Radisson Blu's Media City property bucks trend market cycle encourages new HR strategies

She said this unprecedented cycle has encouraged an interesting dance for the short-and long-term strategic planning of talent. However, she said that the real test has been in taking good care of people, whatever the outcome.

"In a cycle such is this, I have noticed that it is all too easy to be drawn into knee-jerk decision-making that may take care of the immediate, but is not necessarily good for the future. This does not marry well in the hospitality service sector. We market rooms and service, and at the end of the day, a room is a room, but it is the service style that really differentiates one hotel from another. Service comes from people, and we must take good care of them all."

Dabur said she has stood firm in supporting the brand vision in nurturing and retaining team members throughout 2009.

"One of the best ways of energising team members is to 'recruit from within'. We continue to focus on developing talented employees. We find that one knock on effect is a motivated team. Another outcome is happy guests. Guests like consistency!"

Dabur said that the bulk of the management team at the Radisson Blu's Dubai Media City property are 'home-grown'. "At least 90% of our management positions are filled from within. We continuously dialogue with the team to mutually identify those who are ambitious for a management role, and support this development with a specially-designed leadership development programme," she said, stressing that the multi-level strategy also focussed on retention.

Radisson's mother company, Rezidor, runs a mentor-mentee programme designed to groom future General Managers and recently launched the Rezidor Learning Network (RLN), a wide selection of e-learning programmes. 'Business School' is another concept which was launched by Rezidor in 1995 and is held four times in a year at various locations around the world.

According to Pasquale Baiguera, the hotel's General Manager, Rezidor was swift to recognise the dramatic change in the global economic landscape and launched 'Hedging for Turbulence' in late 2008.

'Hedging for Turbulence' is a forward-thinking strategy designed to combat unusual conditions, including recession. It looks at respectful cost management and enhancing efficiencies by motivation. It is a group-wide plan packed with meaningful measures created to manage extreme conditions, respectfully," Baiguera said.

He stressed that the mentoring of team members across the board is paramount, and not guided by market conditions. "We must always deliver on service for our guests and on opportunities for our team. Talented team members are the fuel of Radisson Blu's success," he added. Baiguera himself is an example of Rezidor's 'home grown' culture.

Dabur said that innovative thinking is also a great contributor in times that require a different focus: "Our team have been super and have developed and implemented simple but effective concepts, such as town hall meetings, a staff welfare committee, monthly lunches with our GM, and face-to-face talks with each other. All of these initiatives are easy to get going, and work well at keeping the team spirit in great shape."

Baiguera said that another simple approach taken by the team at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City is to encourage job combination, as well as cross-training.

"We have created a fusion across all departments so that people can feel comfortable and confident to move between departments with ease. However simple it might sound, this strategy has given us a chance to allow team members to identify other areas of operation that they like. At the same time, the hotel is able to achieve more efficient and productive output, often with less man hours - which is very much the the need of the moment," Baiguera concluded.