Travelodge Hotel: A Personal and Professional Development Report

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report details a personal and professional development plan for a Travelodge assistant manager.

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 2
LO1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 EVALUATE APPROACHES TO SELF-MANAGED LEARNING....................................................3
1.2 PROPOSE WAYS IN WHICH LIFELONG LEARNING IN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
CONTEXTS COULD BE ENCOURAGED AT TRAVELODGE..............................................................4
1.3 EVALUATE THE BENEFITS OF SELF-MANAGED LEARNING TO YOU AS AN ASSISTANT
MANAGER AND THE TRAVEL LODGE..........................................................................................5
LO2.................................................................................................................................................7
2.1. EVALUATE YOUR OWN CURRENT SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AGAINST PROFESSIONAL
STANDARDS FOR A HOTEL MANAGER AND AGAINST ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES OF
TRAVELODGE HOTEL..................................................................................................................7
2.2. IDENTIFY YOUR OWN DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND THE ACTIVITIES REQUIRED TO MEET
THEM......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.3. IDENTIFY DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET YOUR CURRENT AND FUTURE
DEFINED NEEDS....................................................................................................................... 10
2.4. DEVISE A PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN BASED ON IDENTIFIED
NEEDS...................................................................................................................................... 11
LO3............................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1. DISCUSS THE PROCESSES AND ACTIVITIES REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THE DEVELOPMENT
PLAN THAT YOU PREPARED FOR YOURSELF IN TASK 2.4.........................................................13
3.2. UNDERTAKE AND DOCUMENT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AS PLANNED. IN THIS TASK,
YOU SHOULD IMPLEMENT THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN YOU PREPARED FOR YOURSELF AND
THEN WRITE DOWN HOW YOU IMPLEMENTED YOUR PLAN...................................................14
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3.3. REFLECT CRITICALLY ON YOUR OWN LEARNING AGAINST ORIGINAL AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES SET IN THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN. DID YOU REALLY LEARN NEW SKILLS AT THE
LEVEL YOU AIM FOR THEM?.................................................................................................... 15
3.4. BASED ON THE FEEDBACK AND EVALUATION, UPDATE THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT
YOU PREPARED FOR YOURSELF............................................................................................... 17
LO4............................................................................................................................................... 18
LEAFLET.................................................................................................................................... 18
4.1 SELECT SOLUTIONS TO WORK-BASED PROBLEMS.............................................................19
4.2 COMMUNICATE IN A VARIETY OF STYLES AND APPROPRIATE MANNER AT VARIOUS
LEVELS...................................................................................................................................... 20
4.3 EVALUATE AND USE EFFECTIVE TIME-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES...................................21
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 22
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Travelodge hotel.............................................................................................................9
Figure 3: Gibbs reflective learning cycle......................................................................................16
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INTRODUCTION
Personal and professional development is required by individuals to acquire new knowledge
and experience. This report will highlight my efforts to grow professionally as an assistant
manager at the Travelodge hotel. In the initial stage of the report, different approaches to self-
managed learning are discussed, these approaches include meeting and seminars,
secondments, learning through other, reading books and observation. The importance of
lifelong learning is also discussed in the report which focuses on making the learning process a
continuous journey which goes throughout the carrier of an individual and beyond. Later, a
comparison is made between my current skills, professional standard of the hospitality industry
and the organisational standards by Travelodge hotel. Next, a personal and professional
development plan is constructed which contains personal development goals and the ways to
achieve these goals in a certain time interval.
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LO1
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1.1 EVALUATE APPROACHES TO SELF-MANAGED LEARNING
Travelodge hotel is the third largest hotel chain in the UK and I am working as an Assistant
Manager at Travelodge hotel, Ilford, London branch. Managing different functions at the hotel
in a professional way requires good planning, communication and time management skills
(Bouman, 2018). These skills can be developed with the help of self-managed learning process.
Below discussed are different approaches which can be used for self-managed learning.
Reading
Reading is an effective way of self-directed learning which fills new bits of information into the
brain, this information can be used to manage a team effectively and understand the
requirements of different team members. A calm reading session also helps in relieving work-
related stress (Chubin and DePass, 2017).
Internet
The Internet has come up as a new means for individuals to pursue self-managed learning.
Knowledge and skills are improved over the internet by streaming videos and websites offering
plenty of information which can be used to improve existing skills and knowledge base
(Cunningham, 2017).
Mentoring programs
These programs are conducted by an industry expert who offers knowledge to the less
experienced employee so that he can learn new ways of performing a task and enhance his
existing skills (Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin, 2011). Mentoring effectively removes the
weakness of the learner as it is a personalised a personalised program.
Seminar and conferences
The seminar and conferences provide information regarding the latest development in the
technology and the listener gets an opportunity to experience and understand different
viewpoints. Seminars provides in-depth knowledge about topics which helps in improving the
knowledge base of the participants.
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1.2 PROPOSE WAYS IN WHICH LIFELONG LEARNING IN PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL CONTEXTS COULD BE ENCOURAGED AT TRAVELODGE
Lifelong learning is the process is aimed at stimulating a continuous learning process so that
both professional and personal development can be ensured. The learning process should not
be confined to classrooms or childhood; it is the process which continues throughout the life.
Some of the ways through which employees at Travelogue hotel can be encouraged to pursue
lifelong learning are discussed below:
Provide constructive feedback
Regular feedback by the management regarding work progress develops a feeling of
accountability in the employees (Davies, et al. 2017). Feedbacks help the employees their
current performance against standards of the industry and they can start a self-improvement
process so that they can learn new skills and quality of services at Travelodge hotel can be
improved.
Encourage collaborative team learning
Team learning can also serve as a means to encourage the lifelong learning process. When
employees work in a team they understand the differences in the skills and compatibilities and
learn new ways to improve customer services managing tasks efficiently (Graves, 2013). When
employees work as a team they also need to collaborate with each other and accept differences
so that long term goals of the team can be achieved.
Tasks should be challenging but achievable
The enthusiasm of the employees can be maintained when the task is challenging yet
achievable. Big tasks can be divided into small achievable tasks so that employees feel
motivated by the intermediate successes (McGrath, 2014). When the task is too big to be
achieved the employee loses their motivation and the process of learning hampers.
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Provide authentic assessment
Authentic assessment can be provided with the help of appraisals and other performance
measuring techniques. When exceptional work of the employees is acknowledged by the
management it encourages him to increase his performance (Hildebrand, 2018). Public
appreciation develops the confidence of the employee and he shows more commitment
towards achieving the organisational goals.
1.3 EVALUATE THE BENEFITS OF SELF-MANAGED LEARNING TO YOU AS AN
ASSISTANT MANAGER AND THE TRAVEL LODGE
An assistant manager needs to lead a team of housekeeping staff, food and beverage teams
and maintain good relationships with the guests; therefore it is necessary to improve my
current set of skills with the help of self-managed learning so that certain standard in services
can be maintained at Travelodge hotel. Self-managed learning can benefit me in the following
ways.
 By learning new things I have improved my basic skills which will help me advance in my
carrier and get job promotions.
 Self-managed learning has also helped me achieve self-actualisation through which I
have realized my full talents and potential.
 I have also learned to work as a team and achieve complex tasks with the help of the
collaborative efforts of individuals.
 As I have acquired many new skills I have experienced an increase in my confidence
level which helps me deal with the problems with a new approach.
 Self-managed learning also helps in understanding the job role better and as a result, I
have increased my job performance.
 Rewards and recognition programs started to motivate the self-learning process have
resulted in better retention rate and improved morale of the employees.
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LO2
2.1. EVALUATE YOUR OWN CURRENT SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AGAINST
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR A HOTEL MANAGER AND AGAINST
ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES OF TRAVELODGE HOTEL.
MY OWN CURRENT SKILLS AND THEIR COMPETENCY AGAINST SET STANDARDS
MY CURRENT SKILLS COMPETENCIES AGAINST
PROFESSIONAL STANDARD
COMPETENCIES AGAINST
ORGANISATIONAL
OBJECTIVES OF
TRAVELODGE HOTEL
Problem-solving skills Ability to understand the scale of
the problem and find a creative
solution to address the problem
(Megginson, D. and Whitaker,
2017).
An assistant manager should be
able to find a solution to various
problems while managing a large
workforce.
Communication skills Better communication skills help
managers to express their ideas
effectively.
An assistant manager has to deal
with his subordinates and
customers and impeccable
communication is a must to have
skill (Travelodge, 2019).
Leadership skills Leadership skills include the
ability to understand the need of
individual employees.
Leaders at Travelodge hotel have
to work as a role model and
make regular interaction with his
team members.
Relationship building skills In the service industry a direct
interaction with the customer
has to be done and good
relationship building skills are
vital.
A strong relationship with the
customer helps in creating brand
loyalty and an assistant manager
should be able to create a
rapport with the customer.
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Time management skills Time management helps in
prioritising tasks and improving
the quality of services.
An assistant manager needs to
manage his time effectively so
that he can complete different
tasks at the right time
(Travelodge, 2019).
Figure 1: Travelodge hotel
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2.2. IDENTIFY YOUR OWN DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND THE ACTIVITIES
REQUIRED TO MEET THEM
SKILLS TO BE DEVELOPED METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT
To become an effective communicator I will start by giving more and more presentations to bring
confidence in my speech. I will also work on making better
eye contact and have clarity in the voice so that I can express
myself better.
To improve time management skills I have planned to make a list of the most important tasks and
start working on the decided tasks as quickly as possible so
that procrastination can be avoided.
To improve creativity I will increase creativity by increasing my knowledge base; it
can be done by reading books from renowned authors,
reading autobiographies and memoirs.
To be a better team player To improve team coordinating skills, I will try to make a better
relationship with the team members. Team building exercises
are also helpful in creating a better understanding with the
team members.
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