IDENTIFYING LUXURY HOSPITALITY TALENT FOR HARDSHIP LOCATIONS
To recognize and retain talent who will thrive in challenging locations, you must understand that luxury Hoteliers accustomed to operating solely in developed and/or urban locations are not likely to succeed. |
|
IDENTIFYING LUXURY HOSPITALITY TALENT FOR HARDSHIP LOCATIONS
To recognize and retain talent who will thrive in challenging locations, you must understand that luxury Hoteliers accustomed to operating solely in developed and/or urban locations are not likely to succeed. |
Catégorie : Monde - Carrières
- Carrière
Ceci est un communiqué de presse sélectionné par notre comité éditorial et mis en ligne gratuitement le 27-07-2020
Enregistré par la société Caribsearch Ltd.
Their odds of success are drastically reduced without prior hardship experience.
The cards are stacked against new hires lacking in exceptional resourcefulness, resilience, and prior remote working experience. Simple but profound. Hardship locations are in remote areas, i.e. wilderness, jungles, lesser developed countries and islands, arid deserts, mountainous regions, often only accessible by boats or puddle-jumpers (small prop planes).
Guests demographics typically are comprised of adventurous, well-heeled, worldly experiential-seekers for whom cost is of minor relevance. They expect timely, unpretentious, invisible personalized service with exceptionally high standards, comfort, culinary excellence, and activities.The synergy between filmmaking and luxury tourism is stunningly similarOn the surface, both industries project pure glamour to those on the outside looking in. Conversely, the people who create Blockbusters- as well as hospitality teams providing memorable experiences- labor relentlessly behind the scenes. The antithesis of glamorous.Expectation versus realityAsk yourself, what resources are you engaging to differentiate the wheat from the chaff for working in difficult locations (people that have leadership abilities required from those that do not)?
If your internal human resource recruiter or external search consultant is not familiar with the difficult assignment locale for which you are seeking talent, your hiring selections may be jeopardized, as these resources are less likely to recognize the abilities required to sustain and succeed. Consider cost per hire – look at your employee retention rate and turn-over statistics. Results will reflect a direct correlation between those who provide your talent: selecting recruiters from those with remote practice expertise versus those without personally experiencing the hardships inherent in a remote location, therein lies your disadvantage.
Another reality is that mobility and getting people to stay long enough in hardship locations often become more of a challenge as hoteliers mature and are raising families.The silver liningThe ‘new normal’ adds complexity to the above however it also provides opportunity as it is imperative now, more than ever before to identify unparalleled suitable talent who view obstacles as possibility.
Hoteliers with existing remote properties and forward-thinking developers embarking on building in hardship locations are already ahead of the curve. Despite obstacles inherent in difficult places, the upside is that your guests will enjoy peace of mind amidst clean air, open spaces, and low populations. These compelling positives combine to boost bookings and provide ultimate memorable guest experiences.
Rosewood Hotels and Resort’s chief development director, Karl Bieberach-Dielman
is on the right track. Rosewood is incubating development plans in lesser known destinations and targeting “affluent adventurers” for their residences, a burgeoning component of the upscale new norm marketplace. Other visionaries include Michael Meldman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Discovery Land Company’s portfolio and Victor International’s Chairman, David Johnson whose vision is now realized on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, Oil Nut Bay, a residential resort targeting HNWI.What Human Resource Professionals must recognize when seeking candidates for tough assignments around the globeIn order to ‘vet’ your potential hire, he/she must have excelled in, and fully grasp the fundamental aspects of living and working in remote locales:
1) Preparedness:
- Activating a plan for common natural disasters, such as...
- Tsunamis
- Hurricanes
- Blizzards
- Flooding
2) Mindfulness:
- Normally, healthcare is substandard in most lesser developed nations.
- Logistics can be difficult for supplies and materials, food and beverage
- Experience with emergency evacuations
- Crime – strong security protocols are critical in hardship locales
- Inferior communication, phone, WIFI, etc. are common
- Frequent power outages
- The ability to understand the culture, respect and train the locals.
- Suitable education may be nonexistent
- Remote locations lack shopping, entertainment, and cultural events.
- To forge solid Government relations
3) Must-have abilities:
- Positivity
- Resourcefulness
- Creative problem-solving
- Proactivity
- Anticipate guest needs
- Create and implement imaginative guest experience programs
- Awareness of the cultural challenges
- Prior experience managing and excelling in lesser developed locations.When the clock is ticking…What is the optimal ‘people sourcing strategy’ to expeditiously zero in on the talent you need now?
Regardless of your decision (whether to tap your internal Human Resources department or choose to outsource assignments), your recruiter ‘must be’ remote-savvy, well-connected and ideally has devoted years building relationships with talent who possess a successful track-record and expertise in your niche market area.
by Pamala Baldwin
|
|
