When Kempinski Hotel Aqaba Red Sea people training manager Yazan Osama Shakman landed a career in the hotel industry it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Hotelier finds out what he loves most about helping people develop in their careers.
Hotelier: What is your career background?
Shakman: In 2009, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. There was a vacancy for front office coordinator at InterContinental Aqaba Resort, and I applied and got the job, which I accepted on the spot. After couple of weeks my department head called me, saying he wanted me to be the departmental trainer, and I immediately said yes. A year later, my property had a vacancy for a training coordinator and I was offered the position, which I accepted. I had to train 310 colleagues instead of 12, and it was addictive knowing the experience I was gaining. A couple of years later, I got the opportunity to work at the pre-opening of Kempinski Hotel Aqaba as assistant training manager, and was recently promoted to training manager.
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Hotelier: How is your department structured and operated?
Shakman: My team consists of myself, training coordinators and departmental trainers in each department and we work all together towards a common goal. The training coordinators and I do all the paper work, documentation and preparation for any training that will be held at the hotel and I delegate a few tasks to the departmental trainers to do as well.
Hotelier: What is your approach to training?
Shakman: My approach to training is to let colleagues enjoy the session as much as possible, and benefit from [the training] to ease their daily operations. A quote that always motivates me in my job is “the best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see”. It’s my responsibility to show them the right track in our service industry and leave it to them to add their personal touch.
Hotelier: What are your main challenges, and how do you deal with them?
Shakman: There is one main challenge in the service industry — changing the mind-set of an employee to get him to serve in a genuine and fun way, so that the guests really feel welcomed.
Hotelier: How do you ensure your training system is first-class?
Shakman: All comments posted by our guests on social media platforms concerning our products or services are taken into consideration when we plan new training programmes. We also analyse the employees’ feedback from training sessions they have attended. This approach ensures that we deliver first-class training, which meets the current and expected desires of our guests. It is always about a fun experience during which we learn from our mistakes.
Hotelier: How are you incorporating technology into the training system at the hotel?
Shakman: Technology is essential to access new learning possibilities; one of the best technological tools to use is Lobsterink, a professional e-learning platform. We grant our employees access to it and they use it to browse through video tutorials on how things should be done in their departments to ensure five-star service delivery. We then conduct theoretical and practical assessments to test their knowledge.
Hotelier: Do you outsource any training?
Shakman: We outsource certain training, such as chemical usage for stewarding and laundry staff, and wine training sessions. Any other hospitality and service delivery related topics are dealt with internally.
Shakman's Best & Worst
- My best piece of advice is to never give up on your dreams, to make sure you get out of your comfort zone and experience opportunities.
- My best career move was moving into training and development.
- My favourite meal is beef tenderloin with pepper cream at Romero, Jordan.
- My best hotel stay was at Kempinski Emirates Palace, UAE.
- My worst hotel stay was at Radisson Blu Tala Bay, Aqaba — Jordan.
- My worst mistake was not accepting a job offer in 2010 because I was too comfortable.
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