Hard Rock Cafe managers in US for special training

by Franco Aloisio

Five young prospective Maltese managers at Hard Rock Cafe have

left for the United States to attend

a special five-week training programme. The programme will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe Training Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, one of eight worldwide training centres owned by the brand. Hard Rock has around 100 establishments in 40 countries.

The managers attending the course are Hard Rock's general manager Frans Vella, and operations managers Glenn Borg, Stefan Borg Saydon, Vanessa Bonnici and Patrick Pace. The course, "Operations Manager in Training Programme" - runs for five weeks. Malta's Hard Rock Cafe at Bay Street, St George's Bay is scheduled to open on 25 November. The owner of the franchise in Malta is the Seabank Group.

"This programme will help train our top management in the skills and attitude necessary for the job. Hard Rock Cafe is great because its heart and soul are its people, the staff that will manage the establishment," Seabank's Financial Controller Arthur Gauci said.

At the end of the training programme, the Hard Rock Cafe managers will be able to apply their existing leadership skills and enhance them, while understanding and performing the responsibilities in the running of a successful business. "Moreover, each manager will return from Atlanta to adopt, understand and demonstrate Hard Rock Cafe's philosophies, mission and values in their management style," Mr Gauci said.

The programme will train the managers in every department: food and beverage operations, entertainment, hosting and merchandising.

"Each manager will be prepared to man each operation, and therefore a strong team-spirit will be created. The staff will complement each other in their duties," Mr Gauci said.

"The ultimate objective of the training which is being offered to our managers and staff is to make our clients 'feel at home'. We want Hard Rock to be a truly unique experience for our clients," Mr Gauci stressed.

The human resources development at Hard Rock Cafe Malta does not stop here. In November, 14 Hard Rock Cafe trainers will come to Malta to train the other staff.

Around 40 people, including bar tenders, servers, retail assistants, hosting staff and preparation and line cooks, are expected to be employed in October.