Lee Jamieson explores how the events of 2009 have forever changed the Middle East’s recruitment practices in the hospitality industry

The global economic crisis made 2009 a difficult year for the region’s hospitality industry. Tales of recruitment freezes and redundancies from many of the major operators dominated the region’s media and many hoteliers will continue to tread with caution in 2010.

“Recently, there has been a lot of uncertainty in the markets,” confirms Hilton Worldwide vice president for human resources in the Middle East Caroline Stevens.

“Due to the dual impact of the global economic recession and the threat of the H1N1 virus, we have adopted a cautious and disciplined approach to recruitment in the region.” Hilton is not alone in its trepidation. The industry as a whole is stepping into 2010 with a degree of caution and is alert to any fluctuations in the economy.

Cool Climate

An astonishing 71% of HR directors put recruitment on hold last year because of the economic climate, according to Catererglobal.com. However, there is evidence that the recruitment freezes of 2009 are finally lifting and that the number of redundancies is falling.

“I believe that the hospitality industry is actively recruiting again,” notes Rotana corporate vice president for human resources Joseph Abou Yaghi.

“However, organisations are still cost-cautious and nowhere near as aggressive in their recruitment approach as in the past.”

These freezes have drastically changed the recruitment landscape in 2010 and operators are adapting their strategies to capitalise on new opportunities and protect loyal employees from redundancy.

“Towards the end of last year, we finally started to see some movement in the region’s hospitality industry,” says Accor Hospitality Middle East managing director Christophe Landais. “However, we are still monitoring recruitment very closely – especially for middle management and management positions, and we are giving priority to our existing Accor associates whenever possible.”

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Positive Outcomes

It seems that the recruitment freeze has also had a positive impact by forcing hoteliers to take stock and resource their operations more effectively. Many chains have used the freeze to invest in the development of their workforce and identify strategies to improve retention.

“We have focused on the retention and accommodation of our existing employees rather than recruiting new personnel,” explains Rotana’s Yaghi. “In fact, the number of new recruits for all our pre-opening properties in 2009 was small when compared with the number of Rotana inter-property transfers.

“We wanted to reduce payroll expenses within our existing hotels and avoid over recruitment for our new developments.”

The redeployment of existing staff into new areas of the business as a form of redundancy protection became a pan-industry trend in 2009. Catererglobal.com reported that 46% of HR directors had moved employees within individual hotels and 42% had transferred employees to other properties within the hotel group. This has reversed a deep-rooted recruitment trend in the region: employing people for very specific duties with little opportunity for expansion.

“Since the economic downturn, operators have been combining job roles and employing people into more dynamic, flexible roles,” explains Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts vice president human resources in the Middle East Craig Cochrane.

“For example, instead of employing a receptionist and a waiter in an executive lounge, there is now an expectation that the same person will perform the check in and deliver food service at breakfast.

“This trend also extends to managerial levels where certain functions are combined under one leader to realise cost savings. For example, we’ve seen this in finance and purchasing,” he adds.