and the buildings and equipment of the resort.
Use routine inspections as a way of cross training and overall operations awareness. i.e. maintenance staff inspect the store, front desk staff inspect playground equipment, etc.
Customer policies and procedures as well as resort rules and regulations need to be reviewed. All staff are the eyes and ears of the organization. Unsafe operation of a golf cart by a minor, vandalism, the need for trash pick up or cleaning up of a spilled drink, while it may not be the direct responsibility of that staff person, if reported or handled properly provides the passive supervision of facilities and equipment as well as protecting the health and safety of every guest. Through the orientation and training if staff can be made to feel a part of the whole, they are more likely to ‘buy in’ to the team rather than the ‘not my job’ syndrome.
Keep a copy of all staff documents on prior training which may be a requirement of the job or are referenced in their applications and required for the job. This might include a current driver’s license, first aid/CPR, propane handling, blood borne pathogens training, life guarding/saving, pool operators permit, food handling permit, liquor server, etc. Check to make sure these credentials are current!
Do document all orientation and training for all staff. It may be useful to demonstrate best practices and/or non-negligence in future accident or incident cases.
Orientation usually involves only the first few days. Training, however, is not a one shot deal. It is a continuous on going process - everyday a new skill or byte of knowledge can be learned.