This week, our own Curt Archambault, VP at People & Performance Strategies, attended the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) summer conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. Curt shares his take-aways:
What’s your take on the conference this year, and its value?
“CHART is the preeminent association of Hospitality Trainers. This conference had close to 100 first time attendees and total participation of around 300 attendees. The agenda was packed with great speakers, both keynote and breakout sessions. What makes CHART special is that many of the breakout speakers are members of the organization. That is excellent because CHART offers its members multiple opportunities to grow and develop. Both Joleen and I are Lifetime Members and have gained so much from the organization over the years. We are dedicated to providing our services back to the organization that has meant so much to us over the years. Recently, we became a Bronze Sponsor of the organization. The conference affords us the opportunity to showcase our products and services at a Resource Gallery that is the most active vendor show we attend.”
What industry trends did you notice, as they pertain to training and development?
“One of the key moments at the summer conference is that they share trends in the training industry. One that stood out to me was the need for additional Leadership Development. Areas like managing revenue and managing staff changes present opportunities to expand training.”
“Increased training was credited for higher retention rates across the industry. And there’s been an increased reliance on external resources for training and development from 67% in 2017 to 75% in 2019. Many companies are learning that it might serve them well to bring in expert trainers to facilitate programs using their expertise to enhance buy-in and absorption. Companies are also exploring digital methods for teaching and developing their workforce.”
*sources for data provided by CHART
For people who aren’t familiar with CHART, what is it, and why would it make sense for someone to consider attending the conference in the future.
If you’re in the business of training in the hospitality industry, there is no better organization that “gets you” and the challenges you face. You are truly amongst your people at CHART and the level of Best Practice sharing is unbelievable. Matter of fact, the tag line for CHART is “Learning, Sharing, Growing and Caring”.
“Each conference is unique in content but the same in quality of experience. And that is driven by those four items: Learning, Sharing, Growing and Caring. Also, from a cost-benefit perspective, the CHART annual conference is affordable for most and the organization works to keep it that way. It is an excellent “professional development” activity for new and seasoned trainers. Attendees can participate in many different activities throughout the conference and there are lots of opportunities to engage. The network of connections you build through the CHART conferences is amazing and will be one that you’ll tap into regularly throughout your career.”
