Case Studies
Hilton Hotel Corporation
During the mid-1960's Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) split off its international operations and, over the past 40+ years, these properties have been operating under the Hilton Group plc. In February 2006, Hilton Hotels Corporation reacquired Hilton Group's lodging operations (Hilton International). As part of the acquisition, a project was initiated to bring the International Properties and Units onto the same technology platforms which HHC use in the US and Mexico. These technologies include PeopleSoft Financials for the back office applications and OnQ Property Management System (PMS) for the front office applications.
The Project
Following the re-acquisition, several IT Systems needed to be replaced to unify the company's world wide operations and processes. The first phase in this world wide project involved deploying PeopleSoft 8.9 Financials to the Hilton United Kingdom and Ireland (HUKI) Units. The strategy was to move the whole of UK and Ireland's financial staff on to the PeopleSoft Financial platform, which would affect approximately 430 staff. These system implementations would form part of HHC's worldwide goal to streamline all financial processes and obtain global reporting benefits.
To assist in the implementation of the PeopleSoft technology worldwide, HHC chose Oracle's User Productivity Kit (UPK) to provide training and post go live support. The UK and Ireland Team was led by Gus Ross based in Glasgow, with a Training Project headed by Cindy Cloete also based in Glasgow. Recognising the aggressive timelines and geographical distribution of their users, a full training and post Go Live support programme was key to the successful deployment of the new technology. A decision was made to adopt a blended training solution incorporating self service learning and performance support through UPK.
The Solution
A partner was sought with specific expertise; experience of UPK and its use in similar projects. Larmer Brown was introduced as having a proven track record in both these areas. Larmer Brown was able to design the blended learning solution, develop the financial content processes and deliver the training solution. This was achieved by using Larmer Brown's experienced Project, Content Development and Training Teams to develop classroom and e-learning training content using UPK.
"UPK is an ideal tool to support this kind of training as it always generates such positive staff feedback. They leave the classes knowing that they have UPK available on their desktop to continue to learn and support them to do their job. This not only improves the learning experience but also makes them more positive and committed to the new application", said Peter McClintock, Professional Services Director, Larmer Brown.
The Conclusion
The entire training project was delivered from TNA through to post course evaluation and reporting in just over three months. The feedback from staff who attended courses was analysed and confirmed courses were consistently reported as between good and excellent. Hilton Hotels Corporation now has a database of e-learning material online to train new staff, or support the transition of staff between job roles. This capability will significantly enhance the ROI from the PeopleSoft system, and will place them in the best possible position to maintain their brand advantage as the world's pre-eminent lodging hospitality company.
Gus Ross, Hilton PeopleSoft Project Manager
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