Career progression/promotion is ranked as the most important factor which jobseekers in the Middle East's hospitality sector look for in an employer, according to a new survey.
The survey by CatererGlobal.com, the recruitment website for luxury hotels, resorts and cruise ships around the world, and part of Totaljobs Group, the UK-based online recruitment company, reveals that career progression is followed jointly by working environment, job security and style of management. Relevant training and competitive salaries together emerged as the third most important factor when choosing a hotel, the survey found.
The survey asked respondents to rate the importance of the various factors, which make up an employer brand from 0 to 5, with 5 being the most important. Career progression /promotion scored the highest (4.7 out of 5)
Benefits and housing jointly ranked fourth, while reasonable working hours scored the lowest (3.9 out of 5) to finish as the least important factor when choosing a hotel in the region, the survey showed.
The survey titled 'Hotel Brand Survey 2010' sought to explore the perceptions of the leading hotel brands from over 2,800 hospitality professionals in the Middle East region, and noted that 82 per cent of job seekers strongly believed that a hotel's brand influenced their decision to work for them.
It then reveals which brands are the most appealing from an external point of view and then delves deeper within 23 of the leading hotel brands, asking their employees how they rate their current or former employer.
The survey also named the leading hotels in distinctive categories such as traditional and safe, ambitious, young and funky, dynamic and ambitious, caring and kind, global, most generous, and lastly most visible. The hotels were categorised by all 2,800 hospitality professionals who completed the survey.
Hilton was seen by respondents as the most traditional and safe hotel brand, while Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts were seen as the brand which demonstrated the characteristic of being the most caring and kind, the survey said.
Jumeirah Group was seen as the hotel brand, which was the most dynamic and ambitious, while Starwood's lifestyle brand W Hotels was
identified by respondents as the brand which is the most young and funky, according to the findings of the survey.
Further, hoteliers saw the InterContinental Hotels and Resorts brand as the most global as well as the most generous hotel brands in the survey. And lastly, respondents cited Hilton, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts and Hyatt International as the most visible hotel brand.
Emerging out of the recession years, the competition in the recruitment market will only get tougher and as a result hospitality firms will need to focus even more intensely on the ways they can differentiate themselves from the competition, the survey said.
Indeed, with the anticipated growth of hotels in the Middle East as well as further afield over the next few years, hotel brands need to develop and hone their strategies to retain current employees and to recruit new ones. Consequently, the importance of developing a strong and effective employer brand has become one of the most effective weapons, it added.