Chapter 4- Results and Findings
4.3 Management satisfaction with training methods and employees performance and
According to information gained by the interviews with the management (see appendix 2 and 3) all interviewees agreed that the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is extremely service- oriented and that the hotel has a top position in its category not only in Prague but in the whole country. Moreover, the idea is to not be that uniform type of hotel as for example Four Seasons hotels are, but Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is trying to keep each personality of its employees and with ongoing trainings and courses just to tune the rest. Basically, management agree that all employees are familiar with the aim and ideas of the company and they understand what their role in the customer satisfaction process is. Employees must be familiar with the Internal Code (see appendix 5) which is a document where all duties and responsibilities of Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel´s employees are presented and they need to be followed and respected by everyone working in the company. Internal code also describes duties of both employees and organization including the organization´s promise to train and lead employees to meet company´s goals or employee promise to participate in OHS trainings or any other mandatory trainings. Ethical Code (see appendix 6) is another important document where aims, goals and rules that need to be respected by everyone working under CRHG are introduced. Moreover,
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employees must be familiar with a current vision and mission statement of the company as well as values and strategy that need to be followed all the time (see appendix 7).On the other hand, according to F&B manager, Mr. Pátek, service trainings given by the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel itself are managed by the training manager (Ms. Varmužová) together with the Head of Department (HOD). When some training is prepared for the employees, it is firstly tested on management (F&B manager and supervisors, other HOD) so these competent people are able to identify if the training content is appropriate and developed enough to teach staff something new or practice already acquired knowledge. The content of the trainings is mostly focused on areas such as problem-solving, communication with guests, the WOW effect. Mr. Pátek stated that the high ranking of the hotel is definitely thanks to the sustainable trainings of hotel employees.
Research showed that Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is not using competitiveness as a motivational factor for improving employee’s performance. The idea is to have one team that always cooperates together and there must be 100% teamwork. There is one goal set out for all employees together and according to Ms. Varmužová, competitiveness has no place in this hotel. Results showed that it works very successfully because on the one hand numbers go up and on the other hand, employees are supporting each other.
According to Mr. Pátek, the area which needs to be improved is definitely knowledge about the products, including wines, ingredients in food, food and wine pairing, allergens, types of meat, etc. He mentioned that it is very good that employees are trained in service and communication with guests but it is necessary to combine these abilities with excellent knowledge about the products sold to customers. The hotel often hires people with low skills or no previous education in this field but if they have a desire to learn and appropriate attitude, they are in the right place. According to this fact, the author points out that it is often easier to teach someone many new things then to correct previous bad habits and to direct employees to the goals and aim of the particular hotel.
Interviewed supervisors answered that they consider trainings for supervisors extremely valuable. Ms. Kodešová is in charge of supervising FOH employees in the restaurant La Rotonde for only the last four months. She said that the most valuable part of trainings for supervisors was the process of learning how to be fair to all subordinates, how to equally divide duties to all employees so the restaurant is operating at the highest
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standards. Mr. Kameništiak, who is working as a restaurant supervisor for the last 2 and half years, stated that being a supervisor is quite a difficult position because you need to be able to work between the F&B manager and employees themselves. As Mr. Kameništiak stated, the best training in any supervision or managerial position is time. It is important to find a balance between what management want and how to deliver this information to employees. According to Mr. Kameništiak, the most difficult part in the training process for supervisors is the difference in how to solve problems or complaints from the position of waiter and supervisor. As a supervisor you need to be more matured in decision making processes, be able to quickly decide what to do to in stressful situations and manage the responsibility for the whole team. Probably the most difficult part of being a supervisor is to learn how to change the approach to colleagues who were on the same line and now they are subordinates and need to be lead.
Supervisors agreed that strengths of FOH employees are found in the individuality of each team member and friendly approach to guests. When it comes to their weaknesses, the area that needs to be improved is employee’s knowledge of products and sustainable investment into team work. According to all interviewees, there is no particular weakness when it comes to service delivery.
When it comes to differences between performance and response to trainings of males and females, management mostly agreed that females are often more studious and accept trainings better than males. Sometimes management experienced that males have problems to admit that they are doing something wrong even when their colleagues confront them with their opinions and suggestions. Usually, there is a problem with their egos. Ms. Varmužová mentioned that the hotel is systematically accepting international employees which helps to destroy language barriers and also because the more diverse workforce the hotel has, the better. Every country has its specifics, so every foreign team member brings some specifics into the hotel operations. Currently the team is enriched by representatives of Turkey, Moldavia, Russia, France, England, and Costa Rica. As Ms. Varmužová said that foreigners in comparison with locals are sometimes more willing to learn and they appreciate the chance to develop their skills more.
It is very important to encourage and motivate employees to trainings and ongoing development of their performance. According to interviews, trainings are also developed
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compared with a few years ago. Nowadays, trainings are more interesting, managers do not want to use any methods or approaches that employees do not like. As was mentioned in chapter 2.7 of this work, every employee has a specific learning process during training and development programs depending on their condition for effective learning. It is very important to take into account that every employee has a different process of absorbing new information. The aim of the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is to make employees feel comfortable during all trainings and results showed that also employees´ feedback on new trainings is very positive. One of the most positive things on this new trainings is the fact that there is a mix of employees from different departments who never met or talked before. During trainings, they get to know each other, becoming friends, trainings are more interesting for them and after that communication on a daily work basis is much easier between people who actually know each other.
When interviewees were asked about the right motivation for the employees they had diverse but mostly similar opinions. According to management, one of the biggest motivation is definitely the name Alcron, Michelin Star restaurant and the overall prestige of the hotel. Many people also perceive working for the big corporation as one of the biggest advantages. One of the biggest motivational factors is possibility of career growth within the company. 99% of vacancies are firstly offered for internal interviews, except the top management positions within the hotel. Nevertheless, last two positions in top management were occupied by internal recruitment. Another change is also in speed by which it is possible to go higher. For example, an employee who started on a bar is now a head waiter on The Alcron restaurant so all these rules are also slightly changing within the last few months. Additionally, there are many other forms of motivation or bonuses for employees, including discount vouchers to CRHG hotels and resorts, massages, taxi, etc. However, this is not the most important factor for employees. Rewards or appropriate bonuses is a very difficult concept because every employee has different wants and desires. On the one hand, internships and wine tasting tours are perfect for young career-oriented people but on the other hand, older employees who have kids and taking care of their families prioritize financial bonuses.
Interviewed management agreed that employees are mostly willing to learn and practice new skills. Most employees supposedly understand that it is also for their own benefit.
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Pursuant to information gained from Ms. Varmužová, management is usually not participating in trainings provided by the hotel except the corporate trainings which are given by the Rezidor Group. One of the reasons should be that is not mandatory for them and therefore they are not pushed to participate. Some of them are sometimes present at the beginning but it is rarely happening. The only exception is the F&B manager who is also training staff.