Exclusive Interview | Sunny Mehta, Director of Human Resources, Millennium Place Barsha Heights
/“With the dynamic situation in the market, we must review our revenue targets on monthly basis & similarly review the level of manning required to serve the expected level of business.”
Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?
It all started with the hospitality genes I received from my mother, which motivated me to go for my graduation in Hotel Administration from IHM Gwalior. It was a life-changer, from a shy, introverted and quiet kind of guy, as I was transformed into a confident and outgoing personality. I have been associated with hospitality since the year 2000 & worked for brands like Jaypee Hotels, Wyndham, Jumeirah, and Millennium, which gave me a solid foundation and a vision to grow. During my 21 years of journey, I also worked for a hotel management college based in Delhi and Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010. I worked in F&B, Butler service, Front Office, Education sector, Events & later planned to move to Admin department before getting married. Hence I moved to Learning & Development and Human Resources, to get a better work-life balance with family.
Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?
Like many, I also believe that there is no shortcut to success. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, courage, principles, honesty & sacrifices to get success in life. Talking about hospitality, you have to be genuine while serving your external customers (guests) and your internal customers (colleagues). You may face challenges in the way of honesty, but eventually, you would feel proud of yourself for not compromising on your principles of life. A lesson learned in the final year of my college is “It is better to be a small fish in Big Sea than being the big fish in a small pond”, when you are starting your career. This lesson, made me stick to big brands and 4-5 star hotels and I still have room to grow further.
Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?
We look for someone, who has the right attitude towards his life and who has a plan for his career growth. Having said that, we also try to find out how much action is being done on those plans. We also look for someone, who has a habit of constantly updating their software, I mean, who upgrades his/her skills and knowledge with the fast-changing world. Flexibility & passion for work is equally important. To be able to work in the international market, one must respect all religions and cultures.
Editor: What according to you can trainees do while they are training at hotels to make it a win-win for them & the hotel/unit?
Sunny: The formula at the start of your career is “Learn to Earn”. Usually, youngsters do the mistake of running behind money, from the start of their career. The point to understand is that if we focus on our development and work harder/think ahead of the competition, money will automatically follow us. The only way to grow is to master your own work, finish it before time and use the spare time to learn the tasks of your seniors. It is also important to have clarity of thoughts in mind, to be able to set small targets to achieve your BIG goal. Trainees need to stay focused, ask lots of questions, clarify the logic behind every new thing they learn, stay positive & dedicated towards their learning experience. During training, they can make crucial connections & should maintain a professional relationship to help them in their career.
Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry from an HR / People perspective?
Multi-Tasking is becoming the new normal of this era, where companies want to have flexible colleagues, who can work on any given task with the same dedication and honesty. The industry needs people who are all-rounders & who are open to this challenge. During a pandemic, some specialists have lost their jobs, because the jobs they were doing is no more required, to quote an example, I would say that the people working in the events industry have faced a lot of challenges after the big gatherings were not allowed. Even in the kitchen, where we used to look for specific chefs for each section of the kitchen, now we are looking for chefs, who can work in any section and are willing to learn new things.
Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.
I think it is time to leave the old system of setting yearly budgets and following them like the Bible. With the dynamic situation in the market, we must review our revenue targets on monthly basis & similarly review the level of manning required to serve the expected level of business. Second thing is to focus on the wellbeing of our colleagues and guests, as this has become the topmost priority, post-pandemic. We also need to focus on the ways to attract, develop and retain millennials.
Editor: What can we expect in the coming year?
The coming year is expected to bring a boom to the hospitality industry, as people start to travel again, after facing several restrictions in 2020-21. We need to be aware and alert of the situation at any given time. We need to be very good at analyzing numbers, happenings around the world & our industry, that should lead to quick decision-making, because if we are slow in making the decision for that moment, we may not be able to control the situation. After making a quick decision, involving the other leaders in the team, it is important that we cascade the decision and its benefits to the team, for them to act on them promptly. In the current times, slow and steady may not win the race but “Fast-and-consistent will beat the slow-and-steady”.
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