Mr. Christopher Richardson, a noted trainer in Anguilla with thirty years in the island’s hospitality industry at managerial level, was the feature speaker at the just-concluded Annual General Meeting of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association.
Speaking at the event at Four Seasons Hotel on Monday, November 26, Mr. Richardson said in part: “So little premium is being placed on training and development in our industry that it is saddening, but it is a key component to the progress of any organization,” he stated. “When we think about training, we think of developing the human mind and so basically we are taking persons with the mindset – fitting them in all establishments. It calls for, first of all, setting standards and is something called the training process, or the developmental process, in any organization.
“No two organizations have the same standards…You cannot take a standard from one organization and put it into another one and expect it to work unless you train in that standard. One of the first things is setting standards. Secondly, you want to train on those standards; and thirdly, you want to monitor to ensure that those standards are being carried out and if they are not, then you will have to go over the cycle again.
“Training is ongoing. It is an element that cannot stop. I have a training company and there are persons outside who know what I am doing, and I am getting emails from them about concerns they have at real estate properties. I am getting emails from Grenada, Dominica, Barbados and in Anguilla as well… In 2005 the World Bank declared that sun, sea and sand no longer had its impact… and it only takes so long for our guests to be forgiving. It is very important that we know that, so training is a key element to the development of our organizations.”
Mr. Richardson emphasized that a lot of money was being spent on training but there was a need to see more results, and that there was another element in training called coaching. He went on: “I may have the theory, but now there is a need for the practical. How do you apply that in the job market? It is very important and key for that to happen, and to have someone to coach you. Apart from training, coaching is very effective.”
After speaking at length on various methods of training, Mr. Richardson concluded: “Everyone can learn, and it is very critical in the hospitality industry that we provide training in all our organizations. Training is the key to the development of any organization. It is very important.”
