Maximize resources; maximize potential – Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau
The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) is the official tourism promotion agency and destination marketing organization for the four county Pocono Mountains region consisting of Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne. They are a membership based organization representing lodging facilities, dining facilities, attractions and related businesses. The PMVB’s mission includes offering educational programs, promoting the tourism industry through online, print and broadcast marketing as well as providing resources to benefit and support the entire tourism industry in the region. As one can predict, this is a tall order. With over 2,400 square miles and numerous venues ranging from Mom & Pop operations to full scale resorts, the PMVB needs the necessary tools to increase the visibility and bottom line revenue of their members. Solutions for training, information transfer and management require both flexibility and a personalized approach.
The Challenge
PMVB desired to create an avenue to “get the word out” to all members on topics ranging from understanding the way to re-brand the Pocono Mountains Region, to compliance and safety. As most tourism facilities in the region are a member of the PMVB, their goal is to provide meaningful support to each and every one. As a non-profit business with fiscal constraints, this was a daunting task.
The largest obstacle was managing such an endeavor. Getting the right training to the right people in a reasonable timeframe was challenging enough. But finding a means to track the success of the program and setting a means for continual improvement left the PMVB searching for a solution. PMVB would need to have the ability to manage the entire training process, but each business needed the ability to manage their individual teams. If one company needed specialized training, how could PMVB get that training to the end user without creating a logistics nightmare? The answer was partnering with Right Reason Technologies (RRT).
The Solution
PMVB knew the solution had to begin with technology. The only efficient way to stretch across the region in a meaningful fashion for this comprehensive approach required the Internet. Further, tracking thousands of training sessions and individuals across the region was impossible without automation. PMVB partnered with RRT to provide both content creation expertise and the management and tracking of the training.
RRT’s reputation of providing meaningful web-based productions, from content provided by subject matter experts, to content created in-house, and the awards they have received for their web-based creations are well known. RRT’s comprehensive approach to every phase of the training process helped to ensure PMVB’s success. From creation to expertly tracking the individual training sessions, RRT’s approach doesn’t miss a beat.
For tracking management, RRT provided a tiered approach to the organizational structure. At the top of the chain is the PMVB. Visitors Bureau administrators can get a bird’s eye view of each member and the training they are conducting. Member businesses, however, neither needed nor should have access to what other businesses are doing with their own training. For instance, the General Manager at a resort can only see the training available and track the progress of the offerings to his or her personnel. But that is only the beginning. Administrators at each member can drop down to the granularity of an individual trainee.
RRT further restructured the system so that at each individual business, each manager can have access to the individuals they are responsible for training, but not the rest of the business. The permissions are made in conjunction with the needs of each business. The housecleaning supervisor can ensure that his personnel are trained in subject matter meaningful to the job, while the dining supervisor only needs to focus on the training she requires of her staff.
PMVB has offered its members a number of initial training options for their use; some created by PMVB subject matter experts, and some created by RRT. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. And with the platform already in place, many of these businesses have turned to RRT to customize training for their own needs made exclusively for their businesses.
Conclusion
In partnering with RRT, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau got all it hoped for and more. They believe in RRT’s RightTrack™ Learning Management System and its highly customized approach. In doing so, they provided a solution that each member would not have been able to do alone. This ensures that each of its members receive the required training to promote the area.
Through their partnership with RRT, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau has significantly improved the value that they offer each of their members. To the PMVB members, it is not RRT who has provided this wonderful solution…it is the PMVB, the team they turn to for solutions throughout the hospitality and tourism industry. For RRT, we know that by making the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau look good, we have again expanded our presence in the region.