made in the training of its biggest asset -- its people.

This is the message that Performance Consultants International will be delivering to members of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce at a special presentation tomorrow.

"Tourism and international business are the twin pillars of Bermuda's economy -- and both are service industries,'' says director of training development, Jack Harris. "The most important investment a company can make in an increasingly competitive world is in the quality of its staff. We are trying to make people understand that the next millennium will be based on people and the expertise in which they are trained. I think I have yet to see'', he adds, "a company budget where `Training' is specifically included. We feel that, if we are to have qualified Bermudians, training should be one of the first, and certainly one of the major items on the expenses budget.'' Noting that when Monitor (the firm retained by Government in an effort to boost tourism figures) stated that training was the key to tourism revival, Mr. Harris reveals that Performance Consultants had already embarked on its programme for updating and improving training methods in Bermuda.

Senior consultant Vaughan Mosher, noting that sister company Benedict Associates provides an employee assistance service, says, "We now have this significant second training company which really goes hand in hand with Benedict. Quite often, problems in the workplace may not be of a personal or mental health nature. The solution may lie in a structural or training problem. For example, if you get people complaining that the boss is going bonkers, the solution may be to help him improve his management and communications skills.'' Research undertaken by the company's general manager and training consultant, Elizabeth Hayes, has indicated that such training programmes that do exist have been conducted mainly on an ad hoc basis.

Targetting three main groups -- legal firms, hospitality and insurance businesses -- through a series of carefully compiled questionnaires, Performance Consultants has devised training programmes appropriate for the specific needs of the company concerned.

"The forms we sent out revealed the discrepancies between what is actually being achieved by training and what companies feel should be done to improve standards,'' says Mrs. Hayes. "Our job is to make sure that the training fits the need. From the results, we found that insurance companies and the larger hotels are most `on track' with training programmes. That's no surprise as they are often part of the overall corporate structure. Bigger firms obviously have larger resources which enable them to have a more structured training system. Smaller establishments such as law firms, on the other hand, have had the least capacity to establish appropriate programmes. When tourists come to Bermuda,'' she adds, "they are `buying' the Marriott or Princess image. This is fine, but we believe a country's culture also has to be taken into account when looking at specific training programmes. Our forms are specifically designed for Bermuda.'' The new company offers group sessions, individual coaching and mentoring, designing specific programmes that maximise each person's learning capacity.

In developing what are known as `soft' skills, employees deal with such issues as team building, enchancing communication skills, developing leadership and customer service skills, as well as upgrading professional skills.

Performance Consultants feel their new programme will be especially useful for smaller companies. "We have taken the realistic approach,'' says Mr. Harris, "and because we have designed self-evaluation forms, consultation fees are greatly reduced.'' Mrs. Hayes points out that advice which encourages companies to "spend, spend, spend'' is erroneous. "And it's money thrown away if the training fails to address what a company actually needs. Sometimes firms are seduced by a programme seen elsewhere that looks impressive, so they say `That looks really good, let's do that!', without stopping to consider whether the methods -- or results -- are applicable to their own requirements. Our programmes take into account the fact that training for people in retail is quite different from training required in the insurance, or office environment.'' Mrs. Hayes, a former teacher who specialises in educating employees in improved learning and memory skills says, "Our research found that little has been done to find out how people actually learn. Not everyone learns in the same way or at the same rate. Very often, training has been carried out without knowing how the employee absorbs or assesses the information they are receiving.'' For this reason, Performance Consultants says that a follow-up programme is vital. "Decision makers want to be able to measure the impact of staff training,'' observes Mr. Mosher. "Quite often, the trainers come in from overseas -- and then leave. We are able to offer a follow-through programme which, further down the road, can evaluate the impact of that training on the company's performance.'' Their `Targetting for Success' programme is designed to process people through the training programme in three months. "We are talking about hiring -- and keeping -- good people,'' says Mrs. Hayes. "Improved training leads to more Bermudianisation in higher positions. Lack of training can often mean that people become discouraged and go off to another company, so this is also about protecting your investment.'' Mr. Harris, whose management of Willowbank won him Tourism's Longtail Award for `most improved hotel' in 1996, agrees. "We train for our clients, for the retention of both staff and customers, whereas the average person tends to look at a one-off solution.'' To further illustrate his point, he says, "If a person wants to get fit, they go to a gym, and if they are really ambitious, they get a personal trainer. If a person decides to take up tennis, they find a tennis coach. Our survey indicates that, at the moment, the Bermuda company traditionally trains to get fit. We are the personal trainers who are specialist-trained -- like the tennis coach. Or you could compare it with the doctor who's a general practitioner and the doctor who becomes a specialist.'' Performance Consultants International will be holding a series of free, one-hour consultations during October and November. For further details, telephone Jack Harris or Elizabeth Hayes at 295-2070.