7 Tips for turbo-charging your tourism business through training

The Tourism industry remains one of the cornerstones of the South African economy, contributing to approximately 7.2% of the GDP and 4.5% of the workforce in 2019, more than agriculture, utilities, and construction. The industry lost some ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic and since then, there have been several initiatives to bring this mega-employer up to speed again.

One such programme, was the R 160m initiative called the Tourism Relief Fund managed by Business Partners Limited which invested R182.7 million, more than its initial commitment, disbursing R 143.7m of these funds through 163 transactions by 31 March 2023 thus saving 3 463 jobs.

Part of bringing the industry up to speed involves investment into the business processes and its people. Because the tourism and hospitality world is such a human-interactive industry, it is often assumed that the skills you need to work in it should “come naturally”, as opposed to the technical skills that you need for a mechanical workshop, for example. 

The result is that recruitment in the tourism industry is often done casually, new staff members are shown the ropes on-the-fly and on-the-job, and any serious, structured training remains an afterthought with most employers, says Pheladi Kunutu, Area Manager at Business Partners Limited.

In fact, research has shown that tourism companies follow the same pattern as other businesses when it comes to training: Operations where training is taken seriously make more money, show higher customer satisfaction levels and lower staff-turnover levels.

Taking training seriously does not necessarily mean formal classroom training courses. Lots of training in a tourism business has to happen on-the-job. But for such training to really be effective, it requires thought, planning and a bit of structure, says Pheladi, who offers the following seven tips:

1. Start with a plan: Sit down and think about the skills that you need in your operation. In a large organisation this exercise may be known as a skills audit and needs analysis. But in smaller operations all you may need are a few lists, ordered in priority. They could include a list of skills that you want all of your staff members to have, perhaps a separate list for your customer-facing staff, one for your management and admin staff, and a list of specialised skills that you want to bring into your business next. 
2. Align your training with your business goals: Remember to follow the principle of recruiting skills aligned with the goals of your business. Don’t make the mistake of trying to build your business around the skills that your current employees happen to have. If you need a position filled by someone who is great at social-media marketing as well as direct customer interactions, for example, recruit such a person, or train one of your employees up for the job. Don’t create two jobs because the staff member you have at present is only good at one part of the job.
3. Don’t disregard the soft skills: In any tourism business there are hard skills – the subject knowledge of a tour guide, for example, or foreign-language skills, website building skills, driving skills, catering skills. The case for investing in these hard skills is obvious. But the mistake many tourism operations make is to expect that the soft skills – everything from client interaction, phone etiquette, complaint handling, teamwork and communication to upselling – are a given and should not have to be trained. It may be true that certain personalities are better suited to these kinds of skills – and you should recruit accordingly – but everyone’s soft skills will improve with training. And when all of your staff members start following your ideal levels of customer care that you have trained them at, your establishment will stand out for its friendliness and service. 
4. Give some structure to informal sets of skills: It may seem silly to have a manual for the cleaner, detailing how to mop the floors and make the beds, until you consider the spectacular success of McDonald’s, who famously has precise instructions on how many seconds to fry a hamburger patty on one side before turning it over. Tourism operations have many parts which can do with consistent protocols, from answering the phone to pouring the wine. The advantages of writing these down in a manual of sorts include consistent service. The training of new recruits becomes straightforward and measurable, and, not least, it helps to give every job in your business a sense of professionalism and pride. 
5. Help you employees with their career paths: Research shows that employees tend to take training more seriously when they see it as part of a clear career path ahead. Think about and look for opportunities where the training that you need for your business overlaps with the training that the employee wants to further their career. 
6. Get to know the skills-training system: There are many hard and soft tourism skills training courses in the market, from online courses to those given by private colleges, further education and training colleges, specialised schools and universities. And often there is funding available to those businesses who seek it out.  Regional tourism-development programmes, provincial government departments, national government departments and agencies and the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality, and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) often has a bit of budget to subsidise sending one of your employees on a training course, or assigning interns to your business as part of formal learnership programmes. Shop around widely and get to know the system – you will definitely find good training opportunities for your staff.  
7. Consider technical assistance from Business Partners Ltd: Our company provides training of employees of a portfolio company. Assistance provided involves training staff in the business, either through group or one-on-one sessions with the view to enhancing capacity, e.g., training for optimum use of plant and equipment, maximising efficiency or even specific software programme training.