Page 37 - HKMA Training Award 2019 Souvenir Programme

Bronze Award
Best in Staff Engagement

“R.O.C.K at Ovolo”
Ovolo Group

About Ovolo
Beginning in 2002, Ovolo is an independently owned and operated brand with 10 hotels and 7 restaurants across Hong Kong and Australia. Ovolo is all
about adding a little F.U.N to guests’ travels, and giving them the ultimate effortless experience. These concepts reflect on the design of the hotels, guest
experience and their L&D programme.

Objectives
In hospitality, too many L&D programmes are developed around rigid and inflexible service standards, which attempt to shape employees into the mould.
Ovolo changed the game by developing team members based on individual personalities. To do this successfully, they developed the R.O.C.K. Programme
that empowers team members and equips them with the skills and mindsets to cater the unique needs of today’s travellers, which is authentic and
personalised experiences.
The R.O.C.K. Programme aims to:
a) ensure consistencies in delivering effortless and F.U.N. guest experiences;
b) develop leaders from within;
c) establish a culture of continual learning and engagement.

Design and Implementation
F.U.N (Fabulous, Unconventional and Never boring) sets the Ovolo L&D identity. With a large talent pool of young people, Ovolo created a unique learning
journey that draws inspiration from their love of the 80’s rock music.
Building the R.O.C.K. Programme around the analogy of a rock concert, Ovolo ditched the traditional L&D jargon, replacing standard procedural
documents with rock themed collateral including concert tickets and street posters with iconic lyrics and rock images.
Ovolo adopted the 70:20:10 principle, with a blended learning approach. Each team member has a learning plan to follow, supplemented by practical,
experimental, conceptual, digital and social learnings. Some of the signature learning modules include:
ROCK the Ovolo Stage – Hosted at unconventional venues like music studios and rooftop bars, to show the team how to live and breathe the brand, it’s
all about aligning guest service delivery across the group – styling, stage presence and communication.
ROCK as a Leader – Taking first level managers on a journey of self-awareness, assisting them to develop leader’s mindset and equipping them with the
soft skills to be future leaders. All 7 learning modules are supported by on-the-job projects, overseen by coaches.
Team ROCK - Believing that the best way to learn is to teach, Ovolo equips team members with training skills so that they can share their expertise with
their peers, in a structured way.
JAM – An internal social platform that served as an engaging knowledge hub, where members can share tips, inspiration and experiences, in an online
environment that feels natural for the young team..

Outcomes
The R.O.C.K. Programme has disrupted the traditional hospitality L&D model, equipping team members with the knowledge, confidence and forward
thinking mindset to deliver brand promises. By providing a safe environment for team members to be empowered and be innovative, there is a significant
improvement in guest satisfaction level, with more individual members’ names mentioned in guest reviews for their excellent personalised services.
Improvement on service audit results has also led to positive financial impact on the business with year on year revenue growth.
JAM – the social learning platform has built a healthy competition among properties and created a sense of engagement and collaboration, enhancing
employee experience, which is reflected with a lower turnover rate (-42%), better recruitment appeal, and a higher internal promotion rate (+20%).

Comments from Adjudicators
With a strong alignment to the corporate culture and values, this highly original and dynamic programme aimed at developing the talents in an engaging
and empowering way so as to deliver unconventional guests experience.
The R.O.C.K. programme served as a tool to promote the hotel’s unique corporate culture and create a sense of belonging among employees. Utilizing
the traditional learning and development framework, the team created a fun and practical learning environment, which matched with the hotel’s DNA.
The fun and flexible learning style engaged staff members both from the teaching and learning perspectives. The employees easily put the “never boring”
spirit into action when they served their guests. The people-oriented nature of the programme with emphasis on team empowerment and social learning
made it highly appealing to the young talents.
The programme was cost-effective and the results were phenomenal, with 42% lower turnover rate, 20% higher internal promotion rate and positive
feedbacks from customers.
All in all, the programme was unique and impactful. It has successfully built and maintained a highly engaging team to support extensive business
growth.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 2019 35