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A few days ago in a talk with Raul Castro, Expert in HR and people, he asked me, among other things, “what should we do to turn the way we train our teams and make said training efficient and effective in any of the areas of the sector?” . And as always happens in similar cases, you have things in the pipeline that I did not say and I would like to share.

Obviously, I do not have any magic wand and I do not claim to be a futuristic guru like there are in any field of tourism, but I would like to leave some brushstrokes, which even I think I am going to put into practice.

It is enough to look from time to time at other sectors of society to realize that there are practices and techniques that are very effective when it comes to managing emotions, solving problems, regenerating attitudes or simply implementing work and/or training systems that work, as I say, in other professional fields.

We can talk about professional football, its game structure, its fundamental pieces, its way of teaming up and working for a common goal, the role of the coach, discards and the reason for new signings, salaries, etc.

We could also talk about the medical service, its shielded and well-defined hierarchies and responsibilities, how to work in a surgical operation to obtain the expected result, etc.

Another example to take into account, and reflect in your work area, could be the army. And, although many do not like it, they have a very particular definition and, in some aspects, transferable to the tourist operation, where respect for the rank comes through its experience. All without exception are respected by the base, the discipline, the order, also the teamwork, the honor and the millimetric act of complying with the guidelines, etc.

What I mean by all this is that, in the service and tourism sector in general, we start from the basis that formations are a copy and paste of what other hotel companies do, without stopping to analyze if these trainings are giving us the results that we really need for the operation. And consequently, if they have a correct impact on our clients, positively speaking.

definitely give a turn to the formationsimplant creativity, critical thinking and it remains to define what is the final objective of the same.

I remember that when I was in EGB when I was 11, 12 or 13 years old, they taught me in an inefficient way to understand and work with the “square root”. For example, several years of my compulsory education focused on a subject that I have never used again in my life and a wasted time where I could have worked with something useful and future-oriented and that would serve me in any professional field.

Can you imagine two doctors in cardiovascular surgery, in an open heart operation, operating in a different way, one cut here and the other there, one without an anesthesiologist and the other, leaving one of his assistants to do the most complicated part? There are things that are irreplaceable, there are techniques that cannot be different, there are procedures that are studied during years of career and that are composed and exposed under unique, defined criteria, with a moral and professional ethics that cannot be different from that of other colleagues in the same area of ​​work. They are profiles of great responsibility unified in the same philosophy and training that defines them as a unique profile. Why does it have to be different in our sector? Maybe that’s the underlying problem?

In this case it is exactly the same;

How can we give a radical change to training in the service, hotel and tourism sector in general? And the answer is simple and I can give you some examples of it, realistic, elegant, radical in some cases, also not very formal, with a lot of experience and efficient, among others;

#Naomi from the neighborhoodorderly, visual and with your feet on the ground, capable of opening your eyes and enjoying what you do even more.

#Rafel Amorós activist of good work, sarcastic and outspoken, but who reaches the depths of the formative reality.

#Cesar Sanchoauthor of his own life under the banner of experience and who has been able to merge for the sector, philosophies such as Japanese KaiZen and medicine in a work tool for tourism.

3 profiles of the many I know, capable of generating shocking changes, without protocols and without taboos, without the need to sell smoke, or expecting you to buy them, they have their personal brand and that is what training is based on, going to someone who can help you what you’re lazy at The general practitioner will make you a flyer for the specialist to give you a diagnosis and the specialist in training has names and surnames. Not everyone can train and not everyone who trains knows how to do it.

Moving on to another aspect of training, sometimes we focus too much on theory and that’s not bad, but the details, which are infinite in an operation, are the real forgotten ones and that is not learned, nor does it penetrate, with endless sessions of PowerPoint. Texts that are not interpreted, are only read literally by the trainer and in many cases, requests and questions are avoided.

Missing the personalized training, but at the same time group… A group therapy would not go wrong from time to time and from this we can learn a lot from Psychology as a science. The group therapies. This works in much deeper processes of our society, such as addictions or couples therapy, for example, where one seeks to see oneself reflected in certain situations, a wide range of interpretations and opinions are acquired linked to finding operational excellence. as it would be in our case. “This is precisely what group therapy is based on: helping people not only get to know each other better, but also hone your interindividual skills” and that, of course, they can link to the daily operation of our sector.

Group training is fundamental in the service, hotel and tourism sector

A circle of chairs and everyone seated at the same level, with their faces uncovered, without fear of telling the truth and listening to realities, with direct questions and answers, based on knowledge of the company, its way of acting and a space to focus to improve. This is about talks that can and should enrich all those present through their experiences, without intermediaries, or procedures that are only used to hinder situations even more. A self-assessment space, a healthy space, where criticism is not a throwing weapon to harm anyone. Quite the contrary, a space where the executive can evaluate situations and not people. And a space where collaborators not only feel that their professional circumstances are being listened to, but also guarantee an action plan with the necessary improvements so that people continue to be people representing a certain brand. Of course, with the appropriate means, with the enthusiasm they need to carry out their tasks and an action plan, which guarantees that people grow professionally through continuous knowledge and the company in parallel with them.

Perhaps it is time to look each other in the eye again and let honesty flow.

*Victor Rocha Cook/Articulista/Lecturer/Defender Of What Is Right/Passionate about the Service and Tourism sector. Author of the book “the Smoke that burns everything” (Gastronomy and tourism)