Benefits of employee learning journeys for hospitality businesses

At CPL Learning, we’ve been delivering training to hospitality businesses for nearly 30 years, and we know first-hand how important learning journeys can be to our customers’ long term success. Our market-leading training is trusted by some of the most recognisable names in the hospitality industry, and our hospitality LMS offers easy, accessible training which can be tailored to the needs of the business, and the learner.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at employee learning journeys. We’ll discuss why they’re important, and we’ll share some ideas on how to go about creating effective learning journeys for your hospitality employees.

What are employee learning journeys?

When we talk about an employee learning journey, we’re referring to more than just a list of training courses that an employee needs to complete in order to be able to do their existing job. A learning journey is a structured and formalised plan for an employee’s development over time; the best learning journeys will be tailored to the learner, to help them get the most from their training.

A learning journey should have a purpose, and everyone involved should understand what that purpose is. A hospitality LMS can help you to set targets, build a structured pathway, and track progress as your employees work through their personalised development plans.

The importance of employee learning journeys

Improve employee retention and engagement

We’ve already touched on the fact that investing in proper learning plans for your staff can help with staff retention. When we asked CGA to carry out a study into the benefits of learning and development for hospitality, they found that “More than half (56%) of professionals who only plan to stay in the sector for the short-term would remain for longer if their employers invested more in training and progression.” 

When done properly, your learning journeys should contribute to the overall culture of your business; staff and prospective candidates will view you as an employer who is dedicated to continuous development, and you’ll be able to enjoy all the benefits that go with that. 

Stay on top of industry changes

As well as creating career pathways for your staff, learning journeys offer a way to stay compliant and relevant. Your development program needs to reflect the shifting landscape of the hospitality industry; one-off training at the beginning of someone’s employment won’t help when industry changes occur. Instead, a culture of continuous training means that staff can be kept up to date with the latest regulations and standards as they happen.

Drive company growth

Upskilling your team and developing a workforce of engaged employees who feel invested in their future with you will have a positive impact on the quality of your offering. From food prep to service, and welcome to follow up, your customers are going to have the best possible experience when they visit, and that will make them more likely to return. It will also make them more likely to recommend you to others. All of this adds up to more revenue, and leads to company growth.

How to develop an effective employee learning journey

The most effective employee learning journeys will be those that are personalised to the business and the learner. That means understanding what you want to get out of your training and development program, and finding a way to align that with each employee’s aspirations and plans. But how do you go about doing that? And how do you make sure it’s delivered properly?

Talk to your staff

This needs to be an ongoing process that starts at the interviewing and onboarding stage, and lasts throughout their career with you. Find out what their aspirations are, and take time to understand their plans. Create a learning plan that clearly lays out what they need to do to achieve their goals, and support them throughout that journey. 

Of course, as time passes, people’s plans can change, so it’s also important to check in regularly. If you don’t, you may find that the personalised journey you created at the beginning no longer suits that person, and they feel compelled to look elsewhere for an opportunity that fits better with their new plans.

Set company goals

Set measurable goals so that you can make sure the program is creating value for your business. It’s also important to make sure everyone understands how their personal development contributes to the overall growth and success of the business; having clear goals will make it easier to communicate this.

Create clear milestones

As learners move along their journey, it’s important to create milestones that allow them to celebrate their achievements, and assess their progress. It helps your staff to visualise the path they’re on, and what they need to do to reach the next milestone.

Be flexible

Hospitality isn’t a 9-5 desk job. That means that any training you offer needs to be flexible enough to fit around the demands of busy shift work. Look at how you can make the training accessible not only on a computer, but also on mobile devices. Think about implementing a learning management system built for hospitality, which will allow staff to access online learning at their own convenience, from any device.

Flexibility should also include the ability to add new training materials to a learning journey as soon as a need is identified.

Think outside the box

Try not to stick too rigidly to a training program that only covers the needs of an employee’s current role. By training staff across a wider range of roles, you’ll ensure you have access to a broader skills base in case of staff shortages or unexpected demand. You’ll also give them a broader overview of the business, which will be important if they want to progress to leadership roles.

Keep training materials up to date

Make sure that all training materials are regularly updated and refreshed. Whether it’s changes to regulatory requirements, or an updated SOP within the organisation, you don’t want employees to be learning outdated information. A learning management system for hospitality can make this much more manageable.

Create a peer mentorship program

Staff won’t always feel comfortable approaching management with challenges that they may be facing in their jobs. If you are serious about creating a supportive culture of continuous learning, a peer mentorship program could be a great way to make sure everyone gets the right support when they need it. Match newer employees with more experienced staff and encourage regular catch ups to check in. 

How Access software can help facilitate learning journeys 

CPL Learning from Access was built for hospitality. With a user-friendly interface, and easily accessible on any device, our hospitality learning management system makes building employee learning journeys simple and effective. With Access Hospitality, you’ll enjoy:

Truly personalised learning journeys

Make sure each development plan has maximum impact by personalising each one. Create your learning journeys based on a variety of factors, including (but not limited to):

• Length of time the staff member has been with you

• Current job role

• Location

• Career pathway

• Age

Bespoke branding

Add your company branding to the platform to reinforce your brand’s values and vision. 

Easy oversight

A full management suite allows easy creation and deployment of learning journeys. You can also view detailed reports in real time, and access all relevant documents and checklists from one place. 

Gamification

Rather than overloading staff with all of the materials for their entire learning journey at the outset, allow them to ‘unlock’ new stages as they reach certain milestones. 

Flexibility

Accessible across multiple devices, with content available in a variety of formats, our training courses give your staff the flexibility they need. You can build learning journeys from a wide selection of hospitality eLearning courses, covering all essential compliance, guest experience, product knowledge, personal development and wellbeing topics.

Easy two way communication

Whether it’s a team-wide survey, a formal appraisal, or an informal check-in, our learning management system makes communication across your teams easy. Through the platform, you can easily share feedback, discuss progress, and make sure everyone stays on track.

Ready to get started with employee learning journeys?

In this article, we’ve talked about why it’s so important to include employee learning journeys in your overall training and development plan, and why it’s best to personalise these. We’ve shared some tips on how to build effective learning journeys, and we’ve looked at how CPL Learning from Access can help. 

If you’re ready to discover all the benefits of our industry leading hospitality LMS, watch our 90 second demo video now, or download the brochure.