A new initiative where suitable workers can apply for frontline service delivery roles and potentially start working on the same day has been introduced by Accor as part of a new push to bolster its workforce to meet resurgent demand.
The company has launched a new ‘Work Your Way’ program in response to internal forecasts that it will need to hire as many as 1,200 new staff, or 15% of its current workforce, to adequately service demand in the coming months as national and international tourism roars back to life. Accor says it will be targeting people looking “for a gap year or a career” to ensure operating standards are maintained and exceeded.
Under the ‘Same Day Hire’ program, candidates can walk into a hotel advertising a position and if suitable, can be hired and start on the same day through a fast-tracked recruitment process.
Accor has also boosted its staff benefits to now offer personalised perks, with hotels able to incentivise its team members with greater roster flexibility, travel benefits, birthday leave and sabbaticals for staff to take an agreed length of time off to pursue a personal project.
Staff will have greater opportunities to work in similar roles at other Accor properties around the world. Career development has also been improved, with the Accor Academy offering easier access for staff to earn new qualifications and skills or boost their management credentials with leadership training.
The revised HR structure comes following the introduction earlier this year of the Accor Internship Program, which provides paid on-the-job training for 100 hospitality students from 22 educational institutions around Australia and New Zealand.
Accor Pacific CEO, Simon McGrath, said he could never give back enough of what the industry had given him during his successful career in terms of career development and learning opportunities.
“As domestic, and soon international tourists, flock back to hotels and restaurants across Australia and New Zealand, the industry needs talented individuals who wish to build a rewarding career,” McGrath said.
“I have worked for Accor for a long time because you can be yourself and take your career wherever you want. Our teams bring diversity, experiences and stories to our culture, which makes Accor a community for all to excel. If you are passionate about caring for guests and doing your best, you will go far in our business.”
Accor Pacific Senior Vice President Talent and Culture, Sarah Derry, said the ‘Work Your Way’ program has been introduced to address the problem of people’s lives and personal ambitions not fitting around working hours.
“This program will create dramatic positive change by attracting great talent that will enrich our industry’s future,” she said.
“We recognise that greater flexibility in the workplace creates a fulfilling and inclusive team member experience where our team can contribute in a healthy, stimulating and productive way, while advancing their career with the largest hotel operator in Australia and New Zealand.”