Building teams takes more than ice cream

Posted by victoriaotec in About OTEC, Building a Culture of Service Excellence, Building Teams and tagged with , , , , , ,

I was recently in the office with my senior team members, working late together to finalize a proposal for a project we are quite excited about. It was 9 p.m. and some of us were quite weary and those that are night owls were raring to go. We had other team members in their homes on stand-by, ready to proof-read the document, regardless of how late it was. And it was late. Proof-reading began late into the evening, with the last communications prior to midnight. And guess what, some of those team members were in at 7 a.m. to ensure the document was ready to be submitted by 8 a.m. And yes, they had their smiling faces on.

That night and the following morning, I was so proud of the team that has developed at OTEC. We have come through a challenging number of months with office renovations and many weeks where multiple project deadlines required  everyone to contribute in some way. During this time, I heard the phrase from one of the team members that we are like a well-oiled machine. It made me smile because I see it in progress every day, whether we are hosting clients, workshops or working together on projects.

I believe teams are successful if the leaders walk the talk and actively contribute towards what needs to be accomplished. Yes, and that means rolling up our sleeves to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I was proof reading at 6:30 a.m. that morning and feel confident that my contributions do help support the success of this team. I also know that the success of OTEC is because of the efforts of this hard-working, dedicated and passionate team, and I hope I demonstrate in words and actions that they are valued every day.

I don’t believe in ivory towers, and believe leaders need to model the way through customer service practices both internally and externally, through common courtesies to clients and team members, and, by letting everyone know they are important to our success. We have developed a great team who also model the way and treat everyone as if they are valued clients. They truly believe in our Service Vision, “Service Above and Beyond”.  It surprises me when I see other environments where manners to each other such as please and thank you, are not part of the picture. If you don’t think this impacts team morale you are wrong.

There are lots of theories about building a team, and we do deliver workshops about that topic, but it is the simple things that count. Before we undertook our renovations, I consulted with team members about what was important to them. One of the top things was having a lunch room. We now have a bright, large, clean lunch room which is the gathering place for our team to chat over lunch and share the plans of two upcoming weddings. It is fun to hear younger team members share their plans and excitement.

In the midst of our renovations and chaos last fall, this team sat on the floor and ate pizza. And we had ice cream!

Victoria Behune

20 Years – We’re having a Party!

Posted by victoriaotec in About OTEC, Service Above and Beyond and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Happy New Year!  Now that the parties and festivities of the season are over, we are back to business and looking optimistically to what 2012 has in store for us.  The Big News is this is OTEC’s 20th Anniversary Year,  and we have much to celebrate – a brand new office environment, high profile projects on the go, a great team and Board, and wonderful clients, many who have supported us for the past 20 years. More importantly, we’ve now trained or certified over 157,000 individuals plus thousands of high school students have been trained in our Service Excellence program. We have much to celebrate and yes, we’re going to have a party this spring, so stay tuned!

We also want to recognize those visionaries in the tourism industry who conceived and created this organization 20 years ago. I was working in the industry in the early years of OTEC (yes I hate to admit it) and utilized OTEC’s training programs for a major destination attraction I was working for.  I wanted to ensure my Visitor Services and Food Services Teams delivered excellent customer service and the type of visitor experience I envisioned for this attraction.  Twenty years later, I am now leading the organization and feel strongly that OTEC is more relevant today than ever.  While many things remain the same,  much is different, as OTEC, renamed the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation from the earlier named Ontario Tourism Education Council, continues to be the leader in training, human resource and workforce development for Ontario’s tourism, hospitality and service industry.

Since its inception, OTEC has demonstrated a commitment to delivering outstanding  customer service and our new mission “we are a client-centric organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening the Hospitality and Tourism industry by providing  standards, training, human resource tools and workforce development strategies” ensures our team continues with this important focus. In fact, our newly created Service Vision “Service, Above and Beyond’ is our guarantee to you that we will do just that!

So much remains the same from 1991, yet so much is different as we help businesses and destinations achieve success over the next twenty years. Oh, and did I mention we’re having a Party?

Victoria Behune

Bliss in a Culture of Spa Service Excellence

Posted by victoriaotec in Building a Culture of Service Excellence, Customer Service Training and tagged with , , , ,

In early December, I decided to take my daughter for a short getaway to celebrate the start of her first major job after recently graduating from university. We didn’t have much time to travel a distance, but I knew that I wanted someplace special that would feel like a real holiday. I’ve also always wanted to experience Ste. Anne’s Spa in Grafton, Ontario. Not only is Ste. Anne’s renowned for the spa, but they have been recognized by Trip Advisor and others, for their wonderful customer service. Ste. Anne’s also happens to be one of OTEC’s long standing clients, and one of our Service Excellence Organizations (SEO’s). Now that OTEC has launched our new program Building a Culture of Service Excellence I wanted to experience a place that does it right.

After a long winding drive we were delighted to see the lovely stone buildings and beautiful vistas from the top of the hill. Despite the time of year, it still had an enchanting feel to the grounds and a sense of peace. We were welcomed, oriented and given our plush white robes which would be our major attire for the two days we were on site. Do you realize how relaxing it is to be able to walk around all day in a robe and slippers and not worry about how you look? While we had breakfast, lunch and tea in our robes, we did wear other clothes for dinner, but many diners, both men and women stayed in their robes all day. This was our first blissful experience.

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The second blissful experience was the great food and service in the dining room. We seemed to be constantly eating as this all inclusive experience incorporated breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Our delightful server was the perfect ambassador and exemplified what service excellence was. Even when she didn’t have our table, she made sure to welcome us, chat, and see how our day was going. The third blissful experience was the spa treatments we experienced and our chance to unwind in the outdoor hot pools. We also walked the trails, read, and generally padded around in our slippers while all the time feeling like we were in someone’s home.

I guess this is the key to why Ste. Anne’s is so popular and has become known for their service. They make you feel like you are a welcome guest in their beautiful country home. This was the perfect mother and daughter getaway and I can’t wait to go back.

Victoria Behune

 

 

 

Building a Culture of Service Excellence in Trinidad & Tobago

Posted by claireotec in Building a Culture of Service Excellence, Customer Service Training, Training & Development and tagged with , , , , ,

As OTEC’s Director of Learning and Development, I had the great fortune to leave our Canadian winter behind in early December and head to Trinidad & Tobago to work with a well-established bank with locations throughout the Caribbean.

OTEC first had the privilege of partnering with this bank approximately 6 years ago when they called upon us to assist them with training their front-line customer service professionals and facilitators on Service Excellence.

In the ensuing years since we first worked with the bank, a lot has changed such as increased competition and a challenging global economy. As a result, they decided to shift their paradigm and focus on the one variable they could both control and use to differentiate themselves from their competitors….SERVICE.

I spent 3 days with the bank’s management team to focus them on Building a Culture of Service Excellence.  Specifically, we spent time evolving their service vision, exploring engagement strategies for their teams, reviewing the alignment of their key metrics to their service vision, and starting to map their customers’ experiences.

During my time in Trinidad, I was very impressed and enlightened by the organization. Their professionalism and gracious hospitality were unparalleled. Most impressive was their commitment to truly build a culture of service excellence. We often hear the most challenging part of creating this type of culture is just getting started. By the time I left Trinidad, they had a clear “game plan.”

Here are some highlights:

  • Managers have submitted an action plan for launching a culture of service excellence at their particular locations
  • Facilitators have been trained and they will be going into the branches to train all the front-line teams on building a culture of service excellence
  • The customer care department will be working in unison with the training department to ensure all goals and metrics are aligned
  • On-going coaching and support to the branches and their teams will be provided to ensure they are on target with this initiative

The team at OTEC looks forward to watching their service excellence journey unfold!

Jo-Anne Hecht

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Views from the Tourism H.R Forum

Posted by wendyotec in Labour Market Research, Training & Development and tagged with , , ,

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in the 10th Annual Tourism & Hospitality Human Resource Forum that took place in beautiful, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

I was able to attend some very interesting sessions including “Compensation: What’s the Real Investment” and “Peaks and Valleys: Solutions to Staffing Seasonal Operations”. The compensation discussion quickly moved to the need of attracting high quality employees to our industry, and that if we’re going to be successful in this endeavor, there needs to be greater emphasis on the long-term career laddering opportunities within Tourism and Hospitality. More and more, our industry is competing for talent with other industries who are perceived to offer “high quality jobs”. Our industry needs to “scream” the benefits of a career in tourism; going beyond having the focus being only on minimum wage front line positions. Some of the Alberta participants advised that changing the perception of tourism careers is vital as labour shortages in tourism and hospitality businesses in that province have returned with a vengeance – particularly in management positions.

I’ve also had a couple of opportunities to participate in Seasonal Staffing conference sessions on both the West Coast of Canada and most recently in Charlottetown. Some of the tips I heard included:

• tactics like hiring a percentage of students that are just beginning their college or university studies, as you may be    able to employ these students for multiple summers;
• at the end of one season formally offer high performing employees a position for next season and better still, offer them team leader positions with greater responsibility and pay;
• stay connected during the off-peak season by investing in a company Facebook page or blog directed to past seasonal employees to keep them connected and excited about your organization.

In PEI, the COWS organization mentioned that one of their tactics is to offer summer “ice-cream’ employees who would like to work all year round an opportunity to work with the “oyster” team through the rest of the year, when appropriate.

The Tourism and Hospitality H.R Forum is a great conference for Owners, Manager’s Supervisors, H.R. professionals and Educators working in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry across Canada. Next year’s conference will be taking place in Toronto. Information on next year’s conference will be available in the spring of 2012. I hope to see you there!

Wendy Paradis


Creating our Culture of Service Excellence

Posted by victoriaotec in Customer Service Training, Training & Development and tagged with , , , , ,

Fall brings many changes which we experience all around us – the changing colour of trees, colder weather, and the transition of the tourism and service sectors from the busy summer period to preparations for the Holiday season. OTEC too, has undergone many changes, with two major initiatives recently completed. Over the past three months the OTEC Office and Learning Centre has undergone a massive transformation. We’ve expanded and renovated our entire space, added new furniture, AV, and technology equipment.OTEC Learning Centre

Change is good, and our new environment supports our values towards excellence, professionalism, commitment to team, innovation, and being client-centric. We’ve created a new state of the art Learning Centre to offer our clients a positive and enriching workshop experience. The office has been designed to provide a collaborative and productive environment for our hard working team members. We are also changing with the times to enable us to interact with our clients, stakeholders, and trainers in an informal and dynamic way through LinkedIn and this, our new Blog. A recently launched series of webinars now supports the professional development of our training network.

I am excited to be at the forefront of all of this change as President & CEO of OTEC, and invite you to join our LinkedIn Training and Development Group, or keep abreast of new ideas and changing trends through our Blog. With a new vision to be the recognized leader and premier resource enabling businesses to attract, develop and retain the best employees, we hope the industry will join us in continuing to change, develop, perform, and succeed to ensure a strengthened workforce for the future.

Victoria Behune