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Tara’s big ideas…..
14/03/2018
It never ceases to amaze me the contradiction of perception vs reality – especially of unemployed people. Take Tara. She’d agree she wasn’t the most confident person in the room starting Growing Talent but after just three weeks on site with Firmdale Hotel at Ham Yard she’s lots of ideas on how to make the experience better for their guests which in return makes the job better for employees as well as adding additional revenue to Firmdale’s bottom line.
Amongst the luxury surroundings of this high-end, designer hotel in the heart of Soho at the back of their in-house theatre, Tara shared with me her experience so far and her ideas. Her enthusiasm, passion and ‘voice’ was clear.
Currently there is a cluster induction day held each Monday for new employees but no induction at the hotel you are based at. If this was done, new employees would know so much more about the hotel facilities without having to ask. Whilst staff blend in, they are noticeable by their uniforms. It is understandably frustrating if a guest asks something about the hotel and you can’t answer it – such as nearest loo, best cocktail to try, best place to sit to read quietly and so on.
Tara mentioned her role is to guide guests on the menu of options for bedrooms and suits. Her ideas centre around upselling bringing in more revenue.
We discussed the way Gordon Ramsey does Kitchen Nightmares. For those that don’t know, amongst other things, a key part of what he does is cook the entire new menu and makes all the staff taste each dish. This upskills all staff knowledge whether tending the bar, waiting, front of house or kitchen. If any customer asks about taste, ingredients etc – every single person that works in that restaurant can answer and guide. That to me is a no brainer.
Tara has similar ideas. Check back to see if she sees any implemented……. As her confidence grows, I know she will.
I look forward to hearing more big ideas from Tara and her peers on Growing Talent 16 over the coming weeks.