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Training and Retention

Return on Training Investment (ROTI) Tool

The Return on Training Investment (ROTI) tool is designed to measure the return on investment tourism employers receive from training employees in any department or occupation within the tourism sector. It can also be used as a planning tool to forecast the return expected from training.

The objective in designing the tool was to provide a means to identify the value of dollars invested in training related to the costs of training and the benefits achieved in increased sales, guest satisfaction, and productivity. The tool looks at six performance measures: sales, upselling, staff turnover, customer satisfaction, employee competence, and cost savings.

Originally developed as a spreadsheet, the ROTI tool was made available to tourism stakeholders upon request. During this consultation period, several case studies were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the tool in different industries and occupations, with excellent results. The effectiveness of the tool for use with frontline occupations was immediately recognized, and uses beyond its original scope were identified, such as measuring the effect the hiring of a new manager had upon staff. It was also found to be useful for measuring any special promotions in a department where the staff is given a short seminar on a specific product. During testing, it also became clear to many users that prior to using ROTI they were not recognizing the true costs of training nor appreciating the other benefits, such as cost savings and recoveries beyond guest satisfaction.

This easy-to-use, self-administered tool is now freely available online, and can be utilized by any business in which some form of training has taken place. In return for using this free tool, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council will compile user data in order to report on industry trends related to training investment. Please note that the information you enter will be kept completely confidential, and any reporting will occur in aggregate to guarantee your anonymity.

Try the tool today!