Notes:
L-R: Deirdre Fitzsimons, Morgan Parnis, Aidan Harte, Joseph Tanti, Anthony Coleiro
MTA Conference on HR Best Practices in Tourism
The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) recently hosted a half day conference at the Hilton, Malta where the findings of a study on successful HR practices in the local tourism industry, were presented. The study was conducted by MISCO following interviews with personnel in the tourism industry involved in staff recruitment and development, travel and catering services. This conference also served to exchange information and provide insight into successful HR practices in the tourism industry.
The study formed part of the Good Practice for Good Business benchmarking exercise which is part financed by the European Union, European Social Fund aiming to provide a holistic approach towards training and human resource development in tourism and tourism-related support services.
The conference was inaugurated by MTA’s consultant George Micallef who in his opening address said that, "MTA has always recognized the importance of the development of HR within the hospitality sector, and that the service component is crucially a very important and integral part of the tourism product on offer. The quality assurance and HR development will continue to focus and support a quality service culture, and this division is now in the phase of completing an action plan to take it through 2010, which will complement MTA’s marketing plan. These two plans together represent MTA’s strategy and direction in the coming years. HR development is at the heart of these plans and focuses on raising the quality of service amongst other objectives. The aims of this conference fit perfectly with MTA’s strategy in this regard. MTA is also raising awareness of the benefits of a work-life balance which can be achieved through good practices. Work-life balance affects each and every one of us, and should be at the heart of our human resource development. In an increasingly competitive world market, the way to increase efficiency, profitability and productivity is to attract and retain talented and committed people who feel happy and motivated at their place of work. The potential and significant cost of bad and/or inadequate work practices should not be underestimated."
Commenting on the findings of the study, MTA’s Head of HR Development Joseph Tanti said that “the tourism industry contributes significantly to the Maltese economy. For this reason, businesses operating within the industry must ensure that they make the best use of their human resources. Good HR Practices translate directly into higher levels of employee satisfaction, decreased staff turnover and improvements in the service offered to clients. This combination of factors in turn leads to enhanced customer satisfaction, higher levels of customer loyalty and repeat business – factors which are critical for a player to survive and succeed in a dynamic environment."
The conference was also addressed by Irish speaker Deirdre Fitzsimons who presented a company specific case study and an overview of tourism best practices in Ireland.
MTA’s Head of EU Affairs, Policy Development and Programme Implementation Ms Marie Louise Mangion, spoke about EU funding opportunities for the tourism industry and how this is assisting the industry to invest in training and staff development thereby enhancing the level of service.
Ms Mangion’s presentation was followed by a healthy discussion chaired by an expert panel made up of Aidan Harte, Managing Director of Optimum Results, Deidre Fitzsimons, Morgan Parnis, Head of Learning & Development at MISCO, Anthony Coleiro, President of the Institute of Hospitality, Malta Chapter and Joseph Tanti.
The conference came to an end with an address by Aiden Harte about his experience of the local tourism industry during this training period together with a summing up of the morning’s proceedings. This was followed by a presentation of certificates to participants in the Training Support for Tourism SME by the Chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, Samuel Mifsud.
The MTA implemented these training programmes with the support of a consortium composed of MISCO, JP Advertising and Irish company ‘Optimum Results’, who looked after the training, PR and information dissemination, and SMEs respectively. This contract was awarded by public tender.
The Industry Human Resource Development Unit within the MTA were the project leaders. This Unit is responsible for national human resource development initiatives for the tourism industry. For further information kindly contact the Industry Human Resource Development Unit by calling 2291 5124 or email: training@visitmalta.com you are also invited to visit http://www.mta.com.mt/index.pl/industry_hr_development_unit
PDF Act 2 Good HR Practice Study booklet.pdf
This issue is available at: 0711.