Complex Director of Human Resources
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Total years of experience :19 years, 6 Months
•Manages the HR Teams at The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort & Spa and The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa
•Managing a HR Team of 26 over two properties (direct reports Complex Director of Training & Development, 2x Assistant HR Managers, Complex Director of Housing, Complex Recruitment Manager, Complex Government Relations Manager) - hub system
•Part of the Senior Leadership Teams reporting to the Area General Manager
Strategy
•Implemented the complex function for the St Regis Saadiyat Island & Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa
•Strategic Planning, Budgeting, Forecasting for both properties
•Reduced LTO by 10% Year on Year at St Regis Saadiyat Island in Q1 2014
•Launched GPS (Global Personalisation at Starwood) as a key tool for employee retention
•Manages complex Disciplinary & Grievances; as well as written training to ensure understanding
•Successfully complex Sales and Revenue functions to increase productivity and lower cost
•Implemented all policies and procedures for both properties
•Au fait with UAE labour law
•100% score if recent employee engagement survey for HR team and 80% overall hotels
•Has strong influencing skills over the Area GM and GM
•Had to re-launch the HR Function from scratch at both properties and implement best practice
•Accountability for the HR Strategy over both properties - ability to see where improvements need to be made
•Plays a major part in building the synergy of the SLT Teams
Recruitment
•Strong relationships with key recruitment agents
•Reduced time to fill vacancies by implementing new strategies
•65 nationalities and increase internal promotions & internal Starwood transfers by 50%
•Launched the use of IDP’s
•Succession Plan
•Introduced Emotional Intelligence as part of the recruitment strategy
Training
•Launched Service Culture Next Generation Training to both properties (1, 200 associates)
•Wrote a new training programme on HR Basics for Managers to up skill them
HR Admin
•Managing 1, 200 employees over two properties including 12 SLT Members, 60 HOD’s, 150 Supervisors
•Payroll budget of over 100 million aed per annum
•Manages complex disciplinary issues and Hot Ethics
Housing
•Manages a budget of 20 million aed per annum
•CAPEX budget of 1 million aed per annum
(short contract)
•Managing a team of 5 - Personnel Manager, Assistant Personnel Manager, Training Specialist (x2), Crew Enrichment Chair
•Reporting directly to the Captain - part of the Senior Officer Team
•Supports over 1, 200 crew, Officers and Senior Officers
•Responsible for all Employee Relations, Training and Development, Employee Wellbeing
(short contract) Training Consultant 09/12 - 10/12
•Hired as a consultant to asses, facilitate and review the training needs for the Leadership Team on Disney’s Private Island - Castaway Cay
•Training new Leaders, Senior Leaders and a Steering Committee members
•Liaising with Head Office to ensure that the training was done to the timeframe and budget
•Training the HR Coordinator to facilitate one of the programmes
•Delivered all 18 leadership programmes to agreed standards
(short contract) Assistant HR Manager 03/12 - 08/12
•Reporting to the HR Manager
•Fast moving environment with crew and leaders embarking and debarking twice a week
•Liaising with Shore side Head Office partners
•Manages circa 500 crew members and leaders from Entertainment (Mainstage, Technical Production, Characters, Youth Activities, Cruise Staff, Port Adventures), Engineering, Deck, Retail, Guest Services and Finance
•Managed the on boarding of 45 new Mainstage performers and characters by writing a new programme to ensure their smooth transition from the rehearsal facility to the ship.
•Shadowed technical roles such as Costuming, Audio and Stage Technicians, Mainstage performers and Characters to ensure that HR are true Business Partners
•Set up succession planning for trainees to transition into junior leadership by mentoring and ensure that they attend the level 1 Leadership Training
•Has a strong working relationship as a Business Partner with all the Senior Leaders (16) to proactively assist them in the business achieving its goals
•Facilitates training for all Leadership programmes from Disney University (18 programmes)
•Written specific departmental training to assist in service recovery
•Handles all Employee Relations issues in accordance to US labour law
•Supports Four Steering Committee Members - Staff Captain, Chief Engineer, Cruise Director and Hotel Director
•Assisted in the training and development of a new Assistant HR Manager
•Manage the 338 bedroomed Groups Flagship property from a HR Perspective. Established and implemented HR processes and procedures - recent HR audit came 6 out of 53 (highest head count in the group)
•Member of the hotel Senior Strategy Team reporting to in GM
•Strong working relationship with the Group HR Director and the Group lawyer
•Directing the Spa Manager with strategy for the spa and fitness department
•Part of a team that are working towards making £5 million profit in the financial year 2011-12
•Responsible for developing and implementing the HR Strategy in the hotel - head count 200, 6 Strategy Team, 10 HOD’s, 26 Supervisors
•Turned around the HR department implementing systems (including building a database that has been rolled out across the group) to ensure compliance with UK law
•Manage and develop 1 HR Coordinator
•Manages a payroll budget of £2.3 million
•Structured the HR department to ensure that :
oEmployee Relations
sound understanding of UK employment law,
handled complex disciplinaries (including advising board members)
o Joiners
recruitment of Strategy Team, HOD’s, Supervisors and team members,
Arranging and facilitating Open Days
contracts and comprehensive induction plans
Hotel Succession Plan (Strategy Team & HOD’s)
oLeavers - Exit interviews and analysis of data
oTraining - Monthly training for HOD’s and Supervisors, On the job training for Front of House employees, Monthly HOD league tables
oEmployee Welfare - planning and executing employee social events and hotel quarterly meetings, structuring and arranging HOD & Strategy Team Build, refurbished the canteen
oCompensation and Benefits - SSP, Maternity, Paternity Pay etc, incentives, holiday monitoring system, competitor analysis of pay and benefits
•PR focused - works with Sales Manager on press released to increase awareness of the hotel, entered Manchester Hotel Association Awards, internal Macdonald ‘High Achievers’ awards and key player in nomination of the hotel in the Manchester Tourism Award for Large Hotels 2011
•Vice President of the Manchester Hotel Association HR Meetings - arrange CPD session for attendees with Lawyers
•Responsible for the inductions of all new HOD’s and Supervisors (proactively manage probation periods)
•Chairs the Staff Social Committee and Room 15 (Green initiative)
•Thinks outside the box with regards to recruitment and retention
•Plans and coordinates all appraisals and pay reviews
•Task force with 2 other peers with regards to researching, planning and implementing a Head of Department induction for the group, relaunch of the company employee induction programme and standardisation of all the company forms.
•Training new HR Managers in the policies and procedures for the group
•Responsible for the Health, Safety and Fire plans for the hotel
•Recent HR audit came 6 out of 53 (highest head count in the group)
•Deputise for the General Manager in his absence
•Forged strong links with De Vere Academy and local schools and colleges and established work placements
•Manage e-recruitment for the hotel
Worked at The Savoy in London and then was transferred to open two hotels in Cairo, Egypt.
July 2011 IOSH Working Safely certificate
September 05 - June 07 Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management including CIPD (Thames Valley University College, London)
September 01- July 04 BA Business Management (Distinction) (Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh)
September 94- July 01 A-Levels - French, English Literature, Sociology & General Studies GCSE's - 10 including English, French and German.