33 immigration and civil status staff attend first training
A total of 33 immigration and civil aviation staff have benefitted from the first round of training organised by the tourism department in support of the promotion of the service excellence culture ? Lospitalite, Lafyerte Sesel ? within the local tourism industry.
The training, which aims at ensuring that service-related professionals remain conversant with general good practices and excellent service delivery skills, was held at the Botanical House.
The training is being conducted by Terry Lablache from HMC (PTY) Ltd and the opening session was attended by Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseka; principal secretary for immigration and civil status Alain Volcère and principal secretary for tourism Sherin Francis.
PS Volcère shared how this collaboration started early January and noted that this effort coincided with the recent announcement of upcoming reforms within the public service to render it more responsive to the needs and expectations of the Seychellois public.
Immigration staff are the first one to be in contact with our tourists and incoming Seychellois but sometimes while processing hundreds of clients, their best efforts are not good enough.
“It is fitting therefore that our frontline workers are among the first to savour the value of ‘Lospitalite, lafyerte Sesel’ which our counterparts at the department of tourism have tailored to suit our particular needs, bearing in mind that the people we are having to serve daily have their own sensitivities, ranging from a jet-lagged, exhausted and often cranky passenger to a restless and very demanding local resident with high expectations. No matter what their circumstances might be or how difficult they can become, the customers deserve to be treated with care, empathy and respect,” said PS Volcère.
PS Volcère noted that this training will serve as a constant reminder to immigration officers that visitors’ experience on the ground, starts with them, at the point of entry.
“The programme can also be regarded as a stepping stone into an even greater undertaking by the department of immigration and civil status, to raise the level of service delivery as a priority objective over the coming months,” added PS Volcère.
As for PS Francis, she once again emphasised that “first impression makes a big difference and you are part of this part of experience. The department of tourism appreciates your work a lot and there is room for improvement. This is a partnership we started but we will continue with other services. We are happy that as an organisation we are always thinking on how the public will react to your service and we hope your department becomes a shining example to others in this journey”.
Minister Fonseka thanked the department of tourism for hosting the staff of immigration and civil status for this activity. “What is most important is the application of what you have learnt. This business of serving is a two-way contract – the more you serve the more you will feel fulfilled. I will fight for you and you need to deserve me fighting for you,” Mr Fonseka told his staff.
Trainer Terry Lablache shared that in everything we do we should have courtesy. “With the training today, we will lift up the standard of service so that we serve the public in general – tourists, gainful occupational permit (GOP) holders and Seychellois – with the same spirit. The theme ‘Lafyerte Sesel’ should perpetuate in all our services,” he said.
Mr Lablache stated that, after the training, there will be follow-ups with the organisations to evaluate the services by the customers. This training will be done with various organisations.
At the helm of HMC (Pty) Ltd. Terry Lablache stems from a hotel management background and with 25 years of experience in the cleaning and hygiene industry within hospitality, catering, and commercial operations. In 1994, he joined a distributor representing a multinational cleaning and hygiene chemical company. In 1999, Mr Lablache moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he continued in the same line of work and gaining extensive knowledge and exposure. The combined experience and training accumulated over the decades allows Mr Lablache, through HMC (Pty) Ltd, to coach and guide its customers on industry best practices.
In the first session held in the morning, 17 staff were trained and 16 took part in the second training held in the afternoon.
Source: Seychelles Nation