The Asian luxury resort operator has expanded its training options to facilitate the development of high potential team members. Hotelier finds out the rationale for the initiative and gets an insight into how the new scheme works
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, part of Bangkok-based Minor International, has recently introduced e-learning as part of its strategic associate development programme. The company has teamed up with three external providers - Skillsoft, Ashridge and E-Cornell — with the aim of increasing and improving opportunities for talent within the group, which now operates 19 properties in Thailand, the Maldives, Bali, Vietnam and UAE and will be entering China in 2012.
E-learning is often mooted as an area of potential development when it comes to hospitality training, being particularly suitable for time-strapped senior managers. But few companies have launched such a strategic approach to it. Here, Tracey Lloyd, group talent director for Anantara, explains why and how the company went in this direction.
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The rationale and objectives
As Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas grows and expands beyond Asia, the group needed to ensure a good base for its learning and development internationally and introduce a layered approach to meet the needs across all levels of associates.
Lloyd explains: “It was essential that we provided a blended learning approach at all levels. Due to the current growth of the brand, we needed to ensure a global reach as we continue to expand our geography, plus we needed to send a consistent message across our portfolio.”
She acknowledges that while there are “many generalist” options for senior management and GMs, “we have provided a guided learning approach to suit both the individuals and our business model here at Anantara”.
The concept and investment
Anantara selected three different external training providers for its e-learning programme, “to give us a good breadth of learning covering all layers of the organisation,” says Lloyd.
“They each have different strengths, which is why we chose them to suit the varied level of associate requirements.
“Skillsoft is a 24/7 offering which allows our associates to learn at their own pace. It also enables downloads of courses when connection is an issue.
“Ashridge is a resource library allowing associates to access different formatted information on key leadership skills like coaching. E-Cornell exposes our senior managers to people outside of their normal working environment, allowing them to learn from peers from other industries.
“We did a lot of preparatory work with each provider to ensure we were meeting the needs of each audience. As an example, we gave the providers our competency sets and they mapped their courses against these to give us a customised catalogue for Anantara,” explains Lloyd.
“To date, a total investment in excess of US $100,000 has been made by the company on the new e-learning programme,” she reveals.
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