The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street is one of the international hotel brands that has moved into the city as part of its expansion. 'We are going to double the number of our hotels [in China] by 2010,' explained general manager Derek Flint.
Managers are initially being sought internally for positions in the new branches of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau and Kowloon.
'We believe we need a core group of people who are very familiar with us, who know our values and culture, and can disseminate it,' Mr Flint said. '[But] We can't hire everyone from within because we are expanding so greatly.'
Mr Flint said that hiring had gone smoothly since the Beijing hotel opened on October 14, 2006. 'What we have found particularly with hiring Chinese nationals is that they are extremely warm and empathetic,' he said. 'For us, it is not that they have the experience; we can give them experience. We can teach them the skills that they need in order to do well in the position that they have been hired. We can't teach them to be empathetic.'
The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street uses a procedure called Quality Selection Process (QSP), run by a Singaporean firm Talent Plus, to choose new employees. Talent Plus designs questions to determine what talent or attributes an individual has, whether they possess a caring or empathetic nature, have exactness or teamwork skills. There is nothing about the hotel industry on the questionnaire - it is designed to find out whether candidates are willing to serve.
The hotel is building up brand awareness in Beijing, especially the market it caters to. 'Because we are in Financial Street there is this misconception that it is a business hotel,' Mr Flint said. 'Basically, we cater to the high end and discerning traveller, whether business or leisure people.'
