The Pandora's Box of Marijuana and Workplace Policies
It wasn’t too long ago that we discussed on this blog how cell phone policies are changing the nature of manager/employee relationships. Cell phones at work was a concern that many managers were bringing to our attention, and recently a new concern has begun keeping busy managers (specifically on the West Coast) up at night: how to create and enforce a drug policy in the wake of the legalization of marijuana. Currently, marijuana is legal for recreational use in 10 states and
Engaging with Adult Learners
As a manager, training is an inescapable part of your responsibilities, and unlike teaching wherein your audience is usually children chances are you will be working with adult learners. Engaging with adult learners has its own unique set of challenges. When you train adults, there is a greater need for mutual respect and for the learners to find the trainer credible with enough character authority to teach them something new. Once the trainer has established their skills an
"If I Knew Then What I Know Now...": Advice from Club Managers to the Next Generation
One of the coolest things we saw at the CMAA World Conference in Orlando this year was the tremendous amount of student groups that were present and engaged on the expo floor and during training sessions. It's always exciting to see the quality and talent of the next generation of club leaders, and this year was no exception. It got me thinking: while I am privileged to learn from RCS president Whitney Reid Pennell's immense knowledge and experience at close hand, I wondered
Provisions: Let's Talk About The Importance of Pre-Shift Meetings
We often find ourselves talking a lot about timing when it comes to food and beverage service. Each player on the team from the host/hostess to the servers, cooks, and managers are responsible for keeping the dining room flowing and managing the timing of the table. However, the most important time in any food and beverage operation is the 15 minutes before each shift begins: the pre-shift meeting. Photo by Paul Sarlas Call it the warm-up, sound-check, or preflight run-throug
10 Training Tips To Deliver the Results You Want
This article originally appeared in BoardRoom Magazine in 2015 as "What is The Point...of Training?" What is the point of training? Does everyone on your team really understand the point of training and how best to make your training effective? We train for a variety of reasons, but they are all centered on producing change and to keep our service culture strong. We train to affect change in skills (how to do something), knowledge (critical thinking or decision making) or att
The Real Competitive Advantage: Delivering Experiences
In a competitive marketplace, private clubs that do not have a unique value proposition find themselves trying to compete on price, resulting in cost cutting measures. This practice affects product and service quality and the club’s brand perception, unless the club’s business model is designed to be price differentiated. Yes, value is important, but it doesn’t make up for the experiences at a club. It is the combination of goods, services, products, amenities, and the experi
