Dinesh Burrenchobay, One&Only Resorts
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390480000569 |
| Date | 01 November 2004 |
| Published date | 01 November 2004 |
| Pages | 6-6 |
| Author | Dinesh Burrenchoba |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Dinesh Burrenchobay
is group HR manager for
One&Only’s Indian Ocean
division, and is based in
Mauritius, where he has responsibility for 3,000
employees over five properties. He has been with
the company since 1995.
6Volume 4 Issue 1 November/December 2004
PRACTITIONER PROFILE
,
HR executives share their experience in human resources
Dinesh Burrenchobay,
One&Only Resorts
W
hen you call your company
One&Only you create a very
high expectation. As head of
HR for the luxury hotel chain’s Indian
Ocean region, the challenge for Dinesh
Burrenchobay is high as people have a
crucial role in executing its core
strategy: delivering on growth while
providing outstanding customer service.
He is strongly focused on attracting and
retaining the right people who fit with
the company’s core values.
Living the brand values
Staff are the lynchpin in communicating
One&Only’s brand values. “One of HR’s
roles is to recruit people with attitude,”
says Burrenchobay. “If someone has a
good attitude it’s contagious. Positive
attitude is also linked to one of our core
values: ‘Blow away the customer.’ That’s
a very strong statement and something
we try to practice all the time.”
Through the global HR office of
Kerzner International, who run
One&Only, a two-day brand workshop
has been developed for all staff, which
explains what brand values involve and
what staff are expected to deliver.
Participants are split into teams to
examine each of the values and come
up with practical ideas to enhance a
guest's experience. Ideas are followed
up by the general manager of the
property and progress shown on the
staff notice board. Feedback from
guests is used as a service barometer
and there is a follow-up workshop 90
days later.
The brand workshops aim to
highlight what the company is trying to
achieve in creating the brand and give
staff a sense of belonging to that
brand; actively involving them in
considering instances of guest service
where brand values are highlighted.
“We want them to feel proud of the
company they work for and they have
every reason to be,” says Burrenchobay.
The resorts enjoy a very low staff
turnover which Burrenchobay says is due
to employees’ sense of pride in working
for the company and in the tourist
industry. This pride is key to performing
well on another brand value: “Genuine
Hospitality: to treat guests as if
welcoming someone at home.”
Setting a standard
Practices in the different hotels are
becoming standardized with time as the
company detects what works well. “We
are in the process of growing very fast
and examining and sharing better ways
of doing things,” says Burrenchobay.
“Quality is a never-ending journey, but
ours is progressing fast.
“Eliminating what doesn’t work well
and standardizing processes is a tough
call,” says Burrenchobay. “For example,
even with whatever scientific method
of recruitment you have, it can be a
very subjective thing.” He feels it is also
important to leave a few processes to
the individual properties – 90 percent is
standard and 10 percent is left to the
individual – to not kill the initiative
where they do things differently.
Burrenchobay doesn’t impose many HR
processes or policies, preferring to offer
best practices.
Sharing people and practices
A response to the period of massive
growth the company is facing has been
ensuring that the One&Only culture is
spread by asking some of its “key
players” to transfer to other properties
across the world. “We encourage
people doing well, our ‘champions’ to
go and pass on their work culture to
new locations,” explains Burrenchobay.
Dedication to developing passionate,
committed people is central to
One&Only’s policy. “Our goal is to get
the right people in the right place,
encouraging internal promotions and
growth,” says Burrenchobay. “I think
there’s an expectation from people that
they will grow as the company grows.
Therefore we are focusing on making
sure people are given the chance to be
transferred across the different regions
of the globe, making sure we have the
correct processes to identify the right
people.” In the spirit of this sharing
culture, Burrenchobay will be working
towards sharing best practice staff
policies across the globe.
Besides working from some of the
world’s most luxurious resorts,
Burrenchobay’s position is enviable.
One&Only’s ambitious growth plans,
strong brand values and leading-edge
HR practices all point to a bright future.
One&Only Resorts is a new brand looking
to become one of the leading luxury
hotel names. It is part of Florida-based
Kerzner International, which had a
US$633 turnover in 2003.
www.oneandonlyresorts.com
ONE&ONLY RESORTS
© Melcrum Publishing Ltd. 2004. For more information, go to www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
To continue reading
Request your trial