Radisson Ties Hotel Careers to Open Conversations, HR Chief Says
Hospitality is often a first job. Radisson Hotel Group wants it to be more than that, and its top HR executive says the answer is to make career paths visible and talk about them openly.
Managers carry the conversation
Daniel Afonso, Radisson's global senior vice president of people and culture, puts responsibility on managers. They should make careers clear, back their people's development and show them what options exist.
The company backs this with pay and tools. Managers are rewarded for promoting internal talent, and the learning academy covers career development as well as job-specific training. A programme called Spotlight, for female leaders, has led to internal promotion or a bigger job for 70% of participants over 18 months.
During Career Fest, staff can "cash in" Career Cheques to speak directly with senior leaders about their journeys. Afonso follows LinkedIn in that month and says employees and managers become more open about discussing progression beyond daily tasks. He says local teams have embraced the event.
Career Fest, from internal event to public festival
About four years ago, as the industry was coming out of the pandemic, Radisson saw a chance to reconnect people with what hospitality offers. The group decided that clearer careers could set it apart.
Career Fest began as an internal event where team members could look at progression paths. It worked well enough that Radisson opened it to outside talent. Last year it drew more than 12,000 registrations and reached 26.8 million people on social media.
This year's edition runs through October and involves team members and aspiring talent in more than 100 countries. It has global virtual sessions on leadership, career development and future skills, plus local hotel events where staff talk about their careers with colleagues. Stories of people who moved across functions, roles and markets show what a path can look like in a global company.
Honest about stepping stones
For newcomers, the stress is on honesty and employability, not on selling an unrealistic dream. Staff who use hospitality as a stepping stone are fine with Radisson. Afonso says the company treats employability as a general goal and wants people to grow their careers, whether with Radisson or outside it.
AI and the human touch
Afonso says nobody knows exactly what hotels will look like in ten years. Radisson is giving team members practical tools and helping them use AI responsibly in their development. Staff also need to complement digital tools: a guest who does not want automatic check-in, for example, can have a person talk them through it.
A youth jobs push as backdrop
The conversation comes as the government tries to tackle youth unemployment. Prime minister Andy Burnham announced an initiative with the industry body UKHospitality to create 100,000 opportunities for young people not in education, employment or training.
Afonso says the problem is not limited to the UK. He understands why young people start in hospitality and argues employers should take a longer view when they recruit.
Our view
Radisson's approach rests on a bet that staff who see a route up will stay or leave on good terms. The article gives no figures on retention or promotions beyond the Spotlight result, so the effect on turnover is unclear. Registration numbers show interest, but only internal moves would show whether visibility becomes progression.
Source: Personnel Today