Interview: Crowne Plaza Dubai GM James Young

Nov 18, 2013

Young believes it is important for hotels to hire people from outside the industry.

A Team Player
“One of the things that I take greatest pride in is being an assessor in our career development programmes,” says Young.

In fact Young has been a part of the InterContinental management assessment programme for more than 10 years, after having gone through the same course himself before he became a general manager.

“It was great to see even from my class that there were eight of us that went on to become general managers at different properties around the world. I also think back to the people that mentored me during my course, and it’s important to me to pass that legacy on to the next generation of hoteliers.

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“Being an assessor entails a lot of hard work,” Young admits, “but it has a special kind of reward. The important point to remember is that it’s about development, not assessment. It is about finding out where they are in the stage of their careers, and giving them guidance on how to develop, just as I was helped to develop.

“The course is competency based, so for example some people might be stronger in their understanding of the business, while others might be stronger in their leadership skills. It is about understanding where they have strength as well as learning they have something to improve,” states Young.

A Fresh Perspective
As well as the importance of training, Young also believes in the value of searching for advice outside of the hospitality business, an industry he admits can be very ‘insular’, and welcoming new people from beyond the business.

“The young people coming into the industry today are coming from all over the world, and yes there is still the traditional route through the hotelier schools in Europe, but we also receive people from all over,’ says Young.

In the Crowne Plaza alone, Young says that there are 36 different nationalities working together, but that on the other hand, the hotel currently has a very low staff turnover.

“In this industry as well you meet so many cultures and viewpoints. All of this has helped to form my hospitality philosophy, which is that ultimately it is all about the people — guide them, together define where we are going, and then give them the space to get on with the job,” concludes Young.

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