Enhancing Professional Skills: A Development Plan for Travelodge Hotel

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Personal and Professional Development
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................8
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................12
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................20
Appendices....................................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
In the contemporary age where competition prevails in almost every aspect of life, including the
field of business, organisations have a preference for candidates who not only have required
skills, but also possess adequate competencies and expertise to perform their individual job roles
efficiently. Procuring adequate skills, competencies and expertise in specific fields, for instance,
hospitality, management, marketing, finance and many others, one requires personal as well as
professional development. This can be achieved through gaining proper knowledge and required
proficiency simultaneously, for which creation of personal and professional development plans
are extremely necessary. The personal and professional development plan can be referred to a
formal way, through which a person establishes objectives, strategies along with desired
outcomes of learning and participating in training. In this study, the personal and professional
development requirements of the job role of assistant hotel manager in the Travelodge Hotel will
be assessed and evaluated.
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Task 1
1.1 Evaluate approaches to self-managed learning. Which approach can be more suitable
for you or your staff at Travelodge Hotel?
The process of self-managed learning is a contemporary concept and technique, which assists
individuals with enhancing their personal as well as professional skills, competencies and
expertise that in turn makes them efficient in their individual job roles (Cunningham, 2017). In
addition to that, this process has been successful in the past to help people with boosting their
confidence, attitude, body language, and many others as such. The various kinds of approaches
to self-managed learning most appropriate for the assistant manager in the Travelodge Hotel are
discussed as follows:
Training Programmes, seminars and Conferences
The approach mentioned above is one of the most popular and effective, in terms of self-
managed learning. Individuals by attending training programmes, seminars, and conferences can
acquire the opportunity of improving their personal as well as professional prospective. In these
programmes, individuals such as the assistant manager along with the other staffs of the
Travelodge Hotel, get the scope of enhancing their personality and improving their knowledge,
by listening and learning from the speeches given at seminars regarding one’s personal
experience of being successful.
Internet
The internet is one the most used medium for carrying out the process of self-managed learning,
as it the most convenient and feasible method of collecting the required knowledge one desires to
learn regarding anything. Thus, it can be stated that this is another effective approach to self-
managed learning, by using which the assistant manager of the Travelodge Hotel can acquire
necessary information about the history of the hotel, required skills to perform the specific job
role, along with demands, and expectations of the guests. This in turn will enhance the expertise
of the same person.
Social Networking Websites
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At present, the social networking sites are of the most important medium, which is used for
carrying out various kinds of activities. This is a modern and advanced approach to self-managed
learning, which can assist people such as the assistant manager and the other staffs of the
Travelodge Hotel, with enhancing their existing skills and competencies. These social
networking sites can be helpful in improving one’s communication skills, technical skills as well
as interpersonal skills by interacting with several people from diverse cultural backgrounds. This
will also assist the assistant manager of the concerned company to acknowledge the demand and
requirements of the potential guests from different parts of the world.
In my opinion, all the approaches mentioned above can be effective for self-managed learning.
Nevertheless, the most appropriate approach for me as an assistant manager along with the other
employees of the hotel would be the internet. This approach is cost effective and easily
accessible by everybody. I can collect detailed information regarding the responsibilities I need
to bear for becoming an effective assistant manager form the internet. I can also learn about the
activities carried out by great managers in the past with the assistance of the internet. The rest of
the workforce can also learn about everything they would need from the internet.
1.2 Propose ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts could be
encouraged at Travelodge.
The expression lifelong learning can be referred to as the voluntary act of pursuing knowledge
for personal as well as professional reasons, throughout one’s life (Su, 2014). Lifelong learning
assists people to improve their skills, competencies along with expertise both in personal and
professional lives. There are various ways, which is helpful in lifelong learning. As the assistant
manager of the Travelodge Hotel, I will propose the most effective ways that would encourage
lifelong learning in the company.
 Lifelong learning can be encouraged in the Travelodge Hotel with introduction of work
appraisals in the organisation. This will assist the workforce of the hotel to recognise the
areas they are good at along with the ones, which require further improvement.
 The staffs must be allowed to self-direct their learning according to their preferences and
conveniences.
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 Another way to encourage lifelong learning in the concerned organisation is by making the
learning objectives as essential as the performance objectives.
 The activities along with the task performance of the staffs must be emphasized, and they
should be provided with opportunities for personal interaction, which will be productive and
meaningful as well as collaborative team learning.
 The workforce should also be provided with constructive feedback, which in turn will
promote lifelong learning.
 The employees must also be encouraged to reflect on the various ways that have assisted
them to learn so that those methods can introduced in the hotel for lifelong learning.
1.3 Evaluate the benefits of self-managed learning to you as an assistant manager and the
Travel Lodge.
I have acquired a number of benefits from self-managed learning as an assistant manager, which
in turn has advantageous for the Travelodge Hotel as well. These benefits are evaluated as
follows:
 Benefits of self managed learning for me
The process of self-managed learning has assisted me to acquire a number of skills, including
communication skills, interpersonal skills and technical skills regarding my job role of assistant
manager at the Travelodge Hotel. In addition to that, self-managed learning being flexible is an
efficient method to acquire knowledge in a busy schedule. I being an assistant manger have long
working hours, and I require flexibility in the learning process. In addition to that, this process is
easily accessible in comparison to formal learning. Moreover, self-managed learning has assisted
me to acquire the various skills in a manner about which I feel comfortable. I think that this
process is extremely effective and the knowledge along with the skills gained becomes
permanent.
 Benefits of self managed learning for Travelodge Hotel
Travelodge Hotel can gain several benefits from the process of self-managed learning. The most
significant benefit would be reduction of cost in terms of arrangement of formal learning
programmes, through introduction of self-managed learning for the workforce. In addition to
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that, this process assists in learning about the values and the work culture of an organisation, like
the Travelodge Hotel, within a very short time span. This will assist the workforce to obey the
rules and regulations in an appropriate manner, which in turn will be benefiting for the
Travelodge Hotel, as it will possess a disciplined workforce, without conducting any kind of
learning programme. In addition to that, self-managed learning will assist the organisation to
increase its productivity as well as profitability, since the process will enhance the skills and the
competencies of the workforce.
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Task 2
2.1. Evaluate your own current skills and competencies against professional standards for a
hotel manager and against organisational objectives of Travelodge Hotel.
Refer to Appendix
Every job role requires a set skills and competencies for matching the professional standard of
that role that requires aligning with the organisational objectives of the organisation in which,
one is working. My existing skills and competencies against the professional standard of an
assistant manager as well as the organisational objectives of Travelodge Hotel are discussed as
follows:
 Time Management Skills
I am capable of allocating tasks and projects to the employees working under me in the
Travelodge Hotel in an effective manner in order to meet the deadline. I maintain a regular track
sheet to keep record of the progression of the ongoing projects. I have never been late to any
meeting, conference or training programme.
 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
I am capable of analysing the intensity of any type of circumstances by focusing on the various
aspects of the situation as well as the source of the intensity. It assists me to come up with
suitable and appropriate solutions.
 Numeracy
I have good numerical and statistical skills that assist me in the course of my career as an
assistant manager. Moreover, I am capable of interpreting the information from different
mediums, such as charts, graphs, diagrams and tables.
 Information Literacy
I am capable of gather relevant information from different sources, such as books and journals,
as well as the internet. I am able to develop notes that are useful and easy to follow. In addition
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to that, I am capable of assessing the important points within a text that conveys the chief
arguments of the author. Moreover, I am capable of distinguishing the main arguments with the
support of references along with examples.
2.2. Identify your own development needs and the activities required to meet them.
My communication skills require improvement, as I feel nervous while talking to my senior
associates. I also lack confidence while speaking in a conference or a seminar in front of many
people. This particular skill can be improved by taking part in the programmes held for
enhancing communication skills. In addition to that, I also require developing my technological
skills. In this era of digitalisation, possessing adequate technological expertise is extremely
crucial. My technological knowledge is very little, which can be boosted by to exploring the
various technologies used in the hotel and reading about them on the internet. Additionally,
during a collaborative project, I face difficulty while working with the other assistant managers
in terms of cooperation. Therefore, my cooperation skills can be improved additionally by taking
part in the teaming building activities and programmes.
2.3. Identify development opportunities to meet your current and future defined needs.
The Travelodge Hotel conducts different types of training programmes regularly and seminars
occasionally for helping the workforce to gain necessary skills and competencies required
performing their individual job roles, in order to increase the productivity of the organisation.
The hotel conducts training programmes for enhancing the communication skills of the
workforce, which I can attend. I also the have the opportunity of developing this particular skill
by taking part in various communication training programmes outside the company. I also have
the opportunity of improving my technological expertise within the hotel by exploring the
different kinds of technologies in use. This particular expertise can be developed with the
assistance of external sources as well, for instance the internet. Lastly, there is an opportunity of
improving my cooperative skills by attending the team building activities carried out in the
Travelodge Hotel.
2.4. Devise a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs. In this
task, you need to prepare a ‘plan’ for personal and professional development.
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Based on the identified areas that require improvement, I have created a personal and
professional development plan, which will assist me to gain the required skills and expertise,
necessary for performing my job role of an assistant manager in the Travelodge Hotel. The
personal and professional development plan is illustrated as follows:
Specific Measureable Achievable Realistic Time Bound
Communication
skills
I can measure
this by
evaluating how
efficiently I am
being able to
communicate
with my senior
as well as junior
associates.
I can improve
my
communication
skills by
attending the
different
programmes
within the Hotel
along with the
external ones.
The Travelodge
Hotel, for
improving the
communication
skills of the
workforce,
devises these
programmes.
Four months to
five months
Technological
Expertise
(Additional)
I can measure it
by evaluating
how easily and
effectively I am
being able to use
various
technologies.
I have to explore
the various
technologies
used in the hotel
and read about
them on the
internet.
The previously
mentioned
activities have
been successful
in enhancing the
technological
skills of my
senior managers
Two months to
three months
Ability to
cooperate
(Additional)
I can measure
this by assessing
if I am being
able to work
with other
managers and
teams.
I should take
part in the team
building
activities held at
the hotel.
These activities
have helped my
senior managers
of the
Travelodge
Hotel to perform
excellently in
Two months to
three months
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collaborative
projects.
Table 1: Personal and Professional Development Plan
(Source: Created by the learner)
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Task 3
3.1. Discuss the processes and activities required to implement the development plan that
you prepared for yourself in task 2.4.
In order to implement a development plan successfully, various process and activities are
required to be carried out in a systematic manner. The skills and competencies identified in the
previous task, which has been included in the development plan illustrated above, can be
enhanced by following the processes and executing the activities discussed below:
 My communication skills can be enhanced by actively participating in the communication
training programmes held by not only the hotel but also external sources.
 My technological expertise can be improved by examining the different types of technologies
used in the Travelodge Hotel and gaining more information regarding them from the internet.
 My inability to cooperate effectively with the other managers during collaborative working
can be improved by taking part in the team building activities carried out in the hotel.
3.2. Undertake and document development activities as planned.
Undertaking the development activities requires following a particular process, while
documentation of the carried out activities can be performed by keeping track of them in a
journal, in order to measure the progress. In order to enhance my communication skills, I initially
attended the communication training programmes held at the Travelodge Hotel. On feeling the
requirement of assistance from external source regarding this particular skills, I participated in
two different communication training programmes held outside of the hotel. On the other hand,
for improving technological expertise I asked an employee form the technological department of
the company to acknowledge me regarding the various kinds of technologies used in the hotel. In
addition to that, I also gained additional knowledge from the internet. In order to acquire the
ability to cooperate in collaborative projects, participated in the team building activities held at
the concerned hotel, which assisted me to work together with the other managers. All the
activities carried out so far has been documented in a journal that was maintained from the
beginning.
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