Technology plays an important role in the hotel industry. Staff can benefit from cutting-edge enterprise hospitality software helping to increase productivity, automate tedious processes, and provide useful analytics to improve performance. Not only that but as a result of newer technologies, hotels can continually raise the level of service expectations.
So when it comes to investing in new technology, training end-users is probably one of the most important aspects of a successful rolling out in an organization. However according to a recent article featured on hotelmanagement.net, training users on new hotel technology can be one of the most poorly executed tasks. And after spending so much time and capital into new technology, without the right training tools and procedures in place, hoteliers not only risk underutilizing their latest investment to its truest potential but risk hurting the guest relationship with poor employee knowledge and communication.
So when the time comes to upgrading or investing in newer technology it’s important to check and confirm the vendor(s) and/or software providers have dedicated staff in place to ensure training takes place. And while the type of training will depend on the new platform(s) being implemented or advanced, the article also recommended a number of online training initiatives as a way of receiving effective training such as;
- Instructor-led web-based training such as webinars
- Training videos, “…tech team produces three- to five-minute training videos in order to capture our associates’ attention and provide them with short learning opportunities. We’ve produced such training videos for anything as simple as resetting one’s password to how to operate our contract-management system.” Alan Zaccario, VP of information technology for New Castle Hotels and Resorts.
- Webinars on best practices in the industry to keep the property teams up to speed on relevant improvement and changes
- Similarly, a monthly newsletter that touches on all aspects of new technology, anything from search engine optimization to new tricks in social media marketing
Ultimately the beauty of online training and communication is that it can be done in a multitude of languages, which not only speeds the process but also guarantees a consistent training method and message to all employees.
The importance of technology to hospitality will only increase in the future; it can be a powerful tool to improve operation and meet guest expectations. But in order to ensure optimal use or operation of systems or software in place, training is necessary. With the right training in place, operations can become more efficient, processes expedited, resulting in elevated customer satisfaction, loyalty and an improved bottom line.
