B2B: AZIMUT Recruitment Best Practices

The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times.

When employing people in the hotel industry, one of the main qualities that potential employees should possess is commitment. Without this attribute, the employee loses the passion and desire to delve into the problems and needs of the guests, to participate in guests' lives and in the life of the hotel. As a result, the employee loses the success in the energetic worldwide hotel industry.

It's important to remember that a hotel does not only sell a clean room, delicious breakfast and a soft bed, indeed it's much more. The hotel is cornerstone of the service industry which sells atmosphere and the feeling you are home even when you are in unfamiliar surroundings. The hotel staff are really critical to the success of the guest experience and the employee must be prepared to participate, care and influence the quality of service provided by the hotel.

By investing in our people we see the positive impact on our Profit and Loss. Therefore, it's highly important that we attract loyal and mature employees as our target is to reduce potential turnover of staff in the very beginning by recruiting the right people in the right positions. One of the potential possibilities to attract young and dynamic generation in hospitality is to work with students and to frame their loyalty from the beginning of their career life cycle.

This year, during the month of September, AZIMUT Hotels began a new and interesting recruitment program. Career Day was enrolled throughout the AZIMUT hotel chain in Russia and it all started in the beginning of the school year. All our hotels across Russia, from Vladivostok to Murmansk opened their doors for students. More than 800 people from more than 30 universities attended the AZIMUT Hotels Career Day.

The main purpose of the event was to attract students and young professionals to acquaint them with AZIMUT Hotels, with our mission, values, corporate culture and career opportunities in the international hotel chain.

During the event, the guests learned more about AZIMUT Hotels and directly about the hotel which they visited. Our Hotel Managers shared their knowledge about the work of their departments and career success stories. The hotels arranged master classes for Career Day participants in order to immerse them into the atmosphere of the hotel, and learn and share new and unusual skills providing valuable insight into the daily life of hotel employee.

 For example our hotel in Saint Petersburg organized master classes from the Executive Chef, Bar Manager, Housekeeping Management, and other departments of the hotel. During these activities guests were able to first cook chicken in oyster sauce, create the real Mojito cocktail, learnt how to make beds, the hotel way! In Astrakhan, guests learned how to form swans sheet and set restaurant tables for a VIP dinner. Ufa showed beautifully folded towels and bathrobes, and taught attendees to twist table napkins. In each property the Human Resources Manager shared best practices with students by presenting and discussing secrets of creating the perfect CV and writing cover letters. Then we gave the opportunities to the groups of students to have a question and answer sessions about the selection, recruitment and interview processes of applying for a job.

The hotel industry is one of the places for the fastest career development. However, pure hospitality people are devoted to this sphere by their spirit and nature. The talent of hotel Human Resources is to find the right people and to help them reveal in their career path, whether it be from receptionist to the senior hotel manager role or from house maid to Executive Housekeeper.

Career Day is now considered a best practice in the AZIMUT Hotels recruitment strategy and at the core of our culture and guiding principles. Whereby we have faith in people we hire; maintain open-door policies and work together to build an atmosphere of trust for our staff.

The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times.