Past Webinars

Learn from previous CHART webinars. Our webinars cover a variety of topics related to the hospitality industry and provide you with building blocks to improve your training skill set. Don’t forget to check out our upcoming webinars, which are held on the 2nd Wednesday of every other month at 1pm EST.

Filter by hospitality training topic categories:

Managing Unconscious Bias: De-escalating Cross-cultural Conflict With Guests & Employees

Gerry Fernandez, PresidenT
Multicultural foodservice and hospitality alliance

January 22, 2020

Twenty years of cognitive science illustrates that biased decisions are not made by bad people, but rather, by well-intentioned individuals who are unaware of how unconscious bias affects their decision making. Everyone has bias, and everyone is impacted by unconscious bias.

This timely webinar introduces practical examples of de-escalating cross-cultural conflict with guests, as well as best practices for managers on coaching employees to treat all guests with dignity and respect.

In this webinar, you will learn how to:

• Anticipate potential points of conflict.
• Have a plan and policy for reoccurring issues.
• Build confidence through practice and role play.
• Solicit employees and the community for insight.
• Be fair, firm, and consistent with policies.
• Always treat people with respect and dignity.

Training Trends in the Hospitality Industry: CHART and TDn2K

Colby Hutchison , Senior Manager of GUEST FEEDBACK AND BRAND MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION 
Best Western Hotels & Resorts  

Jen Swan,  Senior Director of Learning & Development 
First Watch Restaurants
 

Melissa Doolin-Koehne , Vice President, Business Development 
TDn2K

December 4, 2019  

While current economic indicators for our industry paint a concerning picture, it is important to stay up-to-date on trends affecting your job and your organization’s profitability. Join these top-notch, engaging presenters to delve into the most recent trends in hospitality training.

Along with an interactive Polleverywhere feature to the session (which will give you insight on how you compare to others), new information from TDn2K will be presented, along with the Trends in Hospitality Training Study results just released by CHART and TDn2K. Workforce challenges and best-in-class practices will be discussed.  There is a reason this session is so highly rated at our training conferences! You will learn a lot and come away with some great takeaways – without ever leaving your desk!

The Key to Workplace Culture: Developing Emotionally Intelligent Leaders

NICK BOULAS, DIRECTOR OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
BBL HOSPITALITY

MAGGIE FIORENTINO, PRODUCT MANAGER, LODGING
AMERICAN HOTEL & LODGING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE

October 16, 2019

With an aggressive labor market and competition more fierce than ever, your company can thrive by focusing on building a great workplace culture. You can do this by developing emotionally intelligent leaders who encourage and inspire their coworkers to engage with each other and your guests in an effort to create outstanding experiences for both.

During this one-hour presentation you will:

Learn how self-awareness will help increase emotional intelligence
Submerse yourself in the understanding of what drives your staff
Discover how making coworkers feel safe and respected can lead to higher performance and reduced turnover
Create a strong basis for future organizational growth
Preview AHLEI’s brand new training course, Hospitality Manager: Leadership

Connecting Employees to Company Values

Erin Moran, Union Square Hospitality Group
Lana Dalton, Wisetail

September 25, 2019

Successful workplaces have a clear vision, strong values, and employees with a firm understanding of how that vision and those values affect their daily routine. They’re just more engaged and productive when they do. Join us for a discussion with Erin Moran, Chief Culture Officer of Union Square Hospitality Group, and Lana Dalton from Wisetail to talk about communicating your company’s mission in a way that resonates with your employees.

During this webinar, we’ll cover:

The importance of employee buy-in within the first couple weeks of an employee’s lifecycle
Establishing a clear alignment of an employee’s goals with your company’s values
Effective communication of vision and values

Microlearning: The Quick Wins and Pitfalls of Shorter Training Content

ANGIE HUBERT, HOTSCHEDULES

KELLY MCCUTCHEON, HOPDODDY BURGER BAR

August 21, 2019

Shorter training content is the next big trend in e-learning. But how do you track its success? And what are the risks and challenges that arise from trimming content down to a mere 90 seconds or less? Join our webinar to learn how today's fast growth brands are leveraging this learning strategy to ensure fast growth in their team members.

Using Talent Development to Drive Manager Engagement

Discoverlink, Golden Corral, Pizza Ranch and Naf Naf Grill

June 12, 2019

When manager engagement is low, employees are more likely to leave, disengage themselves, or be less productive. By focusing on driving engagement of managers at the unit level, you can have a tremendous impact on performance overall. Some of the best ways to drive manager engagement are through proactive talent development, promotion of a strong culture, and effective ongoing communication, all of which can be influenced via training initiatives. In this webinar, several premier restaurant chains will share their best practices for driving manager engagement across both corporate and franchised locations.

Moderator:
John Poulos, President of DiscoverLInk

Panelists:
Johan Aiken, Senior Director of Learning & Development for Golden Corral
Jason Lechner, Director of Training & Development for Pizza Ranch
Chad Chmielowicz, Director of Training for Naf Naf Grill

Human Trafficking in the Hospitality Industry

Kim Carson, Training Manager, Rosen Hotels

April 10, 2019

The fight against Human Trafficking in the Hospitality Industry is steadily on the rise and most prevalent in hotels, and motels. They are an attractive target for Human Trafficking because of the privacy and anonymity our industry offers. However, human trafficking also occurs at sporting events, theme parks, cruise ships, and many other areas in the tourism industry. Human Trafficking is a $150 Billion Dollar industry, and because human trafficking is so diverse, we can't fight it all at once and there are no single, black or white solutions. Training our front line employees on how to identify and respond to the signs of human trafficking is imperative to the safety of victims, guests and fellow associates. This training will incorporate education and warning signs for various operations to include food and beverage outlets, housekeeping and other in room departments, front desk, bellstand and valet associates.

Beyond Training: Enriching The Lives of Your Whole Employee

Cava and Wisetail

October 17, 2018

Amanda Zellman, Learning Experience Designer at CAVA & Lori Goldstrohm, VP of Ops Services at CAVA sit down with Wisetail Client Experience Lead, Rachael Nordby to share their strategies for developing and growing their people beyond traditional role specific training. Learn how to cultivate a supportive community, create content that prepares employees for success in their lives outside of work and carve out spaces for teammates to celebrate each other.

Experiential Interviewing

Serah Morrissey, Complex Director of HR, WB Hotel Group

December 12, 2018

We have all been there -- rushing to review an application five minutes prior to an interview. We find the closest restaurant booth or seat in the hotel lobby and hope the perfect candidate will magically be sitting across from us, eager to join your team and become your next star associate! If this sounds familiar, join us to learn how preparation and a little creativity can increase your selection success and provide a realistic preview of your open positions. In this webinar, you will learn techniques for uncovering job compatibility through the interview process, and will gain an understanding of how thorough interviews avoid costly hiring mistakes by determining how to solicit and interpret non-verbal messages during the interview.

Looking to Improve Operations? Start in the Dishroom

Jessie Bray, Punk Angler Development

August 15, 2018

Dishwashers are the backbone of our industry. No other role in the restaurant impacts every single guest like a dishwasher's. Yet, too often dishwashers are overworked, underpaid, overlooked, undervalued and ill-trained resulting in high turnover, increased costs and frustration throughout the restaurant. In this informative session, you will learn how to improve restaurant operations, decrease costs, improve retention and increase morale by investing in your dishwashers.

Modern Learning - A Fresh Look at New Approaches and Technologies

Paul Bradley, PlayerLync

June 13, 2018

Modern Learning encompasses many exciting new concepts, technologies, and practical applications.

From Artificial Intelligence, xAPI, video performance support, knowledge reinforcement, mobility and micro-learning, PlayerLync will tell you what’s in, what’s out and what would have the biggest impacts within your organization. Moreover, you’ll learn how to get started immediately leveraging assets you already have, in order to make an impact during the remainder of 2018.

Harassment in Hospitality

Patrick Yearout, Director of Recruiting & Training, Ivar's Restaurants

April 11, 2018

The numbers are staggering: according to various surveys on the hospitality industry, as many as 90% of female employees and 70% of male employees have experienced some form of sexual harassment. And can you guess what the #1 field is in terms of workplace sexual harassment claims filed in the United States from 2005 to 2015? According to the EEOC, it’s “accommodation and food services.”

How did the hotel and restaurant industries, which pride themselves on being inclusive and welcoming to all, come to earn this distinction? And what can be done to improve it? Join Patrick Yearout, Director of Recruiting and Training for Ivar’s Restaurants and Past President of CHART, to explore the issue of harassment in hospitality and learn what you can do to protect your employees, your guests, and your brand.

How to Utilize the New Laws of Learning for Today's Workforce

John Isbell, President, JWI Hospitality and JohnIsbellTraining.com

February 21, 2018

With the ever-changing demographics in the workplace, there has never been more of a need for great training initiatives that make an impact. The way we consume information has changed and the way we want our training has changed along with it. Join John Isbell as he talks about the New Laws of Adult Learning and how to utilize them to create programs that have your trainees not only needing your training programs, but also producing trainees that are more productive out of the gate. This will be a fast paced, sometimes funny look at how we can meet our team's need for one-size-fits-one training and provide them with difference making materials.

Using Incentives to Reinforce Training!

TJ Schier, SMART Restaurant Group, Which Wich Franchisee

 December 6, 2017

Building sales and profits might seem difficult but not if you leverage the power of 'MBA' (Mutually Beneficial for All) thinking. Discover 12 proven incentive contests, reward and recognition tactics to move sales and profits through your front- and back-of-house teams. Think employees don't care about your bottom line? Worry no more!

Articulate the impact of a recognition-based management style 
Identify tactics to increase satisfaction and results so everyone benefits - the employee, the business and the guest 
Discover a variety of incentive strategies for front of house and back of house team members

Lessons in Leadership After the Storm

Kathleen Wood, Founder & CEO Kathleen Wood Partners & Suzy's Swirl

October 11, 2017

The winds have calmed, the water has subsided and a "new normal" has appeared. Kathleen Wood, who was President and COO of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers during Hurricane Katrina, shares lessons for leading your team from the "new normal" to just being normal after a crisis. She will share the six key lessons for recovery, reconnecting and renewing after a major event impacts your business. Learn how to move forward with the High C’s of Crisis Leadership: calmness, confidence, communication, compassion, and celebration to lead your team from surviving to thriving. It's not just how you weathered the storm, it's also about how you storm back to recover and renew!

Trends in Hospitality Training & Development: New Insights & Fresh Perspective

Donna Herbel, Vice President, Training & Culture Development, Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
Colby Hutchinson, Manager Guest Feedback Programs, Best Western Hotels & Resorts
Melissa Doolin-Koehne, Executive Director, Business Development, TDn2K

August 2, 2017

While current economic indicators for our industry paint a concerning picture, it is important to stay up-to-date on trends affecting your job and your organization’s profitability. Join these top-notch, engaging presenters to delve into the most recent trends in hospitality training.

Along with an interactive Polleverywhere feature to the session (which will give you insight on how you compare to others), new information from TDn2K will be presented, along with the Trends in Hospitality Training Study results just released by CHART and TDn2K. Workforce challenges and best-in-class practices will be discussed.

There is a reason this session and these presenters were rated so highly at the recent San Diego CHART conference! You will learn a lot and come away with some great takeaways – without ever leaving your desk!

Winning the Talent War with Enlightened Hospitality

Erin Moran, Chief Culture Officer, Union Square Hospitality Group
Peter (PK) Kirwan, Chief Marketing Officer, Wisetail LMS

June 14th, 2017

Hiring talented people is crucial to success in the hospitality industry. But retaining those people is just as important. These challenges are the reality of the modern hospitality workforce, and they make it even more difficult for you to find the future leaders of your organization.

In this webinar, Wisetail partners with Erin Moran, Chief Culture Officer at Union Square Hospitality Group, to answer some of your toughest restaurant questions. What's the Millennial mindset when considering where to start a career? What are the most important factors in accepting a job? How does culture play a role?

We'll answer those questions, and we'll show you how to win the talent war with the Enlightened Hospitality philosophy.

Mobile & Micro Learning: Keeping up with the Modern Workforce

Matthew Brown, Director, Hot Schedules Train

April 12, 2017

The workforce is changing. And the training and development landscape is evolving to keep up. Although traditional classroom and shadowing may never fully go away, long-form training is getting a bite-sized makeover to better serve the millennial workforce. We’ll take a look at how you can build and incorporate micro-learning into your training and development programs, and discuss the benefits that come from this popular learning format.

Make Time for Success

Melanie Johnson, Manager of Training and Program Development, Rubios Restaurants

February 8, 2017

There is just never enough time! The "Make Time for Success" webinar approaches the topic of time management in a fun, realistic and empowering way. You will leave this presentation with actionable tactics that you can implement right away to help you reach your personal and professional goals.

Trends in Hospitality Training & Development: New Insights & Fresh Perspectives

Curt Archambault, People & Performance Strategies
Jen Swan, First Watch Restaurant
Melissa Doolin-Koehne, TDn2K

December 7, 2016

While current economic indicators for our industry paint a concerning picture, it is important to stay up-to-date on trends affecting your job and your organization’s profitability. Join these three top-notch, engaging presenters to delve into the most recent trends in hospitality training.

Along with interactive live attendee polling during the session (which will give you insight on how you compare to others), new information from TDn2K will be presented, along with the Trends in Hospitality Training Study results released last year by CHART and TDn2K. Workforce challenges, such as the shortage of employees, turnover and retention, minimum wage, generational issues, and orientation, will be discussed.

There is a reason this session and these presenters were rated so highly at the Charleston CHART conference this past summer! You will learn a lot and come away with some great takeaways – without ever leaving your desk!.

Culture Love: Why Being the Restaurant of Choice Means Putting Culture First

Mary Kay Hyde, Vice President of Marketing, HotSchedules
Tom Frank, Owner, Round World Manager

October 12, 2016

In order for your customers to love your restaurant, you have to have employees that love working for you.
Join this session to hear from culture engineer, Tom Frank, who will share his insights and suggestions for ways to motivate managers and team members to be ambassadors for your brand and culture.

LMS Guide for Millennials, by Millennials

Peter (PK) Kirwan, Director of Marketing, Wisetail LMS
Juniper Emnet, Developer & Millennial, Wisetail LMS

August 10, 2016

A guide to engage with Millennials in your LMS from the perspective of a Millennial. Since they've become the largest share of the American workforce, exactly how to connect with Millennials via online learning has been a piping hot topic for eLearning experts, L&D professionals, and hospitality trainers - most of whom are not Millennials themselves. The ideas in this presentation answer this question, "I'm a Millennial, do you want to know how to reach me with your LMS?"

Within the hospitality industry the need to understand this younger segment is even more important and we will work through five key areas where you can improve your connection to the Millennials in your organization.

Blow Them Away With Discrepant Events!

Becky Rice, White Castle

June 8, 2016

An attention getting, thought-provoking approach to initiate inquiry is through the use of discrepant events. A discrepant event is a demonstration that puzzles the observer, causing him or her to wonder why the event occurs as it did. These situations leave the observer at a loss to explain what has taken place. This propels the observer to become thoroughly engaged and want to learn more. It is from this platform that real learning can now take place. Attend this webinar to learn all about discrepant events and how you can use them to enhance any learning situation!

Building Trust for Solid Team Performance

Curt Archambault, People & Performance Strategies

April 13, 2016

Does your team have integrity? Does your team have good intent? What are the capabilities of your team? Does your team get results you desire? If you find your team lacking in any of these areas, this webinar is the place to begin.

“Solid Team Performance Is Built on Trust”, participants are introduced to 7 Strategies to building trust within their work teams and organizations. Based on the teachings of Patrick Lencioni, in the best-selling business book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, this webinar will help individuals understand their own responsibility to create and maintain an environment that promotes high trust. Trust is the foundation on which all high-performing teams are built and a high-performing team is the real and ultimate competitive advantage today!

Even if you are not the formal leader of the team or of your department there are things you can do to influence the level of trust in your organization. Building trust starts with you and though it sounds easy, it is hard work and takes focus. Join us for this webinar to get the strategies to build trust that builds high-performing teams.

Empowering Team Members with the Ability to Speak English

Christine San Juan, Head of HR & Training, Caffe Nero Americas

February 10, 2016

Immigrant / Non-English speaking workers make up a large portion of our work teams. Many are well educated in their home countries; however, their lack of English skills, both written and oral, prevent them from achieving career progression. Join this free webinar to explore ways you may be able to identify, develop, and implement programs that teach your valuable team members English. You are able to impact the bottom line in your business when you are able to improve a team members ability to communicate effectively.

Key speaking points: Industry statistics, Getting started , Available resources, Results

Interviewing That Rocks: How to Amp Up or Revolutionize Your Interviewing Skills

Jim Knight, Managing Partner, People Forward

December 9, 2015

Learn specific standards and best practices to dramatically improve a manager’s specific interviewing skills when hiring potential staff-level new hires. Whether you’re an interviewing novice or an extremely competent manager, this session is guaranteed to amp up your skills in one of the weakest skill-sets in the industry. If you’re on the hunt to develop confidence and consistency in how you (or your team) interviews, come check out what all the noise is about.

Jim Knight, Managing Partner of PeopleForward, will act as a thought-starter for the session and facilitate proven techniques garnered from working with rock star brands in the industry, known for hiring “right fit” employees. He will use the visceral backdrop of well-known companies, including Hard Rock International, via his 21-year run with that brand as the head of Training & Development, as a platform to discuss detailed techniques to positively transform a person’s competencies…ensuring that great hiring decisions are made for the brand.

Key concepts will include:

Setting the Stage
Effective Interviewing Collateral
Hiring “Rock Stars” (not Lip-Synchers)
Application Best Practices
4 Areas of an Interview
Steps to an Effective Interview
The Turn-Off Statement
Putting it into Practice

Development in Quick Bites - Developing Your People in 5 Minute Focal Points

Christin Myers, COO, Creative Restaurant Solutions, Inc

October 14, 2015

The 2014 TDN2K and CHART survey indicated, and Creative Restaurant Solutions, Inc's exit interview data supports the notion that development is an area of opportunity across our industries. More often than not, the reason development is lacking is due to lack of time and/or resources. But what if you could develop others in quick bites (we call them 5 Minute Focal Points)? It can be fun, it can be easy, and everyone stands to learn something! Join us to learn more about how to develop others in quick bites!

Trends in Hospitality Training and Development Report

August 12, 2015

The 2015 Trends in Hospitality Training & Development Study shows that effective training is making a difference in terms of reducing turnover, fostering a stronger more skilled workforce, and providing a better customer experience.

This report, conducted by CHART and TDn2K, highlights a number of key findings, most notably:

It Pays to Train the Trainer. Increasing an organization’s budget to train certified trainers can reduce turnover by about 25 percent.
Orientation IS Opportunity. Those that spend more than four hours on new hire orientation enjoy, on average, 13 percent lower turnover than their counterparts.
E-Learning on the Rise. More organizations are turning to e-learning as part of their training suite, using it for knowledge leveling, validation and testing, and compliance. More than 85 percent of full- and limited- service restaurants and 50 percent of hotel and lodging companies report e-learning opportunities to employees are increasing in their organizations.

Not Your Father's Leadership

John Isbell, Director of Training, Logan's Roadhouse

June 10, 2015

If you are still leading like our father's did in their day - you are probably failing. Join John Isbell as he takes a look at the difference in Leadership during "the good old days" and today. He will give you helpful tips on keeping today's employee engaged and how to make yourself a more well-rounded leader. You'll discuss managment vs. leadership, today's employee climate, and ways to attract and retain amazing talent in today's competitive marketplace. OK - maybe not that last one - he's only got 45 minutes! But join him anyway because he'll definitely talk about all the other stuff. We think...

E-Mail – There is a Right Way to Do It!

Gabe Hosler, Director of Training, Rubio’s Restaurants

April 8, 2015

Have you ever been frustrated by your Inbox? Not sure how to get your message across? Or not getting the answers that you need? In this interactive presentation you will discover the secrets to both sending and making sure that you receive the most effective and appropriate e-mail messages. The stuff that your mother taught you about how to communicate nicely on the playground…brought into the modern age.

Hire, Train, Reward, Retain!

TJ Schier, President, SMART Restaurant Group, WhichWich Franchisee

February 11, 2015

To provide more value to your organization, expand the impact of your training focus. This session will provide easy, actionable tools and tactics in the areas of hiring, on-going training and incentives/rewards to ensure your managers hire more effectively, have simple tools to train DAILY and a reward system tied to driving business results. Learn how to expand what you are working on to help solve your company’s problems and ensure you are a training superstar!