Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme

Chris Cassidy - DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow

Our Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programmes aim to provide learning experiences for hospitality professionals to grow and develop their careers within the industry. We offer a number of courses each year, funded by the Scottish Government through the National Transition Training Fund (NTTF), to give individuals the practical opportunity to develop new skills and industry knowledge.

Mary Hemsworth, from Caterer.com caught up with one of our recent THTDP participants, Chris Cassidy who has worked in the front of house team at the DoubleTree By Hilton in Glasgow for over six years. Earlier this year, Chris’ passion and commitment to his role led him to being promoted to Front Office Manager, which helps him to deliver outstanding service to all guests. Chris was also recognised for his dedication to the industry as he became the first winner of our HIT Scotland Future Leaders Award.

Chris shared his experience and how taking part in our development programme has helped him develop his leadership skills and overall resilience.

The value of the learning

“I did have my doubts going into the programme. I wasn't sure how much I could get out of it within six weeks, but once we started to get into it, I think the important thing for me was that I realised everyone in that programme had the same issues as myself. 

It's good to see that you’re not alone; everyone had issues with their staff, and it felt like everyone was in the same boat, which was good and refreshing. When you spoke in the breakout rooms, you start to click with people and realise, ‘wow, OK, yeah, you're facing exactly the same issue or you're facing an issue that someone else faced not long ago’, and this is how they dealt with it. 

It was really rewarding 100% and kind of made me see things from a different perspective. The programme really defined the difference between management and leadership. I would say I was way off to a management side rather than a leadership side, and I think that's where my resilience kind of got a little bit deflated, where I would always take on so much. 

I wouldn't put time aside for personal things or my personal life. So, it really kind of inspired me to progress my staff members by being a leader, as opposed to just managing them with a strict routine. So now it is good. It was very rewarding and refreshing.”

Leadership example

“I think one of the main things for me would be when a staff member comes to me with a problem, I would just take it off them, like that's fine, just leave it with me. However, in the programme we learned that we should challenge the staff member to try and think for themselves of what to do in that situation. 

‘How would you approach this situation? Why don't you go and deal with it and then come speak to me and I can give you feedback on how you dealt with it’. As opposed to leaving it with me to sort out, and then before you know it, you're drowning in problems and still at work three, four, five to ten hours after your shift ends. It's quite hard to find that balance.

As a manager, I always felt like, ‘oh, that's fine, I should be the person that sorts something out’. You need to make sure that you develop your team to a point where they can support you and you are able to delegate certain things to them, and progress them, develop them through leadership.

The good thing about this course is that they don't just teach you, they equip you with skills that you can take back and teach your team, or maybe pass on to your fellow manager and the rest of the hotel. One person can go back to work and kind of spread that message throughout the hotel and not just that department.”

Improving the Scottish visitor experience

“I'm sure you've stayed in hotels yourself and if you have an issue and you go down to the desk and you speak to reception, the first thing reception will say is, ‘Let me just get my manager for you’.

And before you know it, you're standing there for 10-15 minutes waiting for someone to come see you. During that time, you have more time to think about the issue. You're getting a bit more annoyed too, so I really want to tackle that aspect in my department.

I don't know if the staff members don't have the confidence, or maybe they don't feel like they are empowered to do something, so my main goal is to build their confidence. Then this will result in guests feeling appreciated, heard and present. 

That's the main thing that I want to tackle. I think the best way to do this is to get all the managers together and see if we can come up with something and maybe sign a document to say that all our staff are empowered. If you see something wrong, be empowered to fix it.”

The benefits on R&R from the programme

“I think this program will put things into perspective for people in hospitality and make them realise what they can achieve.

It’s kind of made me realise that I want to progress further and be a leader, as well as a manager. I don't want to be one of those managers that sits there and pushes buttons and writes out ESO and checklists. I really want to be that person that inspires the team to be the best they can be. So yes, I do want to get right to the top eventually.

I think it's important to realise that staff retention is something that managers influence a lot. If they're happy at their place, then they will stay and it's your job or my job to create that happy environment for everyone else to make sure that they have a good balance between work and life, and look after people. Because if your staff are happy, then they're not going to go anywhere.

We've had instances where a staff member would recommend their friend to work at a place just because they like it so much and we’ve had staff members’ friends apply for jobs too.”

One take-away idea

“Remember that you're not alone. Everyone is going through the same problems.

At the start I thought ‘I’m not going to get much out of this or I'm going to be in the room with so many experienced people, and I'm just going to end up shrinking.’

That's not the case. Just remember that every manager, every person, every employee is going through the same issue. And there are skills out there that can help you deal with it. 

And obviously HIT Scotland is one of [them].

I've literally implemented things as soon as I got back from certain modules, and I still have massive plans to use the stuff that I've learned to implement in my department, so I would just say ‘just remember, you're not alone’. 

There's plenty of professionals out there that can help give the advice that you need, including myself. Just remember you're not alone and there are resources out there to help you deal with any situation that you are facing.”

We aim to provide as many development opportunities as possible for those who dedicate themselves to the hospitality industry. Find out more about our courses and scholarships and how they can help you and your business flourish.