“Hotels should be prepared for when the COVID-19 situation stabilizes. Employees should work together collaboratively, analyze problems and keep communicating effectively with the team. Now more than ever, building employee’s skills in the hospitality sector is crucial.”, said Ms. Pimnada Ratthakornkiatkun.
Ms. Pimnada Ratthakornkiatkun, a training and learning manager at the Conrad Bangkok, understands the hotel’s human resource development is a high priority. “Many Thai workers struggle to improve their 21st century skills as some consider jobs in hospitality to be mostly routine work. Nevertheless, if we improve employee’s critical thinking, it will increase their value to the company. Rather than waiting for their boss to solve the problem, employees can come up with a solution and present it to customers independently. This would improve the level of customer service offered.”
Khun Pimnada is one of Kenan’s hotel partners participating in the “Aspiring Hospitality Workers of Tomorrow” project, implemented by Kenan Foundation Asia and sponsored by Citi Foundation. The project is building the 21st century, workplace, and financial life skills of low-income youth (18-24 years old) to help them gain quality employment and achieve long-term financial stability. In addition to training, the project includes an on-the-job, paid internship component that will enable participants to acquire valuable workplace experience within the hospitality sector. Kenan’s goal is to support the youth to obtain quality employment and achieve long-term financial stability.
In addition to improving employee’s 21st century skills, Khun Pimnada also mentioned, “working in a five-star or luxury hotel inherently requires higher standards than other establishments. The employee should be proficient in their area of work, with a high level of knowledge and an eye for detail.”
“The food and beverage [training] component of this project is actually what we [the hotel sector] are currently focusing on. The project helped us gain a lot of knowledge about food, not only related to flavor, but also table decoration, hygiene, suitable food and drink pairings, and the ability to comprehend customers’ actual needs as well. If employees can create a good impression to customers, this would raise satisfaction and boost the image of their hotel.”
Khun Pimnada shared that “another advantage from the last training was the opportunity to meet staff from different institutions, particularly the Thai government. It provides us with the chance for further collaboration to develop young peoples’ skills so that they can become qualified workers with the appropriate expertise to match the needs of the labor market. Furthermore, when employees recognize the importance of critical thinking, they will be able to support the team by producing new campaigns that increase revenue.
In a dynamic marketplace, employees need to quickly adapt to the 21st century workplace. They must become lifelong learners by keeping acquiring new skills and capabilities to grow into highly-skilled workers to secure quality employment in the future. “There is no denying that 21st century skills play a significant role in human resource development in business today,” said Khun Pimnada
Learn about partnering with Kenan here: www.kenan-asia.org/partner-with-us/
