Free training helps hotel achieve gold standards

Stanley House Hotel and Spa has become the latest Lancashire business to get free training for its employees as part of a £5.6m workforce skills programme being delivered in the county.

The award-winning business, based at Mellor in the Ribble Valley, was able to secure leadership and management training for three new staff members, while 17 other staff members gained customer service accreditations.

The training, delivered by The Via Partnership, has benefited staff members from Stanley House’s reception, housekeeping, maintenance, wedding planning and restaurant teams.

Philip Wharton, general manager of Stanley House Hotel and Spa, said: “As a leading leisure and hospitality venue, we are committed to enhancing the overall customer experience. Our strength is in our people which is why we have invested in training across the board, offering hospitality management, leadership and health and safety qualifications.”

The Level 2 Team Leading training comprised of a one-day course followed by a written assignment to demonstrate their new knowledge and understanding back in the workplace. This allowed each learner to achieve the accredited qualification.

Via also gave customer service training to two groups of Stanley House employees; firstly to four members of staff during an ‘open’ course and then to a group of thirteen employees on site at the hotel.

Rebecca Lynch, of The Via Partnership, added: “By being flexible in our delivery we were able to accommodate a large number of staff with minimal disruption and travel time away from the workplace. Stanley House prides itself on excellence in customer service and aims for all members of staff, not just those who are directly customer-facing, to have strong customer service skills. This training will certainly help them to achieve this.” The customer service programme involved learners attending the Welcome Host Gold one-day course which gave them the knowledge to then complete the City & Guilds Delivering Customer Service accredited unit (Level 2 Award in Customer Service Delivery). Learners were asked to complete a variety of tasks including written questions and workplace observations.