THE South Eastern Hotel has received a highly acclaimed award for its excellence in training and developing staff across all sectors of its venue at an industry awards night this month.
More than 850 people packed into the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the Australian Hotels Association SA Hotel Industry Awards for Excellence, but only some were lucky enough to walk away winners.
The South Eastern Hotel was recognised with the staff development and training award following their commitment to internally and externally upskilling workers right across the venue.
Venue manager Tim Sutcliffe said the award was a representation of the employees’ willingness to always try to improve their hospitality skills.
“It’s a gold star for the effort that everyone has put in to try and get our staff to another level,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“I think it was the evidence of a combination of in-house training and external training, which would have stood out.”
Mr Sutcliffe said all the Matthews Hospitality hotels in Mount Gambier have had a real focus on developing staff in recent times.
“In the country we do not have the mass population to be able to pluck a high quality staff member from another pub, so you really have to invest in what you have,” he said.
“We have been able to identify and find people who are worth investing in.”
The hotel have been able to provide a platform for young local talent with the opportunity for apprenticeships and traineeships at the venue.
School-based apprentice chef Arlo Jensz has been able to find his own career pathway by securing one of those apprenticeships in 2018.
“Arlo is one staff member we are particularly proud of because he has become a skilled and highly valued member of our kitchen team,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“We try to provide people like Arlo with the right environment and training, so that he wants to stay in the industry because chefs in particular are not a dime a dozen.
“When you get a good one you certainly try to nurture them.”
However, Mr Sutcliffe said it was not only the younger brigade learning new skills.
“It’s line managers right down to the juniors that are getting the training,” he said.
“The managers, including myself, from each Matthews Hospitality venue in town have done a Certificate IV in leadership, which helped me learn a lot about how to deal with different situations.”
It was not the only award Matthews Hospitality walked away with on the night with the Gambier Hotel receiving an award for the best bar presentation and experience in the country, while the Park Hotel was named the best country gaming venue.
