Accommodation providers Millennium Hotels & Resorts were the big winners at the hospitality industry’s national training awards on Monday night, picking up the HSI Supreme Award for Excellence in Training and Innovation.

The awards, organised by the Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI), recognise hospitality training achievements across the country.

Millennium Hotels & Resorts were also recognised for their nationwide excellence in training in an organisation, while employee Joanne Simpson was awarded Workplace Trainer of the Year. The Millennium Hotel in Christchurch continued its winning streak, taking home the Excellence in Training Award for an accommodation workplace for the third year running.

Director of Human Resources for Millennium Hotels & Resorts, Ellie Hayward, celebrated with staff at the awards. “We’re absolutely thrilled at this recognition. We take an integrated approach to training, it is at the centre of how we develop our people at all levels and it’s a real confirmation to our whole organisation that our focus on training has paid off,” she said.

HSI’s Chief Executive, Steve Hanrahan, said there was an increase in entries for this year’s awards with all sectors of the hospitality industry represented in the finalists. “It’s encouraging to see such a commitment to training across the hospitality industry, ensuring we have skilled people in all areas, particularly in the build up to the Rugby World Cup next year,” Mr Hanrahan says.

TV personality Neil Waka hosted the awards ceremony, held at Auckland’s Langham Hotel on Monday 14th June.

Other 2010 award winners included last year’s Supreme Award Winner Soul Bar & Bistro, who displayed training excellence in a workplace in a café, bar or restaurant category. Category winners spanned across the country with Whangarei’s NorthTec victorious in the Training Provider (Qualification Pathways) category and Scott Richardson from Southland Boys’ High School named Hospitality Tutor of the Year.

Winners:

Excellence in Training - Training Provider (Qualification Pathways)
NorthTec, Whangarei

Excellence in Training - School
Massey High School, Auckland

Excellence in Training - Organisation
Millennium Hotels & Resorts NZ

Excellence in Training – Workplace (Accommodation)
Millennium Hotels & Resorts NZ - Millennium Christchurch

Excellence in Training - Workplace (Cafe/Bar/Restaurant)
Soul Bar & Bistro, Auckland

Excellence in Training - Workplace (Food Services/ Catering)
Department of Corrections – Waikeria Prison

Registered Workplace Assessor of the Year
Sue Bartlett, FIGJAM Creations Ltd, Auckland

Hospitality Tutor of the Year
Scott Richardson, Southland Boys’ High School, Invercargill

Workplace Trainer of the Year
Joanne Simpson, Millennium Hotels & Resorts

At the 2010 HSI Awards for Excellence in Training, the best trainers in the country were recognised. All of the finalists were successful businesses and operators that have been around the industry for some time.

This highlights two points – to be good at training you cannot be a ‘fly-by-nighter’; and secondly, training is important and contributes to a profitable business.

Measuring the financial returns of training hospitality staff can be difficult. HSI has just received some industry research on this very topic and the real dollar results are very favourable. One case study highlighted that, for that business, the main financial benefits derived from training in up selling, complaint handling, and speed of service. The key results were:

• Up selling - Good training improved the ability of staff at all levels to up sell by at least 10% of gross revenue. Entry level staff +10%, average ability staff +20% and best practice +25%.

• Complaints: 95% of complaints made were linked to new entry staff with only 5% related to trained, experienced staff.

• Speed of Service: Well-trained employees can service up to a third more customers per hour than a new entry employee, thus potentially increasing table turnover and reducing labour costs.

In summary, the actual financial benefits of training were estimated to be:

Up selling: $7,895 gross margin per staff member per annum.
Reduction in complaints: $104 per staff member p.a.
Customers served per hour: $2,362 per staff member p.a.

So, the total value from training for a staff member? An appealing total of $10,361 per staff member per annum.

A $10,000 plus return on three areas of training is surely a good investment of anybody’s time. It will also contribute to the return of customers to your business, spending more money – a sure sign of a profitable and healthy business, and a just reward for investing in up skilling your staff.

by Steve Hanrahan, CEO of HSI

The national competition was organised by the Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) and saw eight food & beverage apprentices and eight cookery apprentices compete for their respective titles in a live competition in Auckland on Sunday 13th June.

The food & beverage winner is 21 year-old Monique Rutene, who shone in a series of front of house challenges displaying her table setting and silver service skills. She also took part in a blind wine tasting requiring her to identify the major characteristics, age, varietal and region of several wines. The judges described Monique as having a ‘natural palate’ which helped her clinch the victory.

The winners were announced on Monday 14th June at HSI’s annual Excellence in Training Awards. “The competition could have been anyone’s so I was absolutely overwhelmed when they called my name,” Monique said.

Monique has an infectious enthusiasm for hospitality and says “I want more people to get excited about hospitality as a career – we need to keep talented people in New Zealand.” It is this passion, and the support of her manager and colleagues at Rosebank Lodge, that has helped her prepare for the competition, and try her hand at silver service for the first time.

The cookery winer is Regnar Christensen of Wellington’s General Practitioner. To take out the title, Regnar created a spectacular three-course menu based on a surprise box of ingredients provided on the day before, to be cooked within three hours. Regnar was most proud of his entrée - pan-fried snapper with a fine ratatouille, sautéed bok choy and spinach with a herb butter sauce.

He followed up with a main of oven-roasted lamb cutlets, parsnip puree, sautéed oyster mushrooms and a micro salad with a balsamic jus. For dessert he prepared a mille-feuille with layers of pastry, raspberries and chantilly cream topped with a Grand Marnier and mint reduction, and a pear with warm creme anglaise. Regnar’s passion for French cuisine was evident in his menu and he says his dream would be to open a French bistro one day.

23 year-old Regnar thrives in the high-pressure kitchen environment and wasn’t daunted by the task of creating a menu on the spot. “I get a real rush from cooking, I’ve done it since I was 16 and it’s a great feeling to knock out lots of covers on a busy night in the restaurant,” he says.

Regnar is nearing completion of his HSI Modern Apprenticeship and says “It works really well for me, I can get valuable kitchen experience while gaining qualifications that will look great on my CV.”

HSI Chief Executive Steve Hanrahan says the competition shows the promising future for the hospitality industry. “It’s vital to have passionate young people like Monique and Regnar working in the industry. They are raising the service standards in hospitality and are prepared to go the extra mile for customers,” he says.

What happened to the customers?

They’re stilll around, but their needs have changed. Listed below are the core strategies from smart operators we’ve talked to in the last 12 months. Business boosters include:

• Open before midday. Chances are the kitchen is almost ready at 11.30am and you can build up a headwind by opening earlier. For all-day operations, ensure the lunch menu is ready by mid-morning.

• Boost business with local ‘walk arounds’. Send your most confident server out once a month with business cards, menus and function information. This absolutely works - there will be phone calls even before she returns!

• Speed up the greeting and seating process. Dedicated hosting is essential if you do volume - can the person who seats customers also take a first drink order?

• Improve service speed. Can everything you serve be on the table in 12 minutes or less? If customers can be in and out within 35 minutes, you’re half-way there: one course, a drink and a coffee, with the account paid and card processed. Check the service cycle to find all the points where 30 seconds could be saved. Sometimes it’s the ‘seating, menus and ordering’ segment that wastes up to 10 minutes.

• Adjust your prices without looking cheap. Lunchtime prices should generally be lower than dinner, but that doesn’t imply low quality. Different dishes that are faster to make and more economical.

• Lighter menu options. Yes, some things will have to go off the menu. Chances are you’re creating lighter choices across all menu segments - low carb, low fat, less salt, tons of flavour. Eating with the hands is also more popular!

• Create pre-ordering options for groups. Have the menu online for them to download, choose and fax back. Obviously with conditions, and you will have the organiser’s undying gratitude if you seat and feed her group in plenty of time (yes, it sounds like feeding children).

• Send them away with information for a return - a card, a folded copy of the menu and information about group bookings.

By Ken Burgin, of Profitable Hospitality  | www.profitablehospitality.com

The 2010 Qualpack (Edition 10 – April 2010) is now available. Merged into one easy-to-use book, it contains all the recent changes to the Level 1 & 2 units, the Domain changes, and the updated Cookery Qualifications. This handy information pack covers all HSI national qualifications, Limited Credit Programmes, Modern Apprenticeships and lists all units in any HSI qualification. It is available for $9.95 through our website, or for free if it is your first information pack.

The supervisory role is integral to the success of any hospitality operation. Supervisors are often the glue that binds an operation together. They interact with managers, customers and staff, and so need to have a wide overview of the entire operation as well as understanding the daily detail to ensure the smooth running of the business.

In the past, access to suitable training has been difficult. Supervisors and junior management often move into leadership roles without the training systems to support the extra responsibilities they are required to carry out. The Step Forward programme aims at bridging that skill gap.

Step Forward is for people in supervisory and junior management positions in the hospitality industry. The programme offers a diverse mix of training in people and operational supervision, with a particular focus on food and beverage service.

Successful candidates achieve the National Certificate in Hospitality – Operations Supervision Level 4 (Food & Beverage Service strand). This qualification is a pathway into
the National Diploma in Hospitality – Operational Management Level 5.

Step Forward is a blended model of delivery, with candidates completing a mix of off-job learning, e-learning and on-job learning. It takes approximately six months to complete.

Programme price: $1,500.00 includes GST

Step Forward is a partnership between HSI (The Hospitality ITO), and the regional Institutes of Technology & Polytechnics, where the off-job delivery occurs.

For further information visit www.hsi.co.nz or phone 0800 275 4474.

May - August 2010

Region - Date - Venue
Auckland (Manukau)
22/06/2010
MIT

Auckland (North Shore)
29/06/2010
NSIA

Christchurch
30/06/2010
CPIT

Nelson
21/07/2010
NMIT

Tauranga
30/07/2010
BOP Polytechnic

NZJHC Final
24/08/2010
Auckland

For more information, please visit www.hsi.co.nz

29 July - 1 August

ASB Showgrounds, Epsom

For more information visit www.foodshow.co.nz

Jess Griffin from The Dominion, Mt Eden was the first staff member from Barworks Hospitality Group to be presented with her Host Responsibility Certificate for completing Unit Standard 4645. This initiative was developed this year alongside HSI to upskill the front of house staff within the Group in relation to their role in being a responsible host.