They make your favourite hot coffee, crisp dosas and paranthas in hotels; their day starts early in the morning or extends into late evening; they work for nearly eight hours a day, serving hundreds of customers. Most of them are away from home for days and spend little time with their family.
“They need to be happy,” says P. Manikandan, managing director of Shree Anandhaas Hotel here. Hence, the hotel organises two-day training for their workers and employees in batches.
But, the training is not to improve their work skills. During the two days, sessions are held on different topics that motivate the participants to save, lead better lives. It instils self-confidence in them, explains Jayasekaran Pillai, who conducts the training.
From the security to the directors, all of them participate in the training. This is not a two-day programme where lessons are written on the board. They watch video clips, meet people, and participate in discussions.
For instance, on Friday, the workers interacted with V. Senthilkumar, who had lost his legs in an accident. Listening to him has given us self-confidence, says one of them.
If 10 workers attend the training, there is remarkable change in more than five. If they are encouraged to save, the money they send home also goes up.
The hidden skills of the participants are highlighted at the sessions and this helps them move up in work, says Mr. Manikandan.
“Holistic development of the workers is important,” points out Jegan S. Damodarasamy, executive director of Sree Annapoorna – Sree Gowrishankar Group.
The group has an in-house training facility for its workers. This is a service industry and it is becoming difficult to retain workers even for a year.
They need to know more about the benefits of staying stable in a job and saving money. Only when they understand the need to focus more on their personal life and family will they take effort to grow in their jobs too. Hence, they need personality development programmes, he says.
Hotels also should have long-term visions with regard to employee welfare.
When there is a need for quality manpower, it is imperative to train them for their personal development, he adds.
