Each year we host a guide’s workshop for all of our current and future guides. The purpose of this is to train our guides with new procedures and to ensure that we continue to have a very high standard and level of guides (which we always do).
A JENMAN Guide is a truly multi-faceted individual who is required to drive our guests safely over what can be thousands of kilometers in a single safari. At the same time our guide needs to inform and educate our guests on a wide range of subjects. He or she has to constantly manage the timings of the safari in order to ensure that the group have frequent breaks and yet still arrive at their destinations with enough time to fully appreciate the local attractions. Our guide needs to cater for the guests meals, manage the trip finances, deal with various border formalities, maintain his or her vehicle, deal with any hiccups on the safari and through it all be affable, attentive and informative.
And this is why we host a guide’s workshop! This year we hosted a very successful workshop and below are some comments from Jenman Staff who attended the workshop;
Antoinette (HR Manager): I was there to introduce the HR department to the guides. I told them what my daily duties are and also how I could be of assistance to them. I thought the guide workshop was great way for the guides to get to know everyone that works in the office and also to make them feel part of the Jenman team. It was a good opportunity for me to also meet all of our guides.
Lisa (E-Marketer & Website Editor): I went to the guide workshop to chat to the guides about my role in Jenman and how the Marketing department works. I must admit I was pretty nervous to chat and present to them for a full hour but I was so surprised…. had such a great time! The guides were fantastic and seemed very interested in Marketing. Afterwards, I stayed around a bit and chatted to them some more – they all commented on how much they were enjoying the guide workshop and how they were having a lot of fun. Well done Ops!
Hilka (Assistant Reservations Manager): The reason I attended the guide workshop, was to introduce my role as Assistant Reservations Manager and the members of my team to the Jenman Guides, and to discuss the degree & importance of close interaction between the sales consultants and our guides, who play a such a vital part in the success of our tours. It was great to put faces next to the names we so constantly deal with. Our guide workshop is such a success each year and I look forward to playing my part in the next ones to come. Thank you to Wayne, Jo and Olivia for organizing such an important event!
Kirsty (Product Developer for Southern Africa): This was the first guide workshop I have attended and I wasn’t sure what to expect and was extremely nervous to stand up in front of a group of 30 men and tell them what I do! I went along to explain the product side of things, why we select certain properties over others, why we operate certain routes, the importance of their feedback etc. Once there I was pleasantly surprised at how interested they were and at the great input they gave and hints on how to improve some of our current tours. I definitely think it was beneficial to all concerned, and the workshop is one of the many reasons our tours are so successful.
Liz (Assistant Groups Manager): I assisted with training the guides in Explore tours. This was quite an intensive course covering all the Explore procedures and the history behind the company. It was a great few days and a very effective way of the guides bouncing idea off each other and discussing possible problems and solutions.
