Lessons Staf Development

Abstract

An effort by New York City-based Medallion Hotels to develop a company-wide culture of service excellence has meant a commitment to staff development. Medallion has established five core principles: developing employees for long-term careers; involving leaders in employees' development; integrating training and development into company communications; basing programs on guidelines, not rules; and investing heavily in training programs. The lessons learned along the way included ensuring that programs are assimilated into the culture, learning to assess management candidates' abilities before training, avoiding the inefficiencies of too much decentralization, keeping programs simple, and assessing training needs and priorities before committing money. Contrary to popular stereotype, the generation of people born in the late 1960s and 1970s are hard workers (not slackers) who strongly desire to make their mark in their jobs. A product of their times, the so-called Xers are accustomed to rapidly changing situations. Far from having a short attention span, Xers are able to absorb large, often jumbled volumes of information at high speed. They believe they can rely only on themselves and expect to do so in their jobs. Their loyalty is earned by managers who set the task, provide necessary information and guidance as requested, and stand back.