Red Carpet Treatment for Every Staff Member!

How certain are you in ensuring your hiring strategies are any good? Is anyone else noticing the hospitality industry is hiring like crazy right now (at least in Bali, Indonesia)? Everyone is opening a hotel or hiring on a near daily basis. Every day I see a new advert looking for talent. Some of the requirements highlight the importance of taking activities for developing reading skills.

I hear there is a talent shortage, by some organizations, and others have hundreds of enthusiastic talents showing up. What makes you different? Why would the best talent come and work for you?

Don’t keep doing the same thing you’ve been doing, look beyond that. Donna Cutting, author of Employees First! Inspire, Engage, and Focus on the HEART of your organization, calling it the “red carpet.” 

Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, former Fortune 100 CMO and founder of C-Suite Network agreed with Donna by writing, as a forward in her book, “You provide the red-carpet treatment for your team, and they’ll reward you and your organization with their effort, time, and loyalty” 

So, to take Author and speaker Donna Cutting’s phrase, this article is part of a series this month…how can you roll out the red carpet for your new talent?

Red Carpet Communication Suggestion #1

Your onboarding communication can make a difference. How can you attract the very best talent, if they get to choose from 3 or 4 (or more) different organizations? To stand out, above the rest, be ready to go above and beyond and think outside the box (don’t get stuck doing what you’ve done in the past). 

1. Roll out the red carpet for the new hires: Literally, find some red carpet, and roll it out. Have a fun breakfast or lunch together. Start their training with swag and manager’s/owner’s/CEO’s presence. Know the names of the new talent and have current staff ready to welcome new staff onboard. You want your staff to “roll out the red carpet” for your customers, don’t you? So show them how it’s done, and what it feels like.
2. Personalize and make a positive image: Not everyone is outgoing and wants big attention. So your job is to meet them, get to know them, and welcome them in a comfortable way. Probably, the best way to find out how to do this is to ask them, or at the very least, let them know they will be welcomed by a large group of people. Providing activities for developing reading skills and writing is one way to give a warm-up.

Who has time and money for extra red carpet treatment? Your new talent’s effort, time, and loyalty will be measured by the dedicated, consistent, and quality communication you give.

Take Doris, for example. She was trying to decide between 2 different organizations. She had interviewed well and liked both job prospects equally. She was allowed to talk with current staff at both properties and guess what? 

The onboarding communication; the “red carpet” experience shown through and carried over into the feelings (and culture) of the staff (and customers), that eventually, Doris decided to work with.

Red Carpet Communication

Leadership or management (or any teacher) stands in front of 20-50 seated talented staff members. The standard operating procedure booklet lies in front of you (or them) and you flip through it for an hour (or more) while the teacher goes through it, page by page, bullet by bullet.  How much will you/they remember?  Don’t fall asleep!

Your staff is way too talented and your time is way too precious to lose out on what could be an amazing, confidence-building opportunity for you and your organization. Teaching the SOPs doesn’t have to be dull. If you want to inspire, build confidence, and make your teaching memorable, try these 4 practical teaching strategies.

How to communicate the standard operating procedures (SOP) without putting your staff to sleep!

1. Put teaching in the hands of the talented staff you’ve hired. Talking about the SOPs (in any language), teaching each other, using case studies, and acting out scenarios.  

• One way to do this is to divide the entire group into small groups.  Have each group read and perform activities for developing reading skills.  Then, have them creatively teach that section to the rest of the group. This is part of holistic learning tutoring services that aim in improving team member skills.

2. Break up the learning into smaller chunks. Humans need processing time, otherwise, they will encounter information overload, and then you’ll have to spend MORE time re-teaching, which is a waste of time.  

• What your staff & colleagues teach today will be amazing. Unfortunately, how much of it will be remembered, and how much of it will be put into practice after a long day of listening?  Experience tells me not much.  

• One way to solve this is to teach the SOPs in chunks while using different teaching methods.  Some staff sitting in your audience might learn best by talking, some learn best by reading, some will pick up the SOP by listening, and some need extra time to “chew” on the new information.

3. Partner up (some people call it mentoring) Harvard and Stanford (and my) research show partnerships are practical, effective, and time-saving. Supporting each other through mentorships can make longer, more meaningful learning happen! 

• This goes without saying that adopting Interactive online learning activities within your organization is highly needed.

4. Model it. If an administrator or owner or CEO or manager is available, they should be modeling SOPs daily if possible. I mean, show them how it’s done in your organization.  What does it mean to roll out the red carpet? Make it a regular thing to see you walking around and talking with guests and customers.  There’s no better model!

Empower Staff with a Red Carpet Treatment

These strategies will save you time (and money) in the long run. You’ll spend less time reteaching SOP content, you’ll save the organization negative feedback from poorly trained staff, and you’ll retain your talent longer because your culture surrounding training is inspiring! 

With the help of a step-by-step learning course tackling activities for developing reading skills and more, you can be sure that you are doing your staff a favor. For more information, feel free to contact me anytime of the day.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1.) How can I make my reading lessons more engaging?

To make your reading lessons more engaging for your students and teammates, consider adding interactive activities that would drive them to participate. These activities include adding role-playing elements, multimedia presentations, and putting dramatic actions alongside reading.

2.) How can I make reading comprehension fun?

Adding fun and interactive content such as small games, puzzles, small plays, or friendly competitions are some activities that you can add to make reading fun. Add exciting elements that influence their imagination and engagement. 

3.) How do you teach reading creatively?

Teaching how to read requires you to think outside the box. You can experiment by taking different approaches, such as using visuals or acting out specific parts within the story. You can also add music to build up the tension and scenery that matches the content.