IHG holds its first 'Saudi Development and Leadership Centre'

36 participants were selected from 21 IHG hotels across the Kingdom to attend the two programs which were held over the course of four days at the InterContinental Jeddah and InterContinental Riyadh.

The Saudi Development and Leadership Centre brought together a group of IHG's employees holding supervisory positions and above who were looking to further develop their leadership and management skills within the hospitality industry.

Focusing on the core skills required to be a strong leader, the program covered areas including; advanced training in leading and developing people, strategic thinking, customer care and how to drive for and deliver results.

John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, IHG, Middle East and Africa, attended the event and said:

'We are delighted with the successful outcome of our Saudi leadership and development centres held recently in Jeddah and Riyadh. IHG is proud of the caliber of our staff, who have always shown great passion and commitment in their work. These workshops provide a new platform to further enhance the skills of our employees, offering different training techniques which help encourage and empower staff to achieve their goals.'

Good staff training is paramount to ensuring the provision of a great experience for the customer, which is why IHG continues to develop employee training programs that help build and maintain a strong common culture; helping to minimise the group's attrition rate and entice great new employees.

Each of the 36 employees that took part in the event were Saudi nationals, furthering IHG's commitment to working alongside the local government towards 'Saudisation' - the increased penetration of locals in the Kingdom's workforce.

Saeed Al Aseeri, Director of Sales, IHG, Riyadh, who took part in one of the development centres said: 'I found the course extremely beneficial and look forward to implementing some of my new skills. It was interesting to learn new ways of doing things and I feel that I am now better equipped to meet the needs of both my staff and customers.'

The programs were developed by IHG in collaboration with Personal Decision International (PDI) UK, a leading HR consulting firm with over 40 years experience in talent management, leadership development and performance development, who ran and led the training.