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Industry Corner
Spotlight On
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HR Facts
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Quote of the Month
We have combined the SAFE Hospitality Quarterly newsletter with our monthly MTEC E-news letter to provide all Tourism & Hospitality owners and operators, managers and supervisors, with a comprehensive source of information.
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MTEC would like to welcome our new Taxi Service Coordinator, Chris Randall, to our team.
In its quest to provide excellent customer service to its visitors, Manitoba has become the second province to offer professional training for its Taxi and Limousine Drivers. MTEC with the support of the Winnipeg Airports Authority has taken on the project of overseeing the training of all of the Unicity taxicab drivers. These drivers are an integral part of our tourism sector. They are the first people that our guests meet when they arrive and the last to see before they return home. They are "Ambassadors" for our city.
We would also like to wish Vanessa Hernandez well as she will be going on maternity leave as of September 28th, and we would like to welcome back Mindie Copet (nee Kitkowski) as her replacement as the Workshop Coordinator.
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6th Annual Hospitality and Tourism Job Fair
MTEC's 6th Semi-Annual Hospitality and Tourism Job Fair on August 28, 2009 drew the highest job-seeker turn-out to date - 14 employers were in attendance promoting their business and job openings to over 375 job seekers.
Over 500 applications were collected from the job-seekers and on average employers planed to interview about 10% of the applications received.
MTEC would like to extend a HUGE thank-you to the Winnipeg Convention Centre for providing exhibit space for the group.
To increase our promotion of the Spring 2010 Job Fair, we will be placing stories in local community papers. If you have a story of how your business benefitted or an individual has been successful career-wise due to the Job Fair, contact us and you could be the next featured story.
Thanks also to all who posted their job openings on our Job Board. It was very effective to be able to point perspective job-seekers to this website to view your open positions. As a reminder, this service is free to anyone in the Hospitality and Tourism industry.
You can post open positions here:
Post A Job
MTEC is proud to be able to support the Hospitality and Tourism industry by offering this event. Space has already been booked for the Spring 2010 Job Fair - Friday, April 9, 2010.
For more information on how to register for this event, please contact Luanne Christensen at 957-7437 or email: lchristensen@mtec.mb.ca.
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Success Story
Employer has Tips for Attending Job Fairs
Maria Paletta, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Radisson Helca Oasis Resort, has met some great people at the various job fairs she attends. One of these people, Ross Cooper, a food & beverage server and bar tender, impressed Maria so much that he now works at the Hecla Resort full time. Comment cards from customers speak to Ross's excellent service, positive and professional attitude and his willingness to go above & beyond.
Employers have a number of places where they look for potential new employees. Referrals from family and friends, ads in newspapers and on radio, and postings on national job sites such as Workopolis and Service Canada, their own websites as well as the MTEC free job board, give employers lots of places to connect to job seekers.
But it is at the job fairs that they get to actually meet and make contact with potential new employees. Making the most of this experience is important for both the employers and the people looking to become employees.
As someone looking for work in the tourism & hospitality industry, how do you make the most of the job fair experience?
Ms. Paletta has some advice for job seekers: do your homework! Find out something interesting about each of the properties that you are applying. They understand that you are applying to more than one, so no need to memorize everything about everyone, but make an effort to go to their websites and actually find something that is of personal interest to you. Then strike up a conversation with that employer.
Be professional. First impressions are important, so come prepared as if this were an actual interview. Dress the part.
Be approachable and ask questions. Be open to sharing your previous experience and let employers know what you are looking for.
Ross Cooper made a great first impression with his smile and he continues to impress people in the workplace with his positive attitude.
"The most important thing is to relax and talk to employers. We are all here to talk and learn from each other," says Ms. Paletta.
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MTEC's Annual General Meeting 2009
Thank you to all who attended our AGM at the Fairmont, September 10, 2009. Supporters came out in record numbers to celebrate 20 years of MTEC delivering training and resources to the Tourism Industry! This year marked the inauguration of a new award program that will be presented on a yearly basis. These two awards will recognize Tourism and Hospitality Businesses that have participated in substantial training with MTEC, over the previous year. The first annual Tourism and Hospitality Success Award was presented to General Manager, Krista Mask of the Place Louis Riel Suite Hotel. They were recognized for having staff complete the most training with MTEC, through emerit or other MTEC based programs. The second winner, Aseneskak Casino, received the MANITOBA BEST Service Excellence Award, for having the most employees attend this program.
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Registration Available for Tourism HR Forum
Registration is now open for the 8th Annual Tourism HR Forum. This growing national event will take place at Montreal's Delta Centre-Ville hotel from November 23rd to 25th, 2009. The HR Forum has become a "must go" event for anyone involved in managing and developing people for the tourism sector - executives, managers, corporate trainers, educators, and association representatives. Titled On Your Mark! Get Set! Change!, this year's event addresses significant human resource concerns currently facing the tourism sector. Register online for our special one-time reduced rate of $295.00 plus taxes. Check out additional tickets for a shopping excursion, sightseeing tour, or dinner celebration! Visit cthrc.ca/hrforum.
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2009 QNET Excellence Conference
"Get Focused - 2009 QNET Excellence Conference" - Fundamentals help to determine an organization's health as well as its growth prospects. Join us at the QNET Excellence Conference on October 1 in Winnipeg to "Get Focused" on the ideas, programs and best practices that cultivate excellence in the areas of Leadership & Management, Lean & Effectiveness, Workplace Wellness and Board Governance. Featuring keynote speaker, Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry performance and leadership expert. For further information, contact QNET at (204) 949-4999 / mail@qnet.mb.ca
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Free Return on Training Investment Tool Now Available
The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) has just released its online Return on Training Investment (ROTI) tool for use by members of the tourism sector. Available free of charge at cthrc.ca, the tool provides the true value or cost of investment made in training or related activities for any department or occupation at a tourism establishment.
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We have added a new section to our e-newsletter called Spotlight On... In this section we are pleased to shine the light on some of the agencies that we work with and that you as employers can tap into.
MTEC is proud to offer Tourism & Hospitality industry members an opportunity to attend a breakfast seminar to discover a new initiative through the Alliance of Manitoba Sector Councils (AMSC).
Through MTEC, you are a member of AMSC and have access to the new Workforce Development Initiative created by AMSC & Workplace Essential Skills Training (WEST). This initiative uses the concept of essential skills. There are 9 skills that are essential to success in today's workplace. They provide the foundation for learning all other skills and are the cornerstone for lifelong learning. Without adequate levels of essential skills, your employees will be limited in their ability to learn to perform their job to National Occupational Standards.
Using the CTHRC's National Occupational Standards - based on the 9 Essential Skills - The Workplace Development Initiative can:
- Help you identify training deficits in your workplace
- Assist you in working with existing employees to ensure they meet the National Occupational Standards as set out by the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC).
- Provide individualized training to employees
Manitoba Tourism Education Council
And
The Alliance of Manitoba Sector Councils
Invites you to a breakfast seminar
October 20, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00am
Location: 1000 Waverley Street (AMSC)
There is no cost to attend, however space is limited.
Please contact us by Oct. 15 to register or for more information.
Please contact Lori or Luanne at 957-7437 or
1-800-820-6832
drop us an email at lslobodian@mtec.mb.ca
Bits and Bites: A Training Method That Takes Small Steps Toward Big Rewards
Short training stints conducted before staff members begin shifts are a simple and effective way to increase productivity, create a positive atmosphere, and retain valued employees.
It’s no secret that many organizations in the hospitality industry are looking for creative ways to increase staff retention. Replacing and retraining new staff is time consuming, not to mention costly.
Bernie Lalor-Morton, principal of Focus Forward Coaching & Consulting based in Whistler, is all too familiar with the challenges faced by managers in the food and beverage industry. She is a proponent of providing training in small “bite-size” increments, which she has found to be particularly useful in the food and beverage industry.
Rather than overwhelming the trainee with information, focused and frequent training sessions enable the employee to learn one or two skills at a time. Referred to as “Bits and Bites” training by coaching professionals, this step-by-step approach allows a manager and employee to spend time one-on-one, focusing on a particular aspect of the employee’s role. The sessions might cover greeting customers, order-taking, or how to handle an inebriated customer, enabling the manager to clearly delineate expectations and offer constructive feedback and praise. The staff person practices the new skill and demonstrates competence before moving on to the next step.
“It may seem very simple, and in a sense it is,” says Bernie, who goes on to explain that “Bits and Bites” training ensures consistency across the board and allows the food and beverage manager to really observe each staff member perform each job function. Rather than bringing staff in on overtime for an extended training session, managers can utilize this model at the beginning of a shift and watch their staff practice it throughout the days, providing coaching and direction as needed.
Pub and restaurant managers who take this approach to training feel that it is a means to improve staff performance and increase retention. Bernie remarks that many of the managers she coaches in the food and beverage industry cite staff turnover as one of their biggest challenges. “The funny thing is, when you look at the reasons why people leave, it’s often related to lack of appreciation and training,” Bernie explains. “Staff members don’t get the appreciation or encouragement they need to thrive because they aren’t doing their jobs as well as they could, which in turn stems from the fact that they weren’t trained properly and in an ongoing fashion.”
This concrete, step-by-step approach ensures that training is timely, relevant to the company’s needs, and practiced on the job. It also ensures that staff members aren’t called in for a 6-month review and given an overwhelming laundry list of improvements to make, without ever having been told about expectations they weren’t meeting.
A clear and focused approach to training does more than benefit the employees. Managers gain experience in their role of coach and mentor. They “learn to be more organized, better prepared, and more aware of what they expect of their staff, which benefits the organization as a whole,” Bernie notes. “If managers in the hospitality industry want to have the best employees, the best service, and make a profit, the only way to do that is to create an organization where there is more of a focus on development and learning.”
Copyright © 2008 go2 Tourism HR Society. All Rights Reserved. This article may be republished for non-commercial purposes subject to the provisions of the Website Use Agreement.
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Prepare Your Workplace for the H1N1 Flu Virus
If H1N1 or any similar outbreak reaches your workplace, do you have a plan in place to deal with it?
In the tourism and hospitality industry, employees have to constantly interact with customers. It is important for you as an employer to protect your staff by implementing a plan before the outbreak occurs in the workplace. It will help you be prepared and reduce the effects in the case of a pandemic. Consider the following practice:
- Encourage good hygiene, including hand washing and providing hand sanitation stations
- Ensure cleanliness of surfaces where the virus may reside (door handles, elevator buttons, shared telephones, etc.)
- Maintain good ventilation
- Have up-to-date sick or leave policies. Communicate the leave policies that will apply during a flu pandemic
- Encourage employees to stay home when they are sick, or when they think they might be sick
- Allow employees to work at home, or create staggered shifts
- Have a policy where people with flu symptoms are not allowed access to the workplace
From the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce:
H1N1 influenza doesn't just threaten your health. It threatens our economy.
Thousands of businesses in Mexico closed their doors this spring after the H1N1 flu outbreak. The same thing happened in Toronto after SARS in 2003.
Studies have shown that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada aren't as well prepared as they should be for the economic and business challenges that come with a pandemic.
That is why the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have partnered up, with the support of the Public Health Agency of Canada, to help SMEs plan so we can limit the economic impact of a flu pandemic. We will shortly be:
- Launching a website, businessfluplan.ca
- Delivering web casts
- Organizing seminars across the country specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
We will be providing tools so SMEs can:
- Protect themselves and their employees
- Get sound information for themselves and their business and
- Reduce the risk of their business failing.
We are inviting all of our partners to share this e-mail with their networks and encourage businesses to register for updates so the can register for our website launch, webcast dates, locations and scheduling for a seminar near you. Register
Business owners, HR managers or employees interested in pandemic planning can Learn More here.
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SAFE Hospitality is an injury and illness prevention strategy administered by the Manitoba Tourism Education Council (MTEC). The program is financed entirely through a surcharge paid by establishments who are registered with the WCB in subgroup 70106.
It is the mission of SAFE Hospitality to support the prevention and reduction of workplace injuries, and develop a safety culture within Manitoba restaurants.
This mission will be accomplished through:
- Discussions and development of safety topics and plans with operators with a goal to reduce workplace accidents
- On site visits providing effective and practical solutions to create and maintain a safer workplace
- Inventorying, developing and providing resources, tools and materials that enable businesses to meet their responsibilities (print and web based).
- Avoiding duplication of topics, information or training that is already available to work co-operatively toward joint goals
- Coordination of Regional Forums, Recognition Events and sharing of best practices with key industry and related partners.
- Establish relationships with stakeholders and industry leaders to expand participation and build a stronger and more effective safety program.
For more information or to see if you qualify for the SAFE Hospitality program, contact us:
By Phone: (204) 694-7233 (in Winnipeg)
Toll Free: (800) 820-6832.
Email: info@safehospitality.com
SAFE Hospitality has developed a complementary tool kit to assist Safety Representatives and Committees get started on their Safety Program. It's a easy to follow step, by step guide that includes:
- sample policies
- checklists
- posters
- safe work practices
- and safety tips specific to the hospitality industry
Downloadable Tool Kit coming soon!
To request a hard copy of the Safety Toolkit, please e-mail christine@safehospitality.com and be sure to include business name, full contact information including mailing address and phone number.
Toolkit should arrive within 5-7 days business days. WCB Rate Code 70106 only. All other locations will be contacted prior to delivery.
For more information call 204.694.SAFE (7233)
www.safehospitality.com
In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two."
- Lee Iacocca
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