Think of it as a combination of a Boy Scout campfire game and a classic round of Jenga. Teams make piles of sticks, scraps and marshmallows to see how high they go before one of the stacks collapses.
Who wins isn’t important. This is an exercise in communication, sponsored by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association as part of their Coaching for Managers certificate.
Launched in 2017, last year’s annual attendance soared more than 400%, prompted by a recovering economy and recognition that hospitality employees want ways to make more than hourly pay. Before that, there was little training for midlevel managers, says association Chief Operating Officer Heather Singleton. That makes long-term success difficult. “Everyone is looking for staff and we have jobs to fill,” she said.
“In the hospitality industry, it’s easy to move around. You don’t need a degree. Often people get promoted from within but don’t have the emotional intelligence and communication styles to understand people’s background,” she said. “An amiable person and a hard-driving person can have a hard time communicating [with each other].”
At the same time, employers know that replacing staff is costly; one estimate is $10,000 a year. Completing this program provides incentives to stay; participants get a professional certification that can lead to a more senior manager role without jumping ship.
Sessions dig into how workplaces operate, starting with communication skills. Participants analyze the ways co-workers talk to each other. What do they say and how? What’s their body language? Tone of voice? They then go back to work and put those observations to use. Classes also include parsing why people leave their jobs, as well as managing conflict.
In the case of the reimagined Jenga game, William Bangs, executive sous chef at Newport’s luxury Chanler at Cliff Walk, took the nine-hour class, along with five of his kitchen staff members. Their team was mixed with others from a valet company and a bakery chain. It was an eye-opener.
“In our case the point was to show that in the kitchen, you may hear English, French and Spanish. We speak our own vernacular, with maybe just a nod. Things happen quickly,” he said. “The other participants moved more slowly. People communicate and problem-solve in different ways.”
[caption id="attachment_449014" align="alignright" width="484"]
William Bangs, executive sous chef at The Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, in the edible flower garden with The Chanler in the background.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
An important takeaway for the Chanler team was the importance of good communication throughout the hotel. “We formed a committee to focus on how departments interact, to make sure the kitchen is talking to the front desk, which is talking to housekeeping,” Bangs said. “Keeping everyone in the loop with different perspectives leads to a higher standard overall.”
Anney Jasinski, the Chanler’s marketing and employee culture manager, says this kind of insight is paramount for success. “It’s good to have an outside firm like [Rhode Island Hospitality] doing the class. It’s a minimal investment and the return is much higher.”
For Meaghan McGovern, the reward was immediate. Taking the association’s coaching program led to a promotion. Originally hired as a bartender and waitress at Diego’s East Bay locations, McGovern filled in for managers during vacations, she says. “I’d never been in a position to make critical decisions on the fly,” she said.
She was promoted to manager during the COVID-19 pandemic, then took the coaching program with two co-workers last year.
“Our owner signed us up to give us the tools and confidence and to answer our questions,” she said. “Not everyone knows what they’re doing when they’re first-time managers.
“It was obvious from the moment we left the initial session that we could bring up what we learned to our bosses and feel comfortable,” she said. “Talking to others going through the same things as managers, in hotels and restaurants, gave us confidence to send a message we all want to succeed.”
She was also more at ease lobbying for what she’s good at, running events. She moved from managing Diego’s front-of-the-house properties to sales and events manager for the parent company, Inked Restaurant Group. “Because I took the program, others can see there’s room for advancement. It’s led to a huge increase in staff retention,” McGovern said.
According to the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, the hospitality industry has rebounded from 51,400 jobs in 2022 to 57,000 as of March. Michael Sabitoni, associate professor at Johnson & Wales University’s College of Hospitality Management, has seen that surge. “People couldn’t wait to get out after the shutdown. The evidence is in climbing hotel rates. Airplanes are full and trade shows are getting big attendance,” he said.
Sabitoni gets calls from employers looking for staff in every aspect of hospitality. They want experienced people to come back. Along with more-acceptable work schedules and other benefits, the hospitality association’s program is the type of professional development that can entice employees to return.
When it comes to this segment of the economy, he said, “We’re back.”
