Your best third stewardess tells you, quietly, in the pantry, that she is leaving at the end of the season because there is nowhere for her to go. She is right — you have never once talked to her about her career. Meanwhile you are about to start a disciplinary process with someone else, and you have no documentation at all. Both problems have the same root: nobody wrote anything down.
Training Plans and the Interior Training Record Book
GUEST training sits within the IAMI-governed GUEST programme, which combines classroom units with recorded onboard experience captured in the Interior Training Record Book (TRB). As HOD you are usually the person who supervises and signs off recorded tasks.
- Treat the TRB as a live document, not a leaving present. Sign entries when the task is done and done well.
- Sign honestly. A signature saying someone can carry a silver service they cannot carry is a disservice to them and to the next yacht.
- Build a simple training plan per crew member: what they will learn this season, who will teach it, how it gets evidenced.
- Support the training pathway — GUEST units at the appropriate level, plus the sea service and certificates needed for progression.
Be accurate about what training is. GUEST is governed by IAMI and delivered by approved GUEST Training Providers; the PYA is a partner, not the accreditor. Be equally accurate about xplor: it is not an accredited GUEST provider, and nothing in this course awards or counts toward a unit, certificate or Certificate of Competency.
Retention
| Driver | What it means onboard |
|---|---|
| Development | A visible route from third to second to chief |
| Respect | Being asked, not just told; credit given publicly |
| Rest | Leave that is actually taken |
| Fairness | Rosters and time off that are not favouritism |
| Voice | A HOD who acts when something is raised |
Money matters, but crew rarely leave a good department over money alone. They leave a HOD.
Resignation
When someone resigns, resist the urge to take it personally or to punish them with the worst rota for their notice period. Run a genuine, calm exit conversation — what would have kept you, what should I change — and act on the pattern if you hear it three times. Confirm notice against the SEA, handle repatriation and outstanding leave properly, and give an honest reference.
Dismissal, Done Properly
Dismissal is a Captain and shipowner decision, taken under the yacht disciplinary procedure and the SEA. What the HOD owes the process:
- Documentation. Contemporaneous notes of performance conversations, dates, what was said, what was agreed.
- Warnings. Informal, then formal, unless the conduct is genuinely gross.
- A chance to improve. A clear standard, a timeframe, and support to reach it.
- The right to be heard. The crew member knows the allegation and can respond, and can be accompanied.
- Consistency. The same conduct treated the same way regardless of who it is.
Take advice via the management company. Employment law varies enormously by jurisdiction and flag.
Onboard Notes
- Undocumented performance problems become undismissable performance problems.
- Never dismiss in anger, at 0200, mid-charter, in front of the team.
- Retention is built in the boring months, not in the exit interview.
- General guidance, not legal advice. xplor is not an accredited GUEST provider and nothing here awards or counts toward a unit, certificate or CoC.