Tips on Training others in Hospitality Management

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The following 10 points are a guide to assist you in motivating and ensuring the right type of person is entering our Industry.

1.    Explain about the flexibility the industry offers & the doors that it opens around the world.

Be enthusiastic about the opportunities that the Hospitality industry offers; concentrate on the positives, negative talk only downgrades you as a Trainer.

2.    Meeting so many different people from all walks of life.

Talk to them about Hospitality has no real social boundaries, from dealing with the rich & famous to dealing with your family & friends.

3.    Your ability to network and share work experiences.

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How To Be A Better Manager

Many words are spoken and many books are written about how to be a better manager. While there is no definitive method, good management practices can be taught and learned. These practices revolve around five simple tips. These are not commandments but rather commonsense ways to improve your management practices and improve the performance of your enterprise.

1.    Lead like you would like to be lead

As a manager, you should never be afraid to ask or learn. You cannot possibly know everything, and your staff may have ideas on how to improve the way things are done. Also remember to manage as you would like to be managed. Try to put yourself into your staff’s shoes when you speak to them.

2.    Keep up-to-date on your industry

Always keep up-to-date on changes in the industry and new regulations that may have an effect, both for you and your competition. Many companies have failed due to a lack of understanding of the environment in which they operate.

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Hairdressing Tips

Providing service to clients

The very first thing you learn in hairdressing is receiving and greeting clients in a professional, friendly manner. The initial greeting the clients receive at the reception area will influence the whole salon’s wellbeing. First impressions last forever.

With a professional, pleasant and warm approach clients will feel at ease. Your client will have confidence in your skills and will be able to relax and enjoy the experience.

Clients expect excellent customer service when they enter a salon. With so much competition in hairdressing today it’s the quality of service and professionalism a Salon offers that make it successful. An unhappy client will simply take their business elsewhere. As a trainee you will learn how to provide for your clients and the skills required to succeed in the Hairdressing industry. Hairdressing is all about making people look better & feel great.  As a trainee you will expand your technical knowledge, learn how to create amazing hairstyles, discover beautiful hair colouring, and also how to deliver quality customer service in the Salon.

Salon etiquette is an essential part of delivering customer service to clients.

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The Beauty Industry

Spa treatments, beauty treatments, massage, manicures, pedicures, make-up and holistic treatments. Welcome to the fast growing and diverse world of the beauty industry!

The exciting world of the beauty industry has endless career opportunities and pathways. Where would you like to work one day? Health farms, where you work closely with dieticians and fitness instructors, or would you prefer the calm, ambient nature of the spa world where you combine holistic massage therapies, water therapies and products derived from the sea and other natural ingredients.

There are many types of spas: Destination Spas, Day Spas, Resort/Hotel Spas, Medi Spas, Cruise Ship Spas, Spa Towns and Mineral Spring Spas. Beauty treatments are also available on cruise liners, where you have the opportunity to work with other therapists from around the world and even travel whilst working. Some airlines even have the luxury of having a beauty salon on board.

Make-up is one fun and creative side of beauty therapy. As a make-up artist you can work in any salon performing make-up treatments and perform day and evening, bridal and photographic make-up applications.

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Working For Hotels, Restaurants, and Cruise Lines

There are some great careers you can pursue that offer multiple and varied employment opportunities.  Careers in cooking, the specialty patisserie, and hotel management are perfect examples.  By earning your certificate in any of these programs you will quickly discover upon graduation there is a great demand for trained chefs and hospitality managers.  You can begin working for hotels, restaurants and cruise lines in a number of capacities.

Having a choice in careers is exciting.  In this day and age of economic certainty, the hospitality business flourishes as people seek relief from stress and worry.  In the hospitality industry many of the same rules and practices apply across the board which means skills can be easily transferred.  For example, when you get a certificate in cooking, you are qualified to work in a hotel restaurant as a dining room manager or on a cruise line as a food manager.  A patisserie chef can develop the sweetest desserts for a restaurant or put those same skills to work on a cruise ship where food offerings are expected to be innovative, and inspiring and tempting.

Hotel managers have the same opportunities as cooks and chefs.  Finding qualified managers who wish to develop a career in hotel management is often one of the biggest challenges hotel and motels face.  There are plenty of people who hope to get jobs by unreasonably expecting on-the-job training which means your certificates and diploma set you apart from the crowd.  Your training in all aspects of hotel management qualifies you for a number of positions which means you can make a significant contribution to the hotel’s success.

In hotel management you can be a room, dining or general manager to name just a few employment opportunities.  Hotel operations are normally divided into several components so you can specialize as you choose or pursue a career in general management.  The same is true for both hotels and cruise lines.

Cruising to Hospitality Success

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Why Listening Skills Are Needed in Hospitality Management

Possessing listening skills is one of the most important requirements for holding a job in hospitality management.  That may not seem obvious at first, but when you think about everything involved in restaurant and hotel management this statement makes perfect sense.  Hospitality is defined as kindness to strangers and as a relationship process.  The best definition focuses on the relationship and process aspects, because anyone working in the hospitality business knows that it takes ongoing attention and consideration to properly serve people in a way they appreciate.

Being a good hospitality manager means being able to identify the needs of customers and staff.  This often comes down to being a good listener.  A good listener pays attention when people talk and doesn’t assimilate the information with pre-conceived notions.  A good listener is able to separate the important information from the rest of what is said and use that information to improve service.  In other words, good listening skills can be considered both a motivational and customer service tool.

Goal Driven Hospitality

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Styling Different Types of Hair

No two people have exactly the same kind of hair, but there are basic kinds of hair: fine, medium and coarse.  Each one of these kinds of hair can also be wavy, curly or straight.  When you take these six features and create a matrix, you get many different combinations a hairdresser could possibly be asked to style when a customer walks in the door.

Learning how to style hair takes training and practice.  A hairdresser who has completed a training program learns about the different types of hair from several perspectives.   For example, cutting and styling hair is much different than cutting and styling coarse hair.  But the stylist must also understand how to style the particular hair based on the shape of the face.

A well-trained stylist will understand how to use hair styling to bring out the best features of the face.  For example, if a client has a long face then the style should add width.  If the face is round the style will add length.  There are hundreds of different ways a hairdresser can bring out a customer’s best features while minimizing certain facial characteristics or features.

Cutting a Deal

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Satisfying Hair Care Clients

Satisfying hair care clients is much different today than it was 20 years ago.  The hairdressing business involves so much more than just styling or colouring hair.  Customers have become quite discriminating about the services they expect to find in a salon and meeting their expectations is how you build a successful business.

First and foremost there must be a level of incomparable quality.  Hairdressing customers expect to find a salon with trained hairdressers current on modern styling techniques. These styles include the latest trends and new looks that require special cuts.   But hairdressers should also be ready to satisfy traditional styling requests also.

A mistake some hairdressers make is insisting a client try a new style when the customer has requested the style which meets their personal needs.  A good hairdressing program will teach hair styling in a way the beautician is able to cut a traditional or new style to that it complements the customer’s appearance.  This requires in-depth training that instructs in face and head shapes in addition to the styles suitable for various hair types.

Stylish Services

Hair care clients today expect to be able to access a wide range of services.  That means keeping them satisfied requires having well trained hair technicians that can work on all kinds of hair and provide many different services far beyond just cut and styling.  For example, stylists should be current on colouring techniques and the use of hair extensions.  To satisfy customers, hair stylists will also have to offer specialty services such as hair straightening, eyebrow shaping and damaged hair treatments.

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Salon Management

Salon management requires more knowledge than knowing how to be a hairdresser.  A salon is a styling palace, beauty therapy and relaxation centre rolled into one business.  Speaking of business….the salon is also a business that requires management and organizational skills.

Learning how to manage a salon requires taking a series of courses that teach about both sides of the business.  The two sides are the hairdressing and/or beauty therapy side, and the business management side.  A skilful salon manager is as adept at performing their skills for customers as he or she is at ordering supplies and managing finances.  Even if you don’t own the salon you are working at you must still practice business skills in the day-to-day operation of your personal hairdressing business.

A Little Bit of Everything

Salons today have been redesigned to meet customer needs.  Salon clients make it clear they want to be able to go to the salon of their choice and find a variety of services being offered.  This means salon management requires directing a variety of people with different skills in a way that promotes the ambiance and theme of the salon while providing excellent customer service.

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Learning How to Supervise Others

In the hospitality industry learning how to supervise others is important if you plan on pursuing a successful career path.  Whether you work for yourself or someone else, the logical progress in career development is to pursue positions which require the management of operations.  This means you will need to have the right team building skills.  Being able to direct others in a way that promotes personal performance to the best of their abilities can be a true challenge in an industry that caters to the needs of customers who are usually relying on you to provide stress-free experiences.

In the hospitality business there are number of career paths which lead to supervision of others.  It doesn’t matter whether you work for someone else or work for yourself, developing a successful career in restaurant, hotel or beauty salon management will require knowing how to motivate others while directing their work.  In fact the hospitality industry holds tremendous opportunity for those able to help others reach their personal career goals in the fast paced hospitality industry.

Supervisory positions in the hospitality industry include room and restaurant managers, shift supervisors, general managers, special event directors and many other positions.  Unlike office jobs where much of the work is the same from day to day, in the hotel, restaurant and beauty careers the positions require the ability to be adaptable to the constantly changing needs of customers.  A true leader is able to communicate a vision to others in a way that encourages employee development and commitment.

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