HOTEL NEGRESCO REDEFINES ITS VALUES FOR AN EMPLOYER BRAND DRIVEN BY EXPERTISE (France)
The legendary hotel in Nice has embarked all its teams on a new journey, positioning its values as a shared foundation, serving both the guest experience and the employee experience. |
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HOTEL NEGRESCO REDEFINES ITS VALUES FOR AN EMPLOYER BRAND DRIVEN BY EXPERTISE (France)
The legendary hotel in Nice has embarked all its teams on a new journey, positioning its values as a shared foundation, serving both the guest experience and the employee experience. |
Catégorie : Europe - France - Carrières
- Carrière
Article rédigé par Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine le 22-01-2025
 Valérie Nyul, directrice des ressources humaines, et Lionel Servant, directeur général du Negresco à Nice
Crédit photo © Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine
Supported by a team of ambassadors, they shared with Journal des Palaces a strategy that includes a redefinition of the Negresco employer brand, centered on five core values serving excellence and sustainability. These values, the product of an extensive process of reflection and internal exchanges, now form the cornerstone of an organization that is both dynamic and respectful of its heritage.
Five values for a living legacy
Hotel Negresco’s modernization ambitions are built around five key values, identified and defined through collaborative efforts between the executive committee and a coach specializing in organizational transformation. These were further enriched by feedback from employees who participated in workshops throughout the process:
• Expertise: at the heart of service and the guest experience, fostering delight and loyalty.
For Lionel Servant, excellence fuels “the success, profitability, independence, and sustainability of the Negresco.” It is a key criterion in recruitment, sought through candidates’ passion. “Technical skills contribute to professional quality but not emotional quality, while passion drives excellence,” the GM explains.
One idea that emerged from workshops with employees was placing full-length mirrors in all back-of-house areas to ensure immaculate grooming. “One of the goals of redefining these values was also to project ourselves into the future,” adds Valérie Nyul. “And our long-term goal is the Palace distinction. We cannot envision achieving this without the value of excellence.”
• Dedication: encouraging talents to excel, supported by initiatives such as sponsoring employees’ participation in sporting events.
“We have supported employees who are involved in sport, either individually or as part of a team, by sponsoring their participation in various events, such as the marathon and the Inter'Hôtels Côte d'Azur raid," illustrates the GM.
• Accountability: actively contributing to the hotel’s heritage and modernization.
“Everyone has to be accountable for the hotel's heritage, beyond accountability in terms of practices, procedures, etc.” says Valérie Nyul. Lionel Servant concurs: “Within accountability lies a contribution, not just a duty. To nurture excellence, one must be both responsible and engaged.”
• Teamwork: a pillar strengthened by cross-departmental initiatives, facilitating communication across services.
This value was reinforced through workshops encouraging team spirit across departments. "This cooperation between teams is crucial. Teamwork is a value we really need to invest in and work on, to ensure that the teams are united, united and transparent. For that to happen, there has to be dialogue," enthuses the manager.
• Dialogue: encouraging everyone, including seasonal workers, to express themselves and share a sense of belonging.
And the Human Resources Director explains: “These values are not just words on a poster, but guidelines, associating values with what we expect from our managers and teams.”
A collaborative process and managerial dynamic
To embody and bring these values to life, a team of ambassadors was named. "We have chosen five ambassadors to pass on these values and bring them to life among our teams. These people are natural leaders, recognized by employees", explains Lionel Servant. “There are five of them, including Hélène Seropian, our communications and media manager, Daniel Dragomir, deputy manager, N La Plage, Virginie Lafon, our general housekeeper, Benjamin Larbi, bar manager and Javier Guijarro, our reception manager," adds Valérie Nyul.
During the year devoted to defining these values, the team, accompanied by coach Claire Couroyer, founder of TransHumans, organized a series of 14 collaborative workshops and a staff meeting. These moments of exchange enabled all employees, including seasonal workers, to make these values their own. The first stage took place under the guidance of project manager Adrien Majeranowski, who was appointed Training and Service Quality Manager on January1, 2025. After communication and values-sharing workshops with an ambassador and a member of the management committee, the framework was set.
From now on, the challenge is “to bring this dynamic to life”, insists Valérie Nyul. To ensure this, each month, a value is selected and the ambassadors organize meetings in several departments to discuss this value. Hélène Seropian shares her experience: "During the presentations, I start by discussing with the teams their understanding of the month's value. Above all, these meetings are punctuated by concrete personal examples of how this value has been put into practice. “These exchanges foster a real sense of belonging and show that everyone has a role to play in the hotel's success," assures the ambassador.
A real “breadcrumb trail” for the manager, a “foundation” and even a “bible” for the HR director, this work also has virtues from a managerial point of view. The fruitful exchanges around values have helped to free up the floor, to encourage employees to make suggestions, to get involved in the life of the company, and not just by “acting” through their respective missions.
But this new dynamic has also had an impact on department heads and managers. While directors and department heads are asked to refer to the values during interviews and in their day-to-day supervisory duties, it has also had the merit of forging a stronger link between middle management and top management. "The introduction of these values and their sharing has enabled us to integrate our department heads a little more closely into the management team. From now on, we schedule quarterly meetings with our department heads, and follow up on our values with them," explains Lionel Servant.
Enhancing talent attraction and retention
In a competitive industry, the Negresco leverages its uniqueness. “We’re not part of an international chain; we’re independent, but we offer enriching careers and attractive working conditions,” emphasizes Lionel Servant.
Here, seasonal workers are not excluded from employer branding efforts and personal development opportunities. At Negresco, these employees are integrated as full-fledged collaborators. Training, induction days, involvement in workshops... “If you talk about value and an employee present from April to the end of October doesn't know about it, it's not relevant; he has the same guests as the other employees,” says Lionel Servant. Everything is done to make them feel part of the Negresco family. “Our aim is to make them want to come back and, for some of them, to sign a permanent contract," adds Valérie Nyul. “We want them to feel part of the life of this house, even if it's only for six months, and to feel that they belong, that they're part of it," she continues.
The modernization doesn't stop there. The hotel's website will soon be redesigned to highlight the employer brand, with a manifesto and lively testimonials from the teams.
By relying on strong, shared values, Hôtel Negresco has been able to breathe new life into its corporate culture. In addition to defining its employer brand, the hotel was able to draw several lessons from this implementation.
A veritable virtuous circle has been formed, by actively involving teams, relying on ambassadors and translating values into concrete action. As Hélène Seropian sums up: “These values are not just professional principles, they are also human values that everyone can take with them.”
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