LOUVRE HOTELS GROUP’S RECRUITING APPROACH
Amine Moukarzel, president of Louvre Hotels Group Mena/golden Tulip, talks to HN about the importance individual character traits have as opposed to qualification and experience.
How are you making the hospitality profession attractive to new/ existing recruits?
This profession is more of a lifetime mission, where actions speak louder than words. In keeping with that spirit, I would like to quote Arapaho, a tribe of Native American heritage, who famously said, “Where there is true hospitality, not many words are needed.”
That is a reality I have grown to learn very well, after entering the industry, which is clearly communicated when talking to new recruits or associates who see and feel the passion, value and the happiness behind the words. Furthermore, they gradually come to understand the care and motivation we instill to help them build long and prosperous careers, filled with incredibly rewarding experiences driving them to thirst for more.
What are the challenges faced and how are you dealing with these?
The main thing to do is to revert back to basics by remembering that people are hospitable by nature. As such, they enjoy tackling challenges faced by exercising patience, being attentive, considering the other’s point of view and reflecting on what is said. After all, one of the highest rewards in this industry is learning through real-life experiences.
What are the qualifications/qualities you look for in new recruits?
Many people have the qualifications, but lack the qualities needed, which becomes clear when they begin to communicate. While the recruiting process takes into consideration elements such as gender, nationality and race, we nonetheless use these to bring out the strengths in the potential candidates being interviewed.
To that effect, those hoping to qualify for employment must score at least an 11/15 based on the following three core elements called ‘The Mayer Key Competencies; • Communicating ideas and information • Working with others in teams • Collecting, analyzing and organizing information • Each of the four additional elements has an individual score of four points. These are: • Problem solving • Using technology • Planning and organizing activities • Exhibiting effective mathematical
abilities
What channels do you use when recruiting?
We use many platforms. However, I am against hiring head-hunters as they usually have their own hidden agenda based on profit. As such, they generally tend to push the wrong candidates our way, which is unethical.
On the other hand, the most effective way is a phone call. Another equally effective gateway to finding new recruits is professional social media platforms. What is distinctive about these is that one finds career seekers, rather than job hunters. Lastly, employing internal channels has its merits that habitually pay off.
How can someone looking for a hospitality job better promote himself/herself to you?
When considering a candidate, we look for individuals who come across as truthful and honest. Most of all, they need to be quite presentable and have a strong personality. In other words, I am not really worried about competence, but confidence and the desire to learn is essential, which is also why leaving ego out of the equation is a must.
Do you have any internal educational programs/affiliations with hospitality schools?
We have one of the best training networks that consists of 90 courses offering nine different modules, varying from hospitality studies and soft skills to management and team building. We also incorporated our work with the Emirates Academy in service of the hospitality industry. In addition, our own ‘U’ University in France maintains a number of courses for individuals in various hospitality positions all the way to general managers. Lastly, our e-learning platform via Genius 4 offers plenty of options to those who wish to expand their knowledge and learn about future trends.
We need to develop more national talent in the countries and communities we serve through partnerships between the public/private sectors