Great brands are driven by brand personalities

For a brand to be successful and expand, a solid core identity must be supported and enhanced by human resource recruitment, training and personnel development strategies that enable you to source and empower leaders with strong brand personalities.

-Know your brand’s needs
Stay true to your brand by making sure that your managers lead by example. Here, at Anantara, we seek to differentiate luxury escapes through destination experiences that are intrinsically connected to their locale. We work with managers who want to connect with a brand that is aligned with their own personal motivators and values, and offer each hotel leader free rein to design unique guest activities that deliver our brand promises. We encourage them to set their imagination free and to bring their passion to work while operating in some of the most beautiful and exotic locations in the world. By fostering such specific brand leadership, we are able to maintain brand integrity, meaning that no matter how much we expand, every hotel delivers guest experiences that are distinctly Anantara, which in turn creates brand loyalty that is the cornerstone of our success.

-Is your dream their dream?
Be realistic in determining whether an individual will suit the working environment. Through our hotel operations, we know that leaders must be able to blossom in locations of remote natural beauty, in harmony and support of the local community. We therefore select leaders who have a genuine interest in the destination, its traditions and cultural values, as well as ecological and conservation issues. We also take into account their overall career path and ask “Does the potential candidate really want to work for our brand, or are they simply biding time for their dream job?” as this kind of long-term assessment avoids turnover of managers who in the long run are seeking placement with a large chain.

-Will their passion shed light on the brand?
Great brands need a spotlight. Choose leaders who not only possess a strong brand fit, but who have the proven business acumen and right energy to advocate your brand in a compelling and exciting way to their team, your consumers, the press and industry at large.

-Enhancing the dynamic pace
With vibrant growth comes the danger of simply “keeping up” with the dynamic pace. This is where key HR development strategies come into play to refresh existing leadership. In 2011, Anantara rolled out two new programmes with exactly this purpose in mind. “Discovering Anantara” encourages associates to deliver on the brand promise, while the “Anantara Path” programme is the first of our planned leadership journeys for supervisors, and comprises modules designed to teach leadership fundamentals, coach and build high performing teams, introduce emotional intelligence and cultivate a strong leadership culture.

-Know your limits and outsource when needed
Although we are incredibly proud of our two new training programmes, we must admit that we can’t take all the credit. In fact, we are equally proud to “know our limits’, and sourced a specialist company to custom-build these programmes to suit the needs and wants of our brand in accordance with its operational markets. To support these external efforts, and to ensure that our in-house HR training and personnel development progresses with optimum effect, A Group Director of Talent was taken on to enhance organisational capability and safeguard existing talent, as well as being personally accountable for developing future leadership.

-Fresh talent waiting in the wings
Looking to the future, 2012 promises to be an equally pioneering year for Anantara. We’re launching global e-learning platforms to support the growth of our future leaders from middle management through to the executive leaders. We’re also paying great attention to the next generation by creating an opportunity to bring on board the best of the recently graduated talent pool. In 2012, Anantara will introduce an exciting fast-track leadership training programme for exceptional graduates, meaning that the next generation of key Anantara leaders will be ready to take centre stage.

The HR success of Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is evident in the tremendous growth it has enjoyed in both new and existing markets, highlighted by rapid expansion with five hotels in 2011 alone. Rooted in Thailand and now prospering across Asia, the Middle East, and the Maldives, though the destinations are diverse, our property managers all share common abilities and goals, thanks to HR strategies which mirror the brand’s bespoke nature.

Caroline Stevens is vice president for Human Resources at Minor Hotel Group.