Dates:

  • 5 x Tuesdays
  • Beginning 15th September 2026
  • 2-hour sessions, 2pm to 4pm
  • Online

Course Overview:

Employees whose first language is not English may face communication challenges as well as cultural differences in terms of what type of communication is considered polite and professional in Ireland. It is not uncommon for international team members to unintentionally come across as impolite, negatively impacting on team relations and guest experience.

Competence in English is also a key element that can affect an international employee’s likelihood to be proactive in various situations in the workplace, such as upselling, offering assistance, dealing with complaints and requests, and taking on additional responsibility over time.

This course will equip front-office team members with the communication skills and cultural knowledge to help improve their customer service delivery, confidence, and engagement – all essential for high-performing and proactive front-office team members.

 

 

This course is aimed at:

This course is aimed at international front-office team members who are currently working in hotels in Ireland.

 

Please note: Trainees must already have a working knowledge of English.

To help determine if the proposed trainee has a suitable level of English for this course, a ‘working knowledge’ here can be defined by:

  • Can understand and communicate quite well (i.e. not requiring support such as a digital translation tool) on topics such as personal information, work tasks and information, interacting with guests, colleagues, and managers
  • Can understand the main points of communication on familiar matters regularly encountered in work
  • Can describe the main meaning regarding problems that arise in their work
  • Can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans

Team members who cannot do all of the above are not suitable for this course.

 

After this course staff will:

  • understand the indirect communication style associated with Ireland and be better able to communicate with and understand someone in this style incl. for situations such as complaints, customer requests, and communication with colleagues
  • better understand the role of small talk and humour in the hospitality context in Ireland allowing them to add positively to guest experience and build more effective team relationships
  • better understand important elements of Irish hospitality and ‘the Irish welcome’
  • be more confident in the language and cultural nuances helpful for their role, allowing them to act on opportunities to upsell / improve guest experience etc.
  • be more confident in the language for their role, allowing them to be more proactive and leading to a higher standard of customer service and engagement within the team
  • be better able to deal with complaints and requests from guests
  • develop a mindset towards their communication skills in English that enables increased confidence, and professional growth

Give your international front-office staff the cultural knowledge and language skills to help make your guest experiences memorable!

Help your front-office staff go from basic interaction with guests to delivering hospitality experience full of warmth.

 

“As a non-native English speaker, both sessions incredibly valuable for improving my communication skills. I really enjoyed learning how to adapt myself in a multicultural environment, especially in Ireland. The experience has helped me become more confident and flexible, allowing me to adjust my communication style when interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds.”
Ampika Sengsui,
Front of House Manager

 

Format and delivery:

This is 10-hour course delivered over 5 x 2-hour online sessions with an experienced trainer. Trainees will have the opportunity to practice the communication techniques covered during the sessions.

 

Trainers:

AllTalk Training are specialists in developing communication, collaboration, and leaderships skills in multicultural teams.

 

Fee:

€95 pp

Max 10 persons.

 

Booking:

Please ensure that any trainees you wish to book on this course have a working knowledge of English. To help determine if a trainee has this level in English, please refer to the guidelines above (in the section ‘This course is aimed at’).

If you are not sure if a team member has a suitable level of English to take part in this course, please contact AllTalk Training at info@alltalktraining.com or on 089 426 0622

 

Book below. For more info, email Dervla O’Neill at oneilld@ihf.ie  or call 086 083 6626