Raffles hotel invests in human capital |28 April 2018
Raffles Hotel on Praslin is part of an international hotel chain with presence in several countries. The mother ship Raffles in Singapore was built in 1887 by hoteliers Sarkis Brothers and was named after the British Statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore.
Its colonial architecture to this day makes it stand out and so many popular and famous films have been filmed in and around this hotel and to add to its famous history the Singapore Sling which is a gin-based cocktail is still in demand by those who frequent such places. This world famous drink was concocted in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon working in the Long Bar of Raffles, Singapore and it is still popular today.
The hotel’s colonial architecture has undergone restoration and it remains the flagship of the chain which includes Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resort and Swissotel.
In Seychelles Raffles is a five-star jewel nesting in the hills of Baie Ste Anne on Praslin and has become an unmistakable landmark that can be seen far out at sea and in the air. Interestingly the most attractive aspect of this hotel is the way so many nationalities work together in harmony and display mutual respect for each other which at any given time you may hear seven different languages being spoken by groups of staff and management but the common language is English. This is the way foreignisation should be with no one culture trying to overpower another which at the end of the day creates harmony in work and play.
The hotel management has invested heavily in human capital, they have appointed a training manager, Varun Kalra (extreme right in photo) and he has put in place a dynamic training programme of which I was delighted to have been invited to deliver a management course to 16 participants.
The course was intensive but enjoyable judging by the feedback. At the end of the day what you put in is what you get out unless you can perform miracles. Good workers are not born, they have to be trained then all parties gain from a WIN WIN situation.
Contributed by Barry Laine