How to attract, recruit, and retain talent in the luxury hospitality industry? To answer the human resources challenges of a highly competitive job market, hotel groups have implemented new recruitment tools, career development programmes, and innovative communication strategies.
Charlotte Gauvin, Senior Vice President Global HR for Belmond, answers our questions about recruitment, the onboarding process, and career development and gives key advice for a successful career in luxury hospitality.
Can you tell us more about your recruitment process?
Belmond’s diverse collection of unique properties, from legendary trains to iconic hotels, is united under our collective expertise to curate incomparable genuine travel experiences.
While each property operates autonomously and makes its own business decisions (including identifying vacancies), all our properties look for talent who embody passion and creativity - those who can contribute to our purpose of perpetuating the legendary art of travel.
Our recruitment approach involves outreach through educational partnerships and Open Days to showcase career opportunities within our portfolio. We leverage professional platforms like LinkedIn to advocate our brand and inspire our followers (whether they are our own team, partners or potential candidates) with captivating stories of our properties, our brand and our people. This has helped increase the desirability and visibility of our brands (our properties also have their own LinkedIn page). Our hiring managers utilise LinkedIn to reach out to a wider audience, and we have seen an increase in the number of applicants through this platform.
Being a global company with 47 properties and part of LVMH, we also encourage internal mobility and therefore look to recruit talent within Belmond and the LVMH ecosystem.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion are pivotal in our hiring; we ensure fair assessments through our regular unconscious bias training. The selection process includes interviews with HR and department leads, along with interactions with potential colleagues when applicable. Recruitment is a two-way process, and we want to make sure that we are the right fit for each other.
How do you integrate new talent?
We adopt the same approach that we apply to guest experience for our employees. There is a warm welcome from the moment they join.
Each of our properties and offices creates a bespoke onboarding programme, providing comprehensive information that helps new talent navigate their new work environment. This includes personalised training schedules, mentorship opportunities and exposure to various departments to ensure a holistic understanding of their role.
Across all properties and offices, our HR teams organise an induction day to introduce new team members to our Belmond brand – from our portfolio to our values, our long-term goals – what it means to be part of LVMH and wider development & learning resources as well as professional networking opportunities available to them.
Through this approach, our new team members are given access to relevant knowledge, tools, and systems that allow them to seamlessly integrate into both their teams and the wider Belmond culture, and most importantly, they can start crafting their career journey with us.
What kind of career development programme do you offer your collaborators?
We offer an array of career development programmes at Belmond across various levels from early careers to senior leadership. We have several programmes targeting the next generation of talent.
In Italy, for example, we introduced ‘Belmond Academy’, an apprenticeship programme that combines classroom learning with ‘on-the-job' experience. Throughout the training, participants are offered a unique mentorship and training opportunity as they get their hands on different roles in our iconic hotels across Italy. The programme is recognised by Lavagna Accademia del Turismo and the Villaggio del Ragazzo Foundation. At the end of the programme, participants will receive a professional qualification certificate, with some being offered a seasonal placement at one of our properties.
With our focus on elevating the food & beverage experience across the portfolio, we are launching a brand-new F&B development programme to develop a strong pipeline of F&B talent in response to the growing demand within our portfolio.
We also offer leadership courses. These are just a few examples from within Belmond. Being part of LVMH also widens opportunities and possibilities for our teams who have access to LVMH training courses and mentorship programmes for example.
What internal mobility opportunities do you offer to your collaborators?
Our People are our greatest asset, and we like to think that joining Belmond opens a world of opportunities – both within our global Belmond portfolio and across 75 Maisons within LVMH. Our appraisal process goes beyond performance evaluation. It provides an opportunity for our teams to take charge of their own development and discuss their career aspirations with their managers so that together, they can identify training, development and even job opportunities for their next steps. There are plenty of opportunities across our portfolio, at our HQ and within the entire LVMH ecosystem.
What would be your best advice to have a successful career in luxury hospitality?
Luxury hospitality requires passion. Regardless of your role – whether you are guest-facing or performing administrative tasks - it’s important to have passion for what you do. Cultivate the attitude of going above and beyond – within and outside your job to demonstrate your ability to adapt and willingness to learn and try something new. Aspire to develop leadership skills early on – even if you’re not yet in a management position – as these will be critical as you progress through your career. Hone skills such as team management, conflict resolution, and strategic thinking. And remember to always play as a team.
What human qualities are you looking for in talents?
The three core values of our Employee Value Proposition reflect the qualities we are looking for: Act with Heart. Make the Moment and Be Remarkable. Empathy stands at the forefront of our recruitment criteria; our teams are consistently connecting with our guests so the ability to anticipate, understand and address our guests’ needs (particularly emotionally) is essential.
We also embrace individuality, advocating for every employee to bring their unique self forward. This authenticity is what fuels the exceptional, instinctive and unscripted service that creates exceptional moments and memories for our guests. Lastly, we look for creativity and entrepreneurial spirit; those who exhibit resourcefulness, creative problem-solving skills, and a proactive mindset to strive for excellence.
What are the key measures you have in place to enhance your company culture?
Employee Experience is a cornerstone of our success. We uphold our Reward Principles, ensuring fair wages for all - our employees, subcontractors and partners. Our approach to Employee Experience extends beyond talent development; we actively invest in our employees’ well-being – physically and mentally. Across the organisation, we arrange regular health & safety training and leverage awareness days such as World Mental Health Day, International Disabilities Day to raise awareness among our teams.
We nurture interaction across our diverse properties. We recently introduced a new employee engagement platform that helps our teams foster community spirit, and collaboration as well as a place to celebrate each other’s success. This includes communities like sustainability or PRIDE community in support of LGBTQIA+ team members.
We embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. It is, in fact, the essence of authenticity. Belmond was the first in the hospitality industry to form an LGBTQIA+ Advisory Board with its travel trade and media partners in 2016. Through the recommendation of the Advisory Board and with the support of our teams, Belmond launched 'Travel with Pride', an initiative using our iconic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express as a symbol for self-expression and advocacy towards a safe, inclusive space for the LGBTQIA+ community.
With hundreds of community initiatives, our local community engagement is robust. Our teams work alongside local partners to create meaningful programmes - some even enhancing guest experiences.
A lover of human interactions, Sonia started her journalism career in various media outlets before moving to London and shifting to the digital industry. Listening to her calling, she's picking up her pen to share the passion and ambitions of luxury hospitality.
