The logistics of Training 250 + Housekeeping Room Attendants, Housemen and Supervisors

The Galaxy Entertainment Group’s (GEG) mega resort in Macau is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2011. The 550,000-square-metre property will offer 2,200 five-star hotel rooms, suites and villas comprising the 1,500-room Galaxy Macau hotel tower complete with casino and entertainment areas. There are two other hotel partners, the Japanese-owned 547 room Hotel Okura and the ultra-exclusive Singapore-operated Banyan Tree that will have 238 luxurious suites and 16 floating villas.

Galaxy Macau also includes retail facilities and more than 50 food and beverage outlets. The gaming facilities are divided into five auspiciously-themed areas, with a capacity for over 600 gaming tables as well as 1,200 slot machines and other electronic gaming machines. The resort boasts lush oasis gardens covering 52,000 square meters and the world’s largest sky wave pool covering 4,000 square meters and featuring a 350-ton white sand beach, with 5 additional individually designed swimming pools.

Lycette & Associates Housekeeping Consulting has been contracted to train 250 plus Room Attendants, Housemen and Supervisors for the 1500 room Galaxy and 547 room Hotel Okura.

How do you start and how do you train 250 people over a couple of months?

Take a big chunk and divide it, divide again and divide it once more! L&A Associate Janine Hancox devised a masterpiece schedule. With one group learning the theory and all the standard operating procedures, while the other group is busy practicing the manual component. This model of training for Room Attendants is the perfect mix of theory and practical hands on work.

Theory Training

L&A Master Trainer, Gary Chan brings a great wealth of housekeeping experience and training skills to keep the groups enthralled for the theory session, he mixes Cantonese and Mandarin as 80% of the staff is imported labour from China.

Using PowerPoint’s as a guide, Gary shares his experiences, gets the group to repeat certain phrases in Chinese and English. There are lots of role-plays, games and group activities to keep the training interesting and engaging.

The use of flash cards has proved to be a very effective learning tool, using pictures of all the different items in the guest room to be matched with their Chinese and English phrases.

On the job training

The practical trainers use actual hotel rooms of different room types to practice in. Not all the room set up is available yet however the essentials for bed making and bathroom makeup are there for them to practice on and to acquire the speed that is needed for a Room Attendant to do that all important daily job.

The critical points in getting this type of training right is to have that excellent communication with the client/hotel – changes in standard operating procedures and set ups can be accommodated and passed onto the staff while training takes place.

• Good preparation – all staff have been given a full set of Standard Operating Procedures. All PowerPoint’s and paperwork are in simplified Chinese (from Mainland China) and English.
• Detailed and accurate SOP’s, enable the Trainers to get the message across in a very clear, concise and efficient way from day one.
• Interactive, visual and fun theory training to keep the trainees interested. Lots of visual aids, hands on activities.
• Clear and professional practical training – the Trainers have years of housekeeping experience
• Treating every one of the Trainees as an important individual in the big machine that is the Housekeeping operation.
• Training on site in the actual hotel bedrooms – the importance of this can’t be stressed enough. Training on the ‘real’ thing is superior than a different hotel room or indeed no hotel room at all.

Source: Galaxy Macau http://en.galaxymacau.com and http://en.galaxymacau.com/galaxy-hotel