CHART speakers highlight critical need for training

Nation's Restaurant News, August 14, 2006 by Dina Berta

LAS VEGAS -- Trainers are critical to hospitality businesses that want to stay competitive as the industry expands, operators and researchers told the 400-plus attendees at the 72nd semiannual conference of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers.

The three-day event held recently at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel here focused on strategies to improve training skills, develop management and win more support for such programs from supervisors. CHART is a nonprofit professional organization whose more than 600 members represent multiunit restaurant and hotel companies.

When employees who are well-trained feel good about coming to work, customer satisfaction scores go up, said Colin Reed, chairman and chief executive of Gaylord Entertainment Co. in Nashville, Tenn.

"When that happens, you see a correlation with profitability," Reed told attendees. "You're profitable when customers come back. Retention of our people makes our customers happy. They come back, and we make more money."

Reed was one of four executives on a Presidents' Panel session during the conference. Joining him were Kathleen Wood, president and chief operating officer of 48-unit Raising Cane's Inc., based in Baton Rouge, La.; Walter Isenberg, president and chief executive of Sage Hospitality Resources LLC, a Denver-based company that operates 50 hotels under the brands Starwood, Marriott and Hilton; and Eric Anders, president and co-founder of Agoura Hills, Calif. based Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, a 10-unit chain in Southern California.

The panelists encouraged CHART members to be proud of the work they do and to not be afraid to ask for the funds to do it.

"Never apologize for what you do," Wood said. "I've seen trainers go into executive groups and apologize for needing money. ... Be confident about what you do, because what you are doing is providing a valuable aspect to the organization."

Training is becoming more important as competition in the industry heats up, Teresa Siriani, president of Dallas-based People Report, said in another session. Job growth in hotels has grown by about 5 percent in the past nine years and, in restaurants, by 20 percent.

Health care, however, grew by 25 percent in that time period, she noted. As baby boomers age, health care is expected to outpace the hospitality industry in job growth and move past the restaurant industry as the second-largest employer

in the country, after the government, Siriani said. "Your competition is not just the restaurant or hotel across the street," she said. "We're all looking for the same workers."

Companies that retain their employees offer more training and management development, Siriani said, citing People Report data. The firm tracks human resources practices for member companies.

Also during the conference, CHART recognized Gaylord's Reed with its Commitment to People Award. The honor is given to an executive who has demonstrated a commitment to training and developing employees.

The organization, along with the NRAEF, presented La Quinta, Calif., high school graduate Erin Catherine Folkstad with a $2,500 scholarship. Also, Darden Restaurants gave a $1,000 scholarship to Folkstad, who had interned at an Olive Garden restaurant.

dberta@nrn.com