ECHO 2016 COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Ms. Neeraja
HR Manager,
Sheraton, Hyderabad
Have international companies brought in
better standards in terms of HR and pay?
International companies can talk about
better standards and can only do as much,
the rest is in the hands of the Indians to do
what they need to do. The other sectors
might be paying well such as the ITS and
the MNCs but the Hospitality industry
needs to improve pay if they want the
attrition rate to go down. Better standards
could also mean better employee
treatment and better work hours.
What more can be done by Hotels to make
a career in Hospitality a lucrative one?
The Hotels can set better standards of
treatment for employees and give better
monetary incentives to do better. Another
thing the Hotels can do is reduce work
hours and value manual labour more and
ensure all employees are equally
respected irrespective of their job profile.
The Hotels can increase the pay of
employees and ensure that a lot of
investment is done for their betterment,
both in terms of physical and mental
conditions.
Is passion enough to sustain one in the
long run?
I think that passion might sustain
individually, however if there is nothing to
keep that passion going the individual tends
to get bored and loses interest in his/her
work. Therefore it is equally important to
keep the flame ignited to keep one
motivated.
Why are attrition levels so high in
Hospitality in your opinion?
Over Expectations, Low pay, long work
hours. No respect for the individual’s job
profile stress
What is your opinion about in house
recruiting and 3rd party recruiting
agencies?
In house recruiting works well as long as
the interviewer KNOWS what he/she wants
or is looking for in the candidate.
Sometimes in house recruiting does suffer
because the interviewer may fail to
recognize certain aspects or maybe is
aware of them but goes ahead with it
anyway because of the pressure to fill
vacant position. The interviewer should
have good knowledge about body language
and verbal cues. He/ she should learn to
recognize the tone and the vocabulary of
the candidate. Only then can the Hotel have
good efficient employees. Grooming should
be thoroughly inspected because it’s the
first impression. The in house recruiter
should learn to sift through for the better
candidates as it creates a good impression
for the guest. 3rd party recruiters are
helpful when the in house recruiter does
not have any experience with interviewing
and hiring. The Hotel should however
ensure that the money paid to the 3rd party
should be worth the investment.
Employee profile exchange from hotel
does it effect the employee?
Profile exchange from other hotels does
help because you get a fair idea about the
employee. But the exchange should be
completely unbiased. It does affect the
employee in terms of reputation and the
rapport built with the previous employer
and organization. If the employee has left
on a bad note, the review should not be
sugar coated. If the employee displayed
exceptional skills and has still left the job
without any intimation, the HR department
can consider giving a good review. I
strongly feel that an honest employee
profile exchange should be given.
What the policy of recruiting a fresher and
an experienced candidate?
For a Fresher: Grooming ,Body Language,
Vocabulary, His/ her tone. For an
experienced candidate: Work experience,
Body language, Diction, Way of putting
things across, Job profile knowledge,
Stability, Emotional Quotient, Reputation
with the previous organization, Behavioral
Interviewing Skills.
Your suggestions to our III year students to
get hired by international brands?
My suggestion would be to be prepared and
groom yourself properly. Watch YouTube
tutorial videos for better knowledge as to
how better to answer your recruiter. Watch
videos for proper makeup (for the ladies)
and watch videos on how to knot ties
properly (for the gentlemen) Wear neat and
crisp clothes Do not rattle off answers like
you’ve memorized them but understand
the question first and speak fluently. Stay
calm and composed and avoid using words
like “Ya”. Read a lot of self help books.
In your opinion should a fresher look for
position or brand when being hired?
I feel the brand doesn’t matter. The day you
get a Management Trainee offer, do not
look back and do not think twice, accept the
offer. You can always change your brand
once you have graduated from the
Management Trainee career track.
Q. Branding of a Hotel-Does training
department play a role?
The training department’s role is
extremely significant in helping reinstate
the brand identity and promise among
our trainees. Through a rigorous,
comprehensive and interactive series of
sessions, the values and spirit of the
brand are imbibed by our trainees, who
then take up the additional role of being
the brand’s ambassadors.
Q. How to gather and determine training
needs quickly and effectively?
By way of regular interactions on group
and one-on-one basis, as well as
p e r i o d i c e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e i r
p e r f o r m a n c e s a l o n g w i t h t h e i r
managers, we aspire to determine and
deliver training needs quickly and
effectively.
Q. What are the challenges a student
needs to overcome during his/her IET?
Communication issues tend to crop up
often in a globally diverse environment
seen in star properties, which students
learn to master with experience and
training. Another adjustment they often
need to make involves inculcating an
attitude to abide by the work culture of
the brand.
Q. Your advice to budding students of
our college for opportunities in
hospitality industry?
The industry has evolved to be empathetic
and offers various management trainee
programs which specifically meet the
needs of the hotel and students. Use this
to your advantage to carve a successful
growth path in your career.
Common sense is what this industry is all
about and learning plays a vital role.
Again, we assume you have the
education, but what we are ideally
looking at is passion to bring the
difference in lives of the guest and
associates. That does not mean that IQ
will not be an important quality in a job
candidate, but as Hoteliers we seek an
environment wherein human interaction
and inherent emotional skills takes
dominance.
ECHO - 2016 19