BW HOTELIER conversed with Rajesh Chauhan, Head of HR, IMEA, IHG, to understand how the human resource management is taking shape in the wake of the pandemic.

Working in simpler ways and greater flexibility

Believing that there is an opportunity in every challenge, Chauhan and team have learned to be more agile, decisive, and customer and owner-centric, which present huge opportunities to strengthen their business even further as they recover. Across their business, they are focusing on solutions to problems in a way they have never done before, sharing their knowledge and leveraging their capabilities.

For their colleagues specifically, supporting their mental and physical well-being has been a priority for them. They have learned new ways to keep them motivated and engaged throughout this period of uncertainty and change. They have maintained regular communication from senior leaders, organised work-life summits, initiated partnerships for mental well-being via online courseware and ongoing support for colleagues, launched leadership masterclasses and an employee assistance programme, amongst other initiatives.

While some of their offices, such as in Singapore and Sydney, are now open again, a significant proportion of their business, including India, is still being run almost entirely remotely. Working in this way brings many challenges in terms of supporting colleagues. Still, it also offers lessons they want to take with themselves into the future, such as working in simpler ways and greater flexibility.

Maintaining relations with Stay in Touch programme

Despite best collective efforts to protect their hotels and teams, the severity of this crisis has led to difficult decisions to furlough or let go many hotel colleagues. It is an unfortunate issue they face as an entire industry. With this in mind, IHG launched a Stay in Touch programme in different markets to keep them connected with the amazing hotel colleagues who have been unable to work at this time, hoping that they can welcome them back as demand begins to return.

They also have an alumni network so that they can continue to stay in touch with their ex-colleagues and flag new, relevant opportunities as markets start to recover.

As colleagues return to their hotels, the group provides them with the resources and the right training to have them adjust to the new environment. This enables them to deliver ‘True Hospitality’ to guests while honouring new standards and guidelines for cleanliness and safety.

Comfortable multitasking is the key to success

Chauhan thinks that hospitality is a dynamic sector and multiskilling is not new to the Industry. It lets colleagues learn new skills and become holistic hoteliers, which plays an important role in career progression.

However, to make sure colleagues are comfortable in their roles, the group believes that providing the right training and practical experience on the job is essential. Commenting on the training, Chauhan mentioned, “We have seen that this helps in building confidence and improves the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively.”

Salaries are being restored

Many of their hotels across the world, including India, represent small, individually owned businesses, and Chauhan recognises the very real challenges they are facing in light of Covid-19. Revenue has been lost to the lowest levels of occupancy ever seen, some have had to experience temporarily closing their doors, and many have been consequently forced to cut jobs or reduce salaries among their teams. However, these measures are temporary, and as the business is returning, hotels have started getting colleagues back to the contracted salaries.

Workforce optimisation and labour efficiency to go a long way

Given the circumstances and the long road of recovery ahead, efficient talent management will continue to remain an important consideration for the hospitality sector. Keeping this in mind, IHG is investing in tools for work force optimisation and labour efficiency as they look to set up for success in 2021 and beyond.

Additionally, training of workforce and investing in professional development will continue to remain important. Their aim as a company is to come out of this crisis much stronger. Chauhan believes that it is important that they have the right talent, the right resources, and the right training to help them achieve this.

Optimistic about the future

The pandemic has proven to be extremely challenging for the hospitality industry; however, Chauhan and his team are optimistic about the sector’s future. This is especially true for India as the country’s tourism sector is driven by domestic travel. In line with the market outlooks, they have continued to move at pace with our growth plans in India with new hotel openings and signings and will, therefore, continue to invest in talent for the long term.

As mentioned earlier by Chauhan, efficient talent management will also remain a priority for them in 2021 and beyond.

This article was published in BW hotelier issue dated '' with cover story titled 'HYGIENE THE X FACTOR ISSUE VOL 7, ISSUE 2'