Training is an important part of most jobs, and jobs within the hospitality industry are no different. Hospitality training can help employees learn the necessary skills they need to do their jobs properly and provide good customer service. However, there are always ways to improve hospitality training.
If you’ve worked within the hospitality industry before you may have a few hospitality training ideas you’d love to implement. While having experience in hospitality can be beneficial, those new to the industry might bring a fresh perspective to training.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the industry or a little newer, you could be interested in getting some inspiration for hospitality training ideas. Below, we’ve compiled a list of what we think are some of the best hospitality training ideas. Keep reading to find out more!
How do you train staff in hospitality?
How staff are trained will likely differ a little from venue to venue. Each manager/venue owner will have their own methods and procedures. Whether you’re new to training staff or have experience in the area, learning a few new training tips can be helpful. Keep in mind that it’s a requirement for each person working within the alcohol service and supply industry to hold a valid RSA certificate. This will likely be obtained prior to employment, through a Registered Training Organisation such as Express Online Training.
Some key things to remember when training staff in hospitality include:
- Keeping training interesting and engaging, so employees are motivated to learn.
- Providing staff with practical skills that they can use on the job.
- Tailoring training to the specific roles and venue.
- Ensuring that you as a trainer remain patient, understanding, and able to deal with difficult questions.
Above are just a few of the key things to remember when training staff in hospitality. Now that we’ve covered some of the basics of training staff in hospitality, let’s take a look at some specific ideas for hospitality training.
Host an orientation
When you hire new staff, you’ll likely want to orient them to your business. This includes telling them about your company, its history and what it stands for. Orientation is also a good opportunity to introduce new employees to the hospitality industry and what it entails. You can talk about the different types of jobs within the hospitality industry, go into more detail regarding the jobs the staff member will be responsible for, and what customers expect. Encourage your new staff members to ask questions if they are confused and foster a space that’s open and welcoming of queries. Another important part of hospitality training is teaching staff members practical skills they can use on the job. This might include how to take an order, prepare a drink or deal with difficult customers. While it can be easy to focus on the technical side of a hospitality job, it’s also important to remember the valuable role customer service plays. Providing hospitality customer service training is one way to help ensure your new staff provide great service to your customers.
Provide a manual or employee handbook
You may like to provide a hospitality training manual to your new staff members upon the start of orientation. This manual can include tasks to undertake during orientation, tasks abd instructions required for each role, and guidelines of the business. A hospitality training manual could also include competency tick-box sections to be completed as the new team member learns different skills and is introduced to various tasks over time. Consider giving new recruits both a physical copy of the manual (that they can either leave at work or take home as they choose) and a digital copy stored in an online drive that’s accessible by all staff. Your staff members can refer to this hospitality training manual as needed, and it can also be used to help them understand the required tasks of other roles within the business.
Schedule ongoing training
Hospitality training doesn’t have to end with orientation. In fact, it’s important that you continue to provide training to your staff on an ongoing basis. This can include everything from refresher courses for those with more experience, to introducing new staff to different areas of the business as their responsibilities expand. You might also like to offer training in specific areas such as customer service or food safety, depending on the services your business provides. When designing your training schedule, it’s vital to consider the different roles within your hospitality business and ensure that everyone is getting the appropriate training.
Utilise shadowing
Having new hires shadow existing, experienced staff members is another way to provide effective hospitality training. Assigning people who have been in the job for a while with those who are just entering can provide support for your new staff while also building a team environment as your staff mingle while on the job. Check with your team to see who is eager to have a new staff member shadow them before you bring in the new hire. This hospitality training method is especially beneficial for those who are taking on their first hospitality job, as it allows them to see the different roles within a business and how they all work together. Shadowing can also foster a strong bond between new and old staff members, which is always a positive thing for the workplace.
Undertake role-playing games
Role-playing is a great way to give employees the opportunity to practice hospitality skills in a safe environment. This can involve you and your team getting together and acting out different customer service scenarios. Scenarios might include angry customers (for learning de-escalation techniques), handling particularly busy periods, or dealing with difficult orders. It can be helpful to have a set of role-playing cards that staff can pull from, which will give them inspiration for some of the types of situations they might run into in the hospitality industry. This hospitality training approach is also a great way to get feedback from your team on how they handle different situations. You can then use this feedback to improve your hospitality training program.
Hire specialised trainers
If you have the budget, hiring specialised trainers can be a great way to provide quality hospitality training to your staff. Specialised trainers are often experts in specific areas, such as food safety or customer service, which can make them an invaluable asset to your training program. These trainers can provide one-on-one training to your staff, or lead group training sessions for multiple new recruits. They can also help design training programs that are specific to your business and the services you provide. Specialised trainers are often an invaluable resource due to their wealth of knowledge and experience within the hospitality industry. However, hiring a specialised trainer for each new staff member joining the team may not be viable for all hospitality businesses… particularly if you have a tight budget to work with.
Provide access to additional courses and training
If you’re looking to create more educated staff, you may like to budget for your staff to undertake additional courses outside of work. This could be anything from food safety certification, to courses on specific hospitality skills such as cocktail making. By offering access to courses, you’re helping your staff to develop their skills and knowledge, which will, in turn, benefit your business. Additional courses can also help your staff stay up-to-date with the latest hospitality trends, which is always beneficial for a business. If you can’t afford to cover the full cost of a course, you may instead like to consider subsidising staff members’ course fees so that they’re more affordable. Check in with your staff to find out if there are any relevant areas they’d like to learn more about and see if you can work with them to find a course that meets their needs.
There are many different ways to provide effective hospitality training to your staff members. By using a variety of methods, you can ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn what they need to know in order to be successful in their roles. Utilising shadowing, role-playing games, and specialised trainers are just a few of the many ways you can provide quality hospitality training.
Remember, to serve or supply alcohol within venues across Australia, you will need to hold a valid Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate. Express Online Training is a Registered Training Organisation providing RSA certificates across Australia. Our online courses allow you to complete your certificate at your own pace, with automatic saving that lets you stop and start whenever you choose. We also provide local support, 7 days a week, with fully-qualified staff. Express Online Training offers a Price Match Guarantee on all of our RSAs. This means if you find the same course elsewhere for cheaper, we’ll beat it by 10 per cent. Check out our pages for RSA courses across Australia to find out more.
