What Are CHART Trainers Working on in 2019?
We asked five CHART members to tell us about their key priorities and objectives for this year. Take a look at how these leaders are changing up their training programs and some of the advice they have to offer others looking to implement similar plans.
Konnie Sadler
Senior Training Manager
Culver’s Franchising System, LLC
Our restaurants shared a need for more support in the development of their trainers. We believe it’s important to recognize and nurture team members who display leadership qualities with the goal of attracting and retaining future leaders. To accomplish this, we are elevating the trainer development process with a blended learning approach by utilizing ButterBurger University E-Learning Platform vs. hardcopy documentation and adding a new “Train the Trainer Workshop” to our True Blue Leadership Development path.
“My advice for others looking to enhance their training system is to collaborate! It is simply not enough to create and roll out. We’ve found that establishing a focus group of past Commitment to Excellence Award Recipients is essential to learn what is working and what is not, to assist with the development and review process, and to validate effectiveness once the program is implemented. I also recommend you utilize CHART as a resource! Participate, gain inspiration through webinars, build relationships at conferences, and really focus on growing a support network of other trainers.”
– Konnie Sadler
Manuel Gomez
Field Training Manager
Golden Corral Corporation
One of our key objectives this year is to re-evaluate our MIT training program. We started by sending system-wide surveys to different levels of operations and senior leadership to establish what tasks a certified manager should be able to complete upon finishing the program. Once we have this information gathered, we’ll meet to look at how each learning objective should be administered (i.e. hands-on activity, eLearning course, discussion board post, on-demand video, instructor-lead training, or a combination of several approaches).
Another personal goal of mine is to foster better relationships between Training Managers in the units and Field Training Managers (those that oversee MIT training). I’ve started by holding monthly Training Manager calls on Adobe Connect. Each call is less than 30 minutes total and includes two training related topics with the last 5 minutes allotted to answer any questions regarding the training program and how to best administer it.
My advice to others trying to improve their training programs: get as much feedback from shareholders as possible. It’s important not only for feedback but for buy-in. I’ve also learned as I work to build relationships with Training Managers that you have to be patient and understand it’ll be a slow start. The end result I’m trying to achieve is to better support the Training Managers in the units. As they’ve started to see the benefits of having these calls, more TMs and even senior leadership are attending the calls.
– Manuel Gomez
Kelley Wisley
Assistant Director Human Resources
BENCHMARK, a global hospitality company
Our hotel has been lucky enough to have a dedicated Training Manager for the past 8 years. That means we have primarily focused on classroom training for leadership and ongoing development. Our partnership with BizLibrary has allowed us to give our 400+ employees access to e-learning and personal/professional development. This year, our focus is to incorporate online learning into our everyday development. We have been rolling out quarterly and monthly training assignments, and it’s really been a paradigm shift for our leaders. To help us make this transition, we’re educating employees on the fact that anyone can access the courses and our leaders have been creative on how they get more employees onboard with e-learning. We’ve also created a “mobile learning lab” that allows all employees access while they are working. Since it is mobile-friendly, employees can whip out their phones, watch the trainings, and then get back to work.
My advice to others looking to incorporate online learning into everyday development, you have to communicate! To make e-learning a reality at DU, I had to get the support of our home office and corporate initiatives. We are having monthly check-ins with leaders to keep on top of any concerns, and BizLibrary has really been responsive to our concerns. They even changed some of their processes because of our feedback!
– Kelley Wisley
Richard Miller
Human Resources Manager
Rosewood Hotels – Mansion on Turtle Creek
The main theme we focus on at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek is “Learning Anywhere and Everywhere.” This means we provide many learning opportunities such as classroom, vignette, technical, hands-on/on-the-job training and e-learning opportunities so our associates can access curated content at any point in their career development journey specific to their needs. This year, we are continuing in the same direction. We’re optimizing our use of technology to enhance our associates’ learning experiences and we’re creating a more robust talent development program to address our dynamic work environment all while maintaining a best in class work culture. To do this, we’re reevaluating compliance programs and gamifying learning activities to drive associates’ retention and execution of our brand standards. This will further elevate our level of service and exceptional guest experience. We are also collaborating with our training resource partners to create more robust options, as well as gathering our associates’ input during the process.
My advice to anyone looking to make changes to their training programs is to not be afraid to engage in the process of change. Just remember that any learning solution must be grounded in the company/brand’s culture and align to the overall strategic objectives. It’s also important to note that any change is an iterative process and involves various stakeholders – whose support you will need to make the change come to fruition.
– Richard Miller
Becky Durling
Director, Learning & Development
Xanterra Travel Collection
Xanterra Learning & Development (L&D) supports employee development for several lines of business including national park lodges, resorts, railway train operations, Windstar Cruiseline, and several tour companies. Our workforce is highly seasonal, diverse, and (in some locations) very remote. A few of the objectives we have in our L&D pipeline this year include reduce training ‘time-to-perform’ for a variety of audiences, continue to foster a culture of learning and ongoing development (whether our highly seasonal employees are with us for 90 days or 90 years), and increase focus on learning technologies.
Several ways we are working to achieve this are by 1) standardizing our universal training topics, 2) equipping our field trainers with quality standards, sound training content and evaluation tools, 3) enhancing our New Employee onboarding program, 4) utilizing technology to capture metrics and feedback from our highly seasonal employees on what’s working and areas of opportunity, 5) offering new development opportunities for managers so they can successfully support and manage employee performance, and 6) exploring our newest tools like our new learning management system and other technologies to help get learning into the hands of our remote, mobile, and deskless employees.
My advice to others trying to grow their training processes is to identify who the learning champions are within your organization and connect with them. These are the people who “get” it and can help make your department voice louder. They can also provide the extra support needed to make your training programs even more successful.
– Becky Durling
