Exclusive Interview | Pratibha Shrestha, Ex-HR Manager of Constance Moofushi, Maldives

“I would like to change the exploitation of line-level staffs which still persists in most of the organization despite Labor laws. Working in the hospitality industry means long hours and less personal life. It can be seen in most places that they are not rightly compensated- monetary wise or any other way.”

— Pratibha Shrestha

Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?

My hospitality journey started with an opportunity which I felt was worth exploring. I come from a non-hospitality background (Master in Economics) and was occupied with two jobs in Nepal when I got the opportunity to join Six Senses in 2008 as a training intern for 3 months with a possibility to get a permanent contract. There was a risk to leave 2 permanent jobs to get one probable permanent job abroad in a different field than I was in. I took the risk and grabbed the opportunity. I never had to look back after that and climbed the ladder up to Human Resources Manager from being a training intern.

My journey to Human Resources Manager has seen me taking different positions like Training Coordinator, Administrative Executive, Manager in Training- HR, Assistant HR Manager and finally HR Manager.

Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?

Hospitality is about human emotions and that is the most important factor. While giving your full effort on whatever you do, be genuine, be passionate and constantly innovate then nobody can stop you. You will outshine others with these characters and definitely leave a mark with success kissing your feet.

Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?

Attitude, passion and self-presentation are the attributes I look for during the recruitment process.

If someone wants to work with me, they have to give 100% (or more sometimes) effort on whatever they do. Be passionate, innovative and empathetic to staff needs.

Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

In this current scenario of COVID -19, health and safety is the prime factor impacting the hospitality industry.

Besides this, I can see an increasing interest of people in wellness and sustainability is impacting the hospitality industry. People are becoming more aware now and want to be a responsible guest leaving as low impact as possible to the environment whilst travelling. More and more people are getting inclined to overall wellness during holidays too. Gone are the days when you say cheating on holidays and just eat unhealthily and enjoy as if no tomorrow. Guests are more self-conscious. As I worked in the Maldives I am answering this through my experience there. Wellness activities like yoga, gym with instructor, healthy options in the menu other wellness activities on the weekly calendar is the must for the guests now. Hotels should change their strategies to meet this demand to sustain in the industry.

Editor: Tech is now an enabler for great hospitality. Can you share with us some of the techs that go into creating your guest experience?

Everyone loves recognition and the software that helps the hotels recognize the guests, their preferences and their special events is the most important one at this time. Opera is mostly used for this purpose in the hospitality sector. Besides this, online platforms like review pro which collates guests feedback from all the online sources, ‘at your wish’ software which helps to record guests maintenance issues, arrival and departure time etc, micros software for food and beverage orders and storage in stores

Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.

Hiring Process- in most of the places, staff are hired depending upon their qualification and experience and the other attributes like attitude, passion gets on the side. This restricts the bright inexperienced people to enter the industry. All HRs should be liberal on this and should not hesitate to take risks if you find the right talent

The exploitation of line-level staff - Working in the hospitality industry means long hours and less personal life. Undoubtedly line staffs are the ones who handle the floor until the last guests leave and work tirelessly for long hours. It can be seen in most places that they are not rightly compensated- monetary wise or Any other way. Labour laws are there but very few are following and compensating their staffs accordingly. Proper compensation for these frontline heroes should be practised everywhere.

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Exclusive Interview | Nikhil Pandit, Human Resources Manager, Fairfield by Marriott, Kharadi Pune

“We look for Positive attitude, Team Player, Product knowledge, Integrity & Leadership skills”

— Nikhil Pandit, Human Resources Manager, Fairfield by Marriott, Kharadi Pune

Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?

Nikhil: My journey started in the HR solutions from Adecco & then Randstad where I initially worked in the staffing sector for them. Post that I worked in Fortune ITC & then moved to my current role in Marriott. In my career I have worked with various sectors & gained good insights while working in the said sectors. It’s been a fruitful journey of 11 years in which I have learnt a lot. The biggest learning was basically in the pre-opening of Fair-field by Marriott Pune Kharadi in which my knowledge from the HR Solutions Company & compliance helped me in having a seamless opening of the property.

Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry?

Nikhil: Good communication, and by communication I mean able to actively listen to the guests concerns & being able to get them resolved. Also taking the feedback from the guests in the right spirit helps us in converting the guests to become a loyal customer thus getting repeated business. Good communication from everyone impresses the guests and this help us in succeeding in the industry.

Apart from communication you need to be a good observer and calm personality. An observer observers all the fine details and listens carefully which is how we are able to give a personalized service to each guest and create a wow moment for them which is also called an experience. Calm personality is equally important as you don’t know what come through that door. A guest who had bad start of the day, a celebrity , a guest who missed his flight or a family who is on vacation with lots of expectations. With a calm mind you can take correct decisions for your guest, company, team and yourself.

Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring? If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?

Nikhil: Turnover and hiring new employees can be both time consuming and costly for businesses. We try and retain as many hard-working associates as possible, promoting internal talent is the first priority that we in Marriott have. There are certain qualities we look for when hiring new employees, which often can be discovered in the first interview. Few of them being Positive attitude, Team Player, Product knowledge, Integrity & Leadership skills. For People who want to work with Marriott, I believe they should have the above said attributes but the most important would be is to have positive attitude in life towards everything & smart work.

Editor: What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

Nikhil: The biggest trend that I foresee in the hospitality sector is going to be the safety standards that will be followed post the Covid 19 normal. People will be more conscious about their well-being in the hotels rather than the luxury part. Also a lot of hotels would see more emphasis on accepting the new normal ensuring the safety and security of the associates and team.

Editor: Tech is now an enabler for great hospitality. Can you share with us some of the techs that go into creating your guest experience?

Nikhil: Marriott as a company believes a lot in being tech savvy. We have platforms such as GXP (Guest Experience) which enhances us in serving the guests more efficiently. It helps us in identifying repeat guests and anticipate their needs using past requests and case history. Collecting and managing guests preferences. Mobile chats with guests right from pre arrival to check out to ensure the guest journey is seamless. A guest experience is created from the time they think of taking a holiday or business trip and they start planning.

Marriott has made sure it is present on social media and interact with all kind of travellers by giving them great information and insight about the city, hotel, places to explore. Mobile check-ins are available at most of hotels, we have robots serving in some hotels , now with Covid-19 all our hotels will offer contact less dining experience in a sense you can see the restaurant & IRD menu on you mobile , you can order food on your mobile when you are in the comfort of your room, you can pay directly via QR code.

Editor: Two things you would like to change in the industry.

Nikhil: I as a person would certainly like the below mentioned changes in the industry

A) Parity in norms for operating

B) Ready pool of talent across the board

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Read More Human Resource Manager Interviews

Exclusive Interview | SHILPA NARAYAN, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER, COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT CHENNAI

“My mantra for Recruitment is simply to ‘look for the heart’”

— Shilpa Narayan

Tell us about your journey. How did it all start?

With over eight years of experience in Human Resources, Learning & Development and core Operations, and Bengaluru born, I majored in Hospitality Management as the dynamism of the sector excited me. My career in the hospitality segment commenced as a Corporate Leadership Trainee with Hyatt, specialising in Food & Beverage Service. 

Having gained thorough exposure across the Hotel Business and Operations, and spanning all portfolio of Restaurant Management, I further took over Divisional Training, where People, Talent & Development dawned upon as the true calling.  I further moved onto Hilton to handle Learning & Development, where I drove talent and culture for the hotel.

I joined the Marriott family in 2017 as the Training Manager for JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu, where I forayed back to Luxury and further took on an enhanced domain of Quality & Training Manager. I have been an aspirant to expand my portfolio to core Human Resources Management, and thereby joined Courtyard by Marriott Chennai to head the People & Culture function as the Human Resources Manager for the hotel.

I have contributed to and championed several initiatives in my Human Resources tenure, spanning across Change & Quality Management, Driving Innovation & Culture, Talent Acquisition & Youth Development, Talent Management & Learning and Employer Branding. I have been a recipient of the APEC Training Leader of the Year Award with Marriott and PeopleMatters Are You in the List Emerging HR Leaders Award Winner.

I am an alumnus from Christ University, Bengaluru and a passionate wine and food enthusiast who yearns to be an influencer of luxury and lifestyle.

What it takes to Succeed in this Industry?

The industry is extremely competitive and it requires a great amount of passion and perseverance to excel and make one’s mark.

What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring?  If someone wants to work with you, what should they do?

My mantra for Recruitment is simply to ‘look for the heart’. I wholly believe in hiring for attitude and training for skills. One must look at imparting the career opportunity to individuals who hold the opportunity as dearest to them

When the yearning for the job role is high, the learning and pursuit of performance and potential will naturally be high as well.

What are some of the challenges you see impacting the hospitality industry?

My key priority is to prepare and home-grow the talent for the future and thus look forward to enable the talent with skills and competencies that will help them be more ready for the dynamic road ahead.

As the focus of businesses across sector currently is on identifying and developing future ready talent, I would also like to work towards solving this challenge.  

What are some of the trends you see impacting the hospitality industry?

The industry is moving at a faster pace than ever. Development is at a boom with Brand Loyalty as the driver – hospitality stalwart organizations are in the big race.

Guest experiences are at a digital high, loyalty benefits spurring travel, food and beverage constantly innovating. Sustainability measures is what will define a major change across 2019 and 2020. These will brace a visible impact on in-room experiences for all travellers.