Luxury Hotelier - November 2007 - (Page 64)

64| Insight Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne Access to the industry from campus Reaching out to potential employees on campus can be a strategic and beneficial decision s competition for graduates from business and hospitality management schools increases across both traditional and nontraditional sectors, luxury hotels may need to reconsider their approach to recruiting and retaining talented young professionals. At Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, we have seen a marked increase in the number of consultancy firms and banks building relationships with top hotel schools to increase their presence on campus. And given their tendency to offer a more generous compensation package at hiring, these firms and banks are having a certain success—to the cost of the STEPHEN hospitality industry. FISCHER To ease access to the labor market, the Internships and Stephen Fischer is Career Services Centre at EHL a career services adviser at acts as a liaison between stuEcole hôtelière dents and recruiters. A series de Lausanne, of information and recruitment Switzerland. days held each semester allow potential employers who visit campus to make presentations about their companies and interview students. Certain smaller hotel groups, including Design Hotels AG, have begun offering internships and graduate positions with much more direct responsibility than in the past. An increasing number of luxury groups, including The Rocco Forte Collection, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Kempinski Hotels and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, all now send A Each semester, students at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne take part in information and recruitment days to get one-on-one time with potential employers, which benefits both the students and the employer. senior members of their human resources management, as opposed to junior recruiters or non-human resources staff, to do recruiting at top hotel schools. As at consultancy and finance firms competing for these top candidates, the front-running luxury hotels also ensure new hires direct mentoring by, and access to, senior hoteliers, which increases the sense of belonging and pastoral care and enhances both progress and integration into the company culture. Luxury groups are extremely well represented in various high-profile events at top Swiss schools, from industry forums on spa development or finance to guest speaker series and co-branded industry trade magazines. All of these interactions help build brand image on the campuses and reinforce the actual recruitment efforts. Students take part in such events keenly and in general are very pleased with the opportunities they have. Students are demanding in terms of the positions they are offered, and they also have their own definition of what makes a good employer. In student Oliver Herweg’s view: “A good employer is someone who can understand the worries and the expectations that students have and who can offer them a career plan. In hospitality, a good employer would offer training programs and would be able to differentiate itself from the competition, if only in the way in which the company presents itself. There is no point in telling us that the company’s most important assets are its staff, because that’s obvious.” Recent graduates and human resources professionals from top companies agree on one central principal: Although the formal part of one’s education is coming to a close, life-long learning, or as Kempinski phrases it, “developing leadership and business potential from among our ranks,” continues forever. Luxury Hotelier | November 2007 | www.LuxuryHotelier.com http://www.LuxuryHotelier.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Hotelier - November 2007

Luxury Hotelier - November 2007 Contents Editor's Letter Publisher's Letter Inform: News and Notes Network: People Personalities: Traditional Innovator Insight: Smith Travel Research / The Bench Insight: Ypartnership Properties: A Front-Row Seat to Moscow Properties: Northern Star Inspire: Outdoor Showers Deliver: Wellness and Fitness Protocols: The Real Deal Insight: Cornell University Innovate: In-Room Technology Development: Global Project Pipeline Indulge: Coffee and Tea Insight: Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne Connect: Regional Marketing Update: IH/M&RS Luxury Product Collection Dossier: Davide Bertilaccio of The Rocco Forte Collection’s Le Richemond

Luxury Hotelier - November 2007

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