Training Articles (formerly Member Blog)

I recently attended the Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Show in New York City as part of a panel discussion on Training Strategy, Technology, and the Bottom Line. The panel was moderated by CHART's very own Mike Nalley, Best Western, and included Robert O'Halloran, East Carolina University, Mark Boccia, Marriott, and Sylvia Douglin, Interstate Hotels and Resorts. About 60 attendees (70% being industry professionals and 30% aspiring hospitality students) attended this engaging session.

In this 6 minute video, Gerry will share what knowledge, skills & insights are necessary to effectively engage people from different cultural backgrounds to deliver better business results.

Watch my short video and learn that with the right motivation, patience and encouragment, you too can learn new tricks. My amazing grandaughter has taught me a lot and one is keep learning!

Just after stumbling out of bed each morning, the first thing I do is scan the local and national news stories posted on a half-dozen different websites. I don’t read every article, of course, but I do try to read the ones that are important to me either personally or professionally. And recently I find that I’m interested in more and more news items because they connect with my career as a hospitality trainer.

In the fall of 2008, classes were well underway for the semester at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. On one particular evening, four friends that shared a computer lab together decided to meet off-campus. A handful of hours beforehand, they had been kicking around an idea in class that had sparked each other’s interest. Fate or frequent patronage led them through doors of Roosevelt’s Pub on the corner of 23rd and Walnut St. in Philadelphia.

In just about 8 minutes, I'll share how big data is transforming the hospitality industry. I'll talk about what big data is, where it comes from, how we communicate electronically, and how information about each of us is captured and tracked. More importantly, what are the implications for hospitality trainers in how you train better and serve guests better.

In a quick 7 minutes, I'll take you down the yellow brick road of professional development. In my CHART Talks video clip from the recent Miami Conference, I'll share the stories of two women: a mentor and mentee and their journey to reach the best seat in the house.

Paul Meshanko of Legacy Business Cultures got rave reviews for his session on the Respect Effect at the recent CHART Miami Conference. Now, he has summarized this relevant information in an article:

Roz Usheroff was a hit at CHART's recent Miami conference. Here is a great article from Roz about the worst mistakes leaders make, and how to learn from them to be the kind of leader people want to follow...While it may seem counterintuitive, if you want to be a leader others are willing to follow, knowing what not to do turns out to be just as important as knowing what to do.

I’ve been lucky enough to build e-learning courses since 1992, and over the past 12 years, DiscoverLink has had the privilege to work with more than 85 restaurant chains on their e-learning initiatives. We’re asked to review and evaluate existing training programs with a goal of converting them to an online program that is paperless and cost-effective. After reviewing dozens of legacy programs, we’ve seen it all – from good, effective programs to programs that were created 20 years ago and have more patches than I-65 in the winter. But one thing we’ve continued to prove, time and time again, is that when it comes to e-learning, “less is more.”

Risk management. It's not a bad word, so why don’t we talk about it more in terms of training? In most hospitality industry conversations, the focus typically is on skill training – how do I train so employees will deliver top notch food and service execution which brings our guests through the front doors again and again.

Every once and a while, even the most sheltered of hospitality trainers must leave the cloistered confines of the corporate office and work out in the rough and tumble world of operations. Whether it’s to roll out a new program, work with an underperforming team, or open a new location, most of us make our way out to company hotels and restaurants at least occasionally to teach new skills and improve productivity.