The recent win of the award for Best HR Person of the Year by Kempinski’s Regional Director of Training - Middle East and Africa, Karen Thorburn, at the hotly contested Hotelier Middle East Awards 2009, reaffirms the hospitality group’s unwavering dedication to the welfare and ongoing development of its staff.
The prestigious awards ceremony was attended by around 600 of the regional hospitality industry’s finest, who gathered to honor their colleagues' achievements, on 14 October at Madinat Jumeirah.
Thorburn, who has in the past led Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast, Australia, in the building of its hotel school and developed a national framework for hoteliers’ learning and development at TAFE, is credited with turning around 13 hotels in the region, working closely alongside the hotels’ general managers. Her training methods have gained her the unofficial title of ‘global director of FISH management’ which is built around the traits 'be there', 'play', 'make their ‘day' and 'chose your attitude'.
“Karen was selected as the winner based upon her dedication to coaching and training throughout her career, which now forms the core function of her regional role. This is a great recognition from industry leaders in this region and proves that Kempinski has selected the right people for the right roles, and that if there is one thing we do best, it is our commitment to people management and development,” says Ulrich T. Eckhardt, President Kempinski Middle East & Africa.
In the spirit of the company’s vision that “it is all about people”, the hospitality group invests heavily in people development, with direction flowing in a top-down manner. Reto Wittwer, CEO Kempinski personally endorses the group’s talent finding and grooming programs. The responsibility of identifying staff with high potential is now placed directly on all GMs and regional presidents, who have been directed to scan their staff for star employees, to go through a tailor made career development program that will groom them to be the company's future leaders.
Both Wittwer and Eckhardt stand firmly against staff layouts in downturns and the company has continued to invest in staff advancement despite the economic situation and tighter profit margins. Kempinski’ special Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) program is still taking place across the globe in collaboration with Reims Management School of France with a vision to give all the company’s future leaders the necessary tools to steer the company into prosperity.
Moreover, just a few weeks ago, all Kempinski's HR and Training Managers in the region underwent special training at the Kempinski Training Academy in the UAE. The policy has shown a highly positive return-on-investment in the form of high satisfaction rates in employee satisfaction surveys. “People are our most valuable asset in this labor-intensive industry, and employee satisfaction remains the key to guaranteeing guest satisfaction and long-term success,” says Eckhardt.