THE FORRES AREA Community Trust has followed up news of Lottery funding that secures their immediate future with an announcement that they are also on the verge of achieving coveted WorldHost Status.
They will follow the success of Elgin, Forres and Fochabers in achieving the regional destination status with other parts of Moray striving in the same direction.
WorldHost is an internationally recognised programme that brings about a new industry benchmark that businesses and their operators can use to ensure that high quality customer service standards are integral to their operation.
It has already been used to train over 10% of Scotland’s tourism workforce and represents an investment of over £2million since it was first launched in Scotland.
A previous participant in the WorldHost training programme and local business owner Victoria Johnstone-Butler said: “I initially had reservations about WorldHost training new staff due to cost as in hospitality the turn-over can be high and there can seem to be an endless stream of staff to train.
“However, since starting with WorldHost and introducing it to new team members we have had better staff retention and lower staff turnover – and we are delivering better customer service as a result. I believe this is due, in part, to increased confidence brought about through WorldHost training.”
All courses are delivered by an experienced and fully qualified WorldHost Trainer David Stewart, who has been working across Moray to help businesses and their staff access this opportunity.
He said “I’m delighted to have played a small part in such a successful project. With successful WorldHost accreditation, the employee gains, the business gains and we are on the verge of the whole regional business community gaining. That’s very exciting!”
The next WorldHost course will run on Wednesday, August 9 and places can be booked through contacting Vicky on vickyworldhost@hotmail.com or Dave Stewart on david.stewart@highlandretailacademy.co.uk.