Member Blog

Thought leadership from the brightest minds in hospitality training. Subscribe to our Training Flash E-Newsletter to get the latest articles right in your inbox.

CHART Talks: "Brief Blasts of Brilliance" #20 - Stepping Stones

For over half of my 60 years, I have had CHART in my life. In New Orleans, I shared how this organization has been the stepping stone in my career and in my personal life. The people of CHART got me to my 50th state and a lot of other places. Because of the relationships built, the CHART family has helped me get over stumbling blocks that have been in my path. Watch my short video and discover how you can also give to and get back from CHART.

Read more

Partner Mimeo Shares Lessons from #CHARTNOLA

Dana Roazzi, Retail Business Unit Director at Mimeo, shares the many lessons she learned at her first CHART conference. Recently, I made my way down to New Orleans for CHART’s 90th Hospitality Conference. CHART is a non-profit professional association of hospitality and restaurant training professionals. Incredibly enough, the 450+ members of CHART represent and train a workforce of almost 3 million people!

Read more

Nix the Talking Heads for More Engaging Training Videos

It's OK to admit it. Property managers can't relate to our corporate training videos and often are skeptical of them. "That will not work in my property with my employees," they'll say. And for associates, that skepticism is likely even higher. Training videos tend to not be realistic or particularly effective because they use scripted talking head actors and show only the latest, greatest properties.

Read more

Simple Behaviors Help Hotels Wow Guests, Co-Workers

During an employee orientation at a large resort/conference hotel where I once worked, the general manager raved about his experience at a local, very casual restaurant with doors for tabletops, chicken-fried steak on the menu and a BYOB policy. His expectations of the place were very low when he walked in, but then he proceeded to tell our new employees how this humble restaurant blew him away with its customer service.

Read more

The Race for the Finish Line (Wish I Could Slow it Down!)

While it was only a few weeks ago that our 90th conference came to a close in New Orleans; it feels like a distant fond memory. Like the CHART presidents before me, I have looked forward to this time more than once over the past year, yet, with extremely mixed emotions. While I’m excited for what this year holds for our organization, the little time I have left to serve you on the board slapped me in the face like none other when Patrick stepped down. Now in my fifth year on the board, the time has raced by like a NASCAR competitor zooming towards the finish line.

Read more

I'm With Them!

After the recent CHART conference in New Orleans, Patrick Yearout, Jason Lyon, and I went on a tour of the Garden District. In preparation for the two-hour walk in the blazing heat, we stopped off at a coffee shop for bottled water.

Read more

An Incredible Year In and Year Out for CHART

It seems like mere moments ago that Calvin Banks departed the stage at the end of the awards banquet at CHART’s 88th Hospitality Training Conference in Atlanta last July, ending his term as President of the organization and handing the reins over to me. But it’s been almost a year since that event took place, and what a year it’s been! Since that time we have launched a popular new educational webinar series, created a new CHART position to oversee the trainer competency program and our educational platform, developed new vision and mission statements to better reflect the evolution of CHART’s position in the hospitality industry, and grew our ranks to just under 500 members (and we’re still hoping to hit that total by the end of the month).

Read more

Finding keepers: The Art of New Employee Orientation

Smart organizations proactively build retention and momentum into the orientation and onboarding process “Today, more than ever, if a company is bleeding people, it is bleeding value.” —Marcus Buckingham Last month, this column examined the essential best practices of recruiting and attracting high-performing foodservice managers and crew. This month, let’s take a deeper dive into the next step of the process: Successfully hiring and transitioning new employees onto the team.

Read more

LIVE From Your Peers: 5 Best Practice Strategies to Improve Retention

According to statistics gathered by the National Restaurant Association, the hospitality industry experienced its fourth consecutive year of rising turnover in 2014. At 66.3%, we are 20% higher than other industries, and quick service is a nightmarish 140%. While the recent recession years saw an all-time low, associates are no longer hesitant to take flight if they are unhappy and unengaged.

Read more

What’s Next? New Post to Oversee Competencies and Educational Platform

“What’s next?” That’s what Colby Hutchinson of Best Western International asked the other attendees at our CHART T3 conference in Napa earlier this year when receiving his pin for completing all twelve of the sessions in our Hospitality Training Competency Program. Although it was a years-long process for him to participate in the different workshops, Colby was already looking toward the future and wondering about new challenges he could tackle in his quest for lifelong learning. “What’s next” is an important question that we must all consider from time to time, and one especially pertinent to me as I wrap up my year as the President of this amazing organization.

Read more

7 Interview Strategies to Help Discover Top Candidates

I have participated in many interviews during my 20-plus years in the world of hospitality, and it’s not always easy to determine if someone is going to be a great addition to your team. Based on my experiences, however, I do know that using the seven interviewing strategies below will help you find the best possible employees to represent your brand.

Read more

Developing the Right Strategy to Attract Millennial Talent

Millennials are much more productive than they are given credit for. They are highly engaged in any meaningful work that aligns with their passions, and are socially conscious and loyal to organizations that value a culture of caring. Being the first generation to grow up with computers in their homes, millennials are technologically proficient and inherently effective networkers and communicators of your brand, making them natural recruiters of top talent.

Read more