Customer service ‘skills gap’ targeted in London 2012 Olympics campaign

National campaign launched to tackle UK’s ‘poor’ customer service record ahead of 2012 Olympics as industry body says customer service remains most common skills gap across hospitality, leisure, tourism and travel sector

People 1st – the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, tourism and travel (HLTT) industries – is launching a new campaign to train 200,000 hospitality and tourism staff ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and other world class events being hosted in the UK including the 2014 Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games, and the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The UK’s HLTT sector needs to raise its game in customer service standards if it is to take advantage of the estimated £2bn that could be generated from visitors around the Olympics. The UK is ranked 14th in the international customer service rankings and 13th for its perceived ‘Welcome’ by the annual Nation Brand Index Survey. People 1st’s State of the Nation 2010 research report highlighted that 65% of businesses reporting skills gaps stated staff lacked necessary customer service skills.

To train the target of 200,000 people, a programme which has already been used successfully at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, where it was used to train 39,000 volunteers and tourism staff earlier this year, has been developed for the UK by People 1st, with the support of VisitEngland.

The WorldHost training programme is set to raise the standard and delivery of customer service training in the UK and has the backing of the Institute of Directors and leading businesses including McDonald’s, who will be embedding the WorldHost customer service training in their employee development programme, and Flybe. 

In addition, major venues and events including the London Eye, Warwick Castle, Twickenham Stadium, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Ricoh Arena, Royal Ascot and the British Open will all be using the WorldHost customer service training for their teams.  People 1st has also agreed a partnership with four other sector skills councils, Skillsmart Retail (retail), Creative & Cultural Skills (craft, cultural heritage, design, literature, music, performing arts and visual arts), GoSkills (passenger transport) and SkillsActive (sports and fitness) to take the programme across their industries.

WorldHost customer service training includes additional learning modules on serving customers with disabilities, service across cultures and the ambassador workshop, particularly aimed at volunteers assisting visitors to our country.

Brian Wisdom, CEO of People 1st, comments: “There is a lot of focus on developing the infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games but not enough on ensuring we have the softer skills needed to welcome the world to Britain. It’s anticipated that up to half a million visitors will arrive for the Games and we need to ensure their experience of Britain is a very positive one.

“We plan to do something about what everyone recognises is a real need. The HLTT sector is one of the UK’s largest employers and the ‘visitor economy’ contributes over 8% of GDP. If we reach our target of 200,000 it will make a real difference to the experience people have as well as the revenue generated.”

Miles Templeman, director general of the Institute of Directors, comments: “Hosting these major sporting events over the next five years provides a supreme business opportunity to show the world what a great country we are. To make sure Britain is at its best, the standard of our customer service needs attention. It is imperative for businesses to invest in the people who will be on the front line, hosting our visitors and acting as ambassadors for the rest of the country.”