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Luxury hotel focuses on 'great attitudes' in recruitment drive
Four Seasons Hotel Macao has filled almost all its positions, relying heavily on the enclave's school graduates.
General manager Antoine Chahwan  said that despite Macau's labour shortage, the hotel had only about 60 positions in administration, catering and finance, out of 800, still to fill.
Mr Chahwan said he was extremely pleased with the recruitment process under difficult circumstances, adding that the human resources team was working towards filling the remaining positions  over the coming months.
'It was not as complicated as we originally thought,' he said. 'We as a company focus on attitudes more than anything else. We recruit for great attitudes and then we train people up to the standards needed.'
Four Seasons opened next to The Venetian Macao casino  on the Cotai Strip  in August.
In an effort to attract staff, the luxury hotel held two recruitment days for Macau residents, with almost 4,000 people registering on the first two days.
Mr Chahwan said there was a lot of interest from graduates of local schools and those who had studied abroad and were returning to Macau. He said about 60 per cent of the workforce were from Macau and the remaining staff were from Hong Kong, the mainland and other areas in Southeast Asia.
'We opted to hire people who had just graduated from school or finished studying,' he said. 'Then we train them using our own methods and standards.'
Four Seasons offered internal transfers for staff from other properties around the globe. Mr Chahwan said there had been a lot of interest in transfers, especially from Hong Kong, and this enabled the establishment of a strong leadership team. 'I have worked in seven different hotels in five countries, and that is one of the advantages we have as a company,' he said. 'That will always be part of our culture and strength, to promote from within prior to going outside.'
Mr Chahwan said language skill, rather than technical ability, was the biggest hurdle faced during the employment process. He said Four Seasons preferred staff to be bilingual, speaking English, Cantonese or Mandarin.
'We found certain skill levels that were required - for example, engineers and electricians - were hard to find,' he said. 'Because of the construction going on, almost everyone is engaged in that field, but in the end we ended up getting what we needed. As the construction eases off, there will be more people in these fields available. For us, it was more of a language issue, not so much a skill problem.'
The majority of training at Four Seasons is conducted in-house, with the executive committee members responsible for delivering courses in everything from leadership skills to advanced career development.
Mr Chahwan said it was extremely important that staff members were taught by people who understood the Four Seasons' way of operating. 'The training is very detailed and internal. We do not normally outsource this,' he said. 'It includes practical, cultural and behavioural. There is a lot of on-the-job training and we have a strong leadership team for this.'
Four Seasons Hotel Macao is a 360-room hotel including 112 suites, 14 spa suites and retail outlets. Serviced apartments are still under construction and are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2009.
The hotel has six food and beverage outlets, a grand ballroom, banquet room, conference facilities, teen centre and a kids' club.
Despite tough global economic conditions, Mr Chahwan said he remained confident that Macau would continue to grow. He said Four Seasons had a long-term vision when it decided to set up in the former Portuguese enclave.
'Right now, with the financial crisis across the world, everyone is watching how things will develop over the next few months,' he said. 'We hope the US economy will pick up. For Macau, we are looking long-term and we are confident in that - the short term remains to be seen.'
The majority of people who have stayed at the hotel were from Hong Kong, the mainland, Macau and Southeast Asia. Mr Chahwan described the hotel's opening as the 'start line' and said a lot of work was still to be done. He said the sales team was 'walking the beat' in an effort to promote the hotel.
'You constantly have to challenge yourself and your team - it involves adjusting and improving,' he said. 'I am a firm believer in if it's not broken, how can we make it better.'
One of the biggest challenges will be retaining staff. Mr Chahwan said that while competitive salaries were important, it was also imperative to deliver on promises.
'Our brand is recognised in the marketplace as a company that treats people in the right way and provides global opportunities,' he said. 'That was one of our main advantages. We need to remain competitive so that we can retain our staff and reduce turnover. It is about the totality of the experience of the employee and how they are treated.'
Factbox
Four Seasons Hotel Macao is looking to recruit 60 more staff
Hotel relied on school graduates to fill many positions
Hong Kong employees have shown a lot of interest in transferring to Macau
Global economic crisis has prompted the hotel to look long-term for success



Labour of love at Four Seasons