Perho Quality – the way we work
For more than ten years now, Helsinki Culinary School Perho has been working intently on improving the quality of and appreciation for vocational studies in the hotel and restaurant industry. Perho’s quality system – Perho Quality – is a management tool used in planning the operations, in guaranteeing the smooth progress of the processes, for assessing procedures and results, and for defining necessary development and improvement measures.
Strategy for quality control
Vision: Perho is a leading and renowned European hotel and restaurant school, and has a considerable social impact in Finland.
As part of the Haaga Group, Perho improves the professionalism and competitivity of the industry and the basic professions. Furthermore, the proud professionals stay in the hotel and restaurant field, continually improving their own skills and the industry.
Mission:
Perho works in the hotel and restaurant industry to develop professional know-how and learning and to train professional high performers on the staff and management levels.
Helsinki Culinary School Perho is a private, one-field vocational school maintained by the Haaga Institute Foundation, and it educates cooks, waiters/waitresses and hotel receptionists for the hotel, catering and business industry. It meets the needs of the hotel and restaurant industry by developing professional skills and know-how on the staff and management levels. The operations encompass basic vocational studies, continuing studies, as well as business operations that serve educational purposes. Our special strength is our mastery of production and service processes.
Restaurant Perho functions as an on-the-job learning placement for the students in their immediate study environment. It offers high-quality restaurant services to its customers, aiming at impeccable customer service and good economic results, always with regard to its educational task.
In the national curriculum for vocational education, the tasks and aims, shared concerns and core skills shared by all fields are defined. An important task in Perho’s educational work is to support and strengthen the students’ abilities at all stages in the studies. Our aim is that the students of Helsinki Culinary School Perho bear responsibility for their own growth and development both professionally and personally. They have a sense of responsibility and respect towards other people. They observe differences between people and cultures in their conduct and taken an interest in international work and study opportunities.
Throughout the studies the school co-operates with the industry, making sure that the education corresponds with the professional standards of the working life. This approach promotes the graduates’ opportunities for employment and success in changing conditions. Students are also encouraged to develop themselves and to proceed into continuing studies. We aim to foster healthy self-esteem, appreciation for the profession, a sense of responsibility and co-operation skills in our students.
The studies are organized at the Helsinki Culinary School Perho in the form of contact studies and practical work tasks at workplaces. On-the-job learning outside the school is based on a written contract made between Helsinki Culinary School Perho and the company offering the placement.
Basic values of Perho
Customer orientation
Customer orientation at Perho means that we recognize and define our customers, their needs and their expectations. We grasp the significance of internal customership and the value of each employee and their work. We respect every customer and take care of their satisfaction. Our students are also our customers, and their satisfaction is very important to us, particularly in the long run. We are reliable, fair and impartial. However, individual life situations and learning styles of the students are also taken into consideration. We gather feedback from our customers on their customer satisfaction and assess and develop our operations on the basis of the customer results.
Co-operation
At Perho, commitment to co-operation means that we are able and willing to take responsibility, agree on shared rules and adhere to them, and view the rules critically and develop them. In order to succeed in our co-operation we learn to know each other. We appreciate and respect each other, our own as well as everybody else’s work, and share our skills and knowledge with others. From our students, we expect an ability to co-operate and to appreciate every member of our work community and the work they do. Our co-operation is supported by team work and by a model for a learning organization. We aim to foster collective learning and to promote equality, in accordance with the philosophy of sustainable development. We regard differences between people and their areas of expertise an important resource.
Ethically sustainable efficiency
Ethically sustainable efficiency at Perho means that we are enthusiastic about our work and that we maintain and renew our professional and environmental skills and knowledge. We are open-minded pioneers with an entrepreneurial spirit. We learn new things but do not cast away traditions that have proved their worth. We make use of the special expertise of each staff member and aim to reach synergy benefits and to network with appropriate co-operative partners. We are economical in purchasing goods and raw materials and use all resources sparingly and appropriately. We promote people’s well-being and make environmentally conscious choices. We teach the students our way of working and practice what we preach, while constantly looking for better alternatives for our operations. Our choices are guided by common sense and our own judgment, which means that the results of our operations are measured not only by their economic efficiency, but also by the fluency of the processes and the satisfaction of both external and internal customers.
Quality policy
The aim of the quality policy of the Haaga Group is to distinguish ourselves from our competitors in developing and producing high-quality knowledge and skills, educational services, and related side services.
Helsinki Culinary School Perho expects commitment to the objectives of the quality policy from all members of its work community. In addition to the objectives of the Haaga Group, one of Perho’s general quality objectives is customer satisfaction that creates success both for Perho and its customers.
In addition to customer orientation, it is our principle in carrying out our quality policy that both staff and management are totally committed to the practices of developing and assessing the operations and to following and documenting the operational principles.
1. Customer orientation
A basic condition for our success is customer orientation, which means that we know our costumers, anticipate their needs, and develop our operations constantly in relation to the customers’ needs, expectations, feedback and development suggestions. Perho’s most important customer groups are the students and the companies in industry.
Besides the satisfaction of external customers, quality requires good relationships between internal customers. From the perspective of services, the most important operative concept is process. The production of services consists of several processes forming internal customer relationships; in other words, the staff produces services to different staff groups. The satisfaction of the external customers demands that these internal customer relationships function smoothly, that there is ”internal customer satisfaction”. Every problem situation, even a complaint made by one single customer, must be understood as an opportunity to learn, to improve the quality of our operations, and to win back the customer’s trust.
2. Commitment of staff and management
Quality is not permanent. Without the continuous effort of every organization member, the performance of the whole organization weakens. The commitment of the whole staff to Perho’s basic values and to following the shared rules is a basic condition for a successful quality policy.
It is absolutely necessary that the management commits to, supports and participates in the quality development work. Resources directed to staff training, encouragement and promotion of well-being supports the growth and maintenance of a work culture in which development targets are recognized and corrective measures are undertaken when necessary.
3. Assessment of operation and results
The quality/performance level in the education department and the administration of the work community is measured by assessing their results, in other words, the efficiency, economy and impact of the operations. Customer feedback is gathered systematically for assessment purposes. In addition to profitability and productivity key figures, the quality of the business operations is measured by assessing customer satisfaction and the company image, and the school’s ability to operate as a suitable on-the-job learning placement for the students.
In addition to self-evaluation and internal audits, external audits are used for assessing the operations. The school applies for international accreditation for the study programmes.
4. Documentation
The operational principles of the quality system are documented in the quality hand book which presents the development and assessment targets that are most important to the quality of Helsinki Culinary School Perho. Also the service points, core processes, the persons in charge, the central quality factors and the methods used for achieving quality, plus the used measurement and assessment methods, are listed in the quality handbook.
In addition, the quality handbook includes Helsinki Culinary School Perho’s strategy, conditions, methods and mechanisms for carrying out quality control as well as the techniques used for quality control and quality check.
Quality strategy and conditions of quality control
Quality control in the Haaga Group
The education provider of Helsinki Culinary School Perho is the Haaga Institute Foundation which also maintains the Haaga-Perho education services. The quality control strategy of Helsinki Culinary School Perho has been defined together with the management of the Haaga Group and it is carried out in accordance with the guidelines set in the Foundation’s quality strategy.
The Haaga Group is a privately owned development concern in the service industry which uses its synergy resources to create contacts and to promote, enhance and direct the knowledge and skills of its operational units. We promote the national success of the service industry by using the synergy and knowledge possessed by the Haaga Group.
The educational units of the Haaga Group are leading centres in their own professional fields in Europe. The business operations of the Haaga Group offer an economically profitable and modern learning environment. We recognize needs and opportunities for development in the market and react to them in co-operation with many fields related to the industry.
In each unit of the Haaga Group, the highest management level or heads of department are responsible for the practical implementation of quality control and quality policy as a part of their normal management tasks. It is the responsibility of the Haaga Group’s management to ensure that Helsinki Culinary School Perho is managed by professionally skilled staff that is committed to developing and maintaining quality.
Conditions of quality control in Helsinki Culinary School Perho
The most important methods of quality control in Helsinki Culinary School Perho are Total Quality Management (TQM), the EFQM criteria in the assessment of operations and results, and the international accreditation of the study programmes.
Central conditions of quality control are a professionally skilled management and staff who are committed to quality. Other conditions include the functional and profitable use of material resources and a continuous gathering and use of information. The school’s management is responsible for creating and maintaining these conditions, following the general principles of quality management.
Quality strategy
At Perho, systematic quality control is carried out so that the annual operation plan is based on collectively defined strategic policies. The definitions of policy take into account the changing operational environment and the needs for development revealed in the assessments. Liabilities are assigned for the operational plan and the budget.
The management group of Helsinki Culinary School Perho includes representatives from all staff groups/service points. It is the duty of the each member of the management group to do their share in updating the work instructions, assessing the operations, and informing both management and staff as regards their own service points, in co-operation with the Quality team.
The quality team assists in the practical quality work by maintaining and updating the quality handbook, by gathering feedback and making feedback summaries, and organizing internal audits. The quality team organizes its own tasks in accordance with the aims defined by the director.
Each member of Perho’s staff participates in quality work by acting in accordance with the basic values and by following collectively agreed rules and the work instructions of their own service point. The quality team updates the instructions in co-operation with the staff of each service point.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
The aim of Total Quality Management at Helsinki Culinary School Perho is to maintain and develop the operational conditions of the work community, to look for future opportunities, and to define the direction for the operations with regard to regulations and norms so that the collective objectives can be reached. Collective thinking as a concept and a management tool has already become a part of the school’s operations. In practice, collective thinking means that the various staff groups are heard, and that matters or decisions are prepared and procedures defined together openly. Rights and responsibilities have been distributed widely and the management consists of persons with a wide range of expertise to form a sound basis for decision-making. The conditions needed for high-quality work and development are created for the school’s staff. Opportunities for participating actively in the development of operations are given also to the external and internal customers, particularly to students and to representatives of the working life.
The EFQM and the definition of the central targets of assessment and development
The operations of Helsinki Culinary School Perho are described as operational and result areas that have been defined in the EFQM so that processes for setting and planning objectives, procedures and assessment and improvement systems are defined for each area. A description of these operational principles, rules, and methods of assessment and improvement are presented as process charts with more detailed descriptions. The processes have been documented in the quality handbook and they are termed the central targets of assessment and development.
In an expert organization that provides educational services, the EFQM area of processes holds a key role. This is why Perho’s operations have been divided into service points that provide services to internal and external customers. Every staff member works in one or several of these service points. The basic task and operational principles of each service point have been documented. The most important quality factors (criteria), in other words, the elements of quality and the methods of achieving it, have been defined together. The fulfillment of the criteria is measured by way of external and internal audits, self-assessments, management surveys, official inspections and auditing of the accounts. For assessment purposes, feedback is gathered from the students, representatives of the working life and the staff.
The study programmes of Helsinki Culinary School Perho were accredited in 1995 by the EFAH organization that was disestablished in the year 2007. Subsequently it has been agreed that Helsinki Culinary School Perho will apply for international accreditation for its operations also in the future, or otherwise take care of its international comparability, in order to support quality control.
In accordance with the EFQM, our shared objective is to seek excellence and to improve our operations continuously. The assessments of the operations and results indicate that we hold a top position both nationally and internationally. Perho’s study programmes are internationally accredited, the service standards set for the service points are met, and the goals determined in the operational plan are reached.
Quality check
Commitment to service
The aim of the curriculum is to provide the students with versatile professional skills plus special expertise in an area of their choice in the hotel and restaurant industry, and thus to support their future employment and ability to lead independent lives. Only co-operation between the school and the students can ensure that students find work after graduation, have enthusiasm for further studies and life-long learning, and take control of their own lives. Helsinki Culinary School Perho is committed to organizing the education in such a manner that the student will acquire a wide range of basic professional skills plus some specialized skills in service of the industry. Students will stay enthusiastic about self-development and life-long learning, and find employment after graduation.
Commitment to studies
The students must also bear their own responsibilities. In order to reach the aims of the study programmes, the students must participate in the tuition, follow the collectively defined rules, participate in remedial instruction and take extra assignments if necessary, and hold a positive attitude toward the school community and to learning in general.
Assessment of study results
At Helsinki Culinary School Perho, quality check is carried out also with the help of working life representatives, who are used whenever possible in assessing the learning results. Practical work assignments can be organized at external workplaces or representatives of external companies can be invited to the school to assess the learning. The vocational skills demonstrations defined in the curriculum provide data for making comparisons and the feedback received from the workplaces of graduates give information about the graduates’ success in the working life.
Learning results are assessed also by participating in professional skills competitions and in national projects for assessing learning results.
Benchmarking
The benchmarking system is used for supporting the assessment and development of operations. Our co-operative partners are approved schools or educational units that operate in the service industry but are not actual competitors. According to agreement, the targets under observation are the results of the operations, and the partners have agreed together on the principles of calculating the key figures.
Quality control recommendation
The national quality control recommendation for vocational education is actively used for supporting the quality work at Helsinki Culinary School Perho.
Swot-analyses
The Swot-analyses are used at Helsinki Culinary School Perho as tools for quality control in assessing the state and position of our school community in a changing operational environment. The analyses are made annually in connection with the strategic planning. Questionnaires, self-assessments and the results of various reports are used as the basic information for making the analyses. The analyses, in turn, are used in defining how to make use of our existing opportunities or to recognize external threats either as potential victories or crisis situations demanding reactive measures. The Swot-analyses are carried out on the department level first, after which the management group makes a summary for the purposes of a 8-field analysis.
Assessment of operation and results
Quality assessment is carried out at Helsinki Culinary School Perho in the form of cross-section assessment and continuous assessment.
Cross-section assessments
Cross-section assessments refer to the assessment of the whole operations (with assessment itself being the object of assessment). It is an interpretative analysis of whether we have reached the objectives set by ourselves and by the society. These assessments are carried out every three or four years at least. The board of the foundation decides when and from which quarter the external audit is commissioned. In addition, Perho participates in the national assessments organized by the National Board of Education, applies for quality prizes, and takes care of keeping its international accreditations up to date. These external assessments made of the entire operations are preceded by a self-assessment carried out according to a previously set criteria. The entire school community participates in these self-assessments, in which the results of continuous assessment are also used.
Continuous assessment
Continuous assessment is based on customer feedback and personal self-assessment in which staff members evaluate their own work from the perspective of the quality standards of the service point in question. Each member of the work community has the right and duty to have an assessment and development discussion based on a self-assessment with his/her superior. The aim of the discussion is to set new personal objectives. Customer feedback is gathered from the students, graduates, working life representatives and restaurant customers. Summaries of the feedback are discussed and development measures are decided on in the management group, the teachers’ meeting and the staff meetings of restaurant Perho.
Internal audits / development discussions are held in the service points at least every second year. The audits are organized by the quality team and an audit group nominated by representatives of the service point. Reports are made of the internal audits, and they include the strengths and development targets recognized of the service points. Based on the minutes, the service point’s representatives carry out development measures and report on them. In the internal audits, special attention is given to learning-oriented work procedures and a constructive attitude towards developing the work. Representatives of the working life take part in the continuous external assessment by giving feedback about the students, both during the education and after graduation.
The management survey is performed by the highest management of the Haaga Group at regular intervals.
For more information, contact:
Marit Nieminen,
tel. (09) 5807 8646 marit.nieminen(a)perho.fi or
Pekka Selenius (09) 5807 8635 or pekka.selenius(a)perho.fi
Ravintolakoulu Perho, Helsinki Culinary School, Perhonkatu 11, 00100 HELSINKI