NSW - Case Study | Better Skills Better Service Program
The Company
Located in exceptional settings Mirvac Resorts & Hotels provide holiday and corporate accommodation, as well as luxury escapes and weekend get-aways across Australia and New Zealand. Mirvac Hotels & Resorts is part of the Mirvac Group, a leading integrated real estate group, listed on the ASX with activities across the investment and development spectrum.
Established in 1972, Mirvac has more than 38 years experience in the real estate industry and has an unmatched reputation for delivering quality products and services across all of its businesses.
The Training Opportunity
Mirvac are committed to maintaining five-star hotel standards and their reputation as the leading hotel group in Australasia. There is a lack of skilled staff in the hospitality sector and it was anticipated that 80% of workers would be in a core skill range of 1-3 (out of 5). In order to continue to set the benchmark in staff training and development Mirvac Resorts & Hotels decided to engage Futurum Australia in a joint initiative with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to provide the “Better Skills Better Service Program” to its staff at 15 properties in Sydney and regional NSW.
The program was to provide computer literacy, company communication, health, safety & environment training and customer service support to employees across the nominated locations. The Futurum trainers would serve as a dedicated resource to train staff and help staff perform at their best.
The Training Approach
The “Better Skills Better Service Program” focused on the following four key learning areas requested by Mirvac addressing the objectives below:
- Computer Literacy
- - Support the rollout of the discovery modules
- - Assist associates with working in a changing environment
- Health, Safety and Environment
- - Improve safety in the workplace
- - Improve the understanding of roles and responsibilities
- Company Communication
- - Enable frontline managers and supervisors to decipher policy documents and better manage associates
- - Assist associates with working in a changing environment
- - Create active learning centres and to consolidate the learning culture
- Customer Service
- - Improve the customer service experience
- - Improve the understanding of roles and responsibilities
- - Improve conflict resolution skills
In consultation with Mirvac’s National Learning & Development Manager as well as the Regional HR Manager for NSW, Futurum trainers developed standardized training material that was delivered in group or one-on-one training sessions across all sites. The training topics were basic computer training, customer service, up-selling, conflict resolution, coaching associates, cultural awareness and diversity, engaging guests & building rapport, resolving customer complaints, incident reporting & goal setting and time management. Besides face-to-face instruction the trainers also engaged on-the-job and performed related observations.
Futurum was able to assist Mirvac in consolidating and enhancing their learning culture by consistently providing training over the time of the contract.
The Results - Outcomes
In the final employer satisfaction surveys HR managers and department heads were asked to list the outcomes they observed. Better customer service and more confidence in communicating with customers proved to be the main result of the “Better Skills Better Service Program.” This is a great outcome properly befitting the hospitality industry! Greater interest in further training and education was noted which demonstrates that the program contributed to the effectiveness of the learning culture at Mirvac.
Besides improved customer satisfaction, HR managers of several properties noticed greater contributions to work teams, greater service delivery, and increased ability to complete work documentation. Other outcomes were more effective handling of customer grievances, increased effectiveness with computers, better abilities to communicate with higher levels of the organization, more flexibility and professionalism, and finally an increased ability to follow instructions.
Out of the employer satisfaction surveys completed by HR managers and department heads of the Mirvac NSW properties 46% describe their overall satisfaction with the WELL training program as “very good”, 36% as “good” and 9% as “excellent.” The ratings for the overall experience of the WELL trainer are even higher: 55% “very good” and 36% “excellent.”