Service with a smile

By Sharon Stephenson

It’s raining in Watford. Not the usual winter precipitation but the kind of downpour that makes animals start lining up in twos. It may well be that Ben Bengougam’s sense of humour is the driest thing about this dismal day.

“Our strategy is to forge strong links and support the communities in which we operate.”
-Ben Bengougam

"My philosophy is to enjoy life and what you do, which of course involves smiling a lot," says the European Vice President Human Resources of Hilton Worldwide. "I believe that whatever your responsibilities, there should always be a touch of lightness and fun in the workplace. Enjoying yourself while you are working means that you are likely to perform better and provide guests with those experiences they'll never forget. And we all know that this is the single most important factor in the success of our business."

There's no doubt that Bengougam is well suited to the job of corralling 25,000 "team members" (staff) from 198 hotels across seven brands in 30 countries: he's as fizzy as a human Alka-Seltzer and aims to infuse his staff with a similar passion for what they do.

"Our global vision is to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, and to achieve that we need great hotels, outstanding customer service delivery and the very best people at the core of our proposition. For me, that is the core challenge of HR in any organisation and that's certainly the case for Hilton Worldwide."

The seven brands in Hilton Worldwide's Europe stable include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, Doubletree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations, which covers everything from economy hotel brands to the luxury end of the spectrum.

But mention possibly the worst economic downturn in living memory and the smile barely leaves Bengougam's face. The recession, he admits, hasn't dented the hotel industry from an HR perspective. "We are actually undergoing an exciting period of growth around the world. We have more than 78 hotels in the pipeline across our portfolio of brands, that are due to open between now and 2013. The core challenge from an HR point of view in this, or any climate, is to attract, retain, develop and engage the best people, which is something I think we do well at Hilton Worldwide and something we will continue to excel in as we realise ambitious growth plans."

The key to delivering a first class service to customers is to offer a superior employment proposition to team members, believes Bengougam. "That includes world class training and development, career opportunities and rewards. We are determined to attract and nurture the very best people to come and work with us, and are committed to working with all our partners to position Hilton Worldwide specifically, and hospitality generally, as a worthwhile career choice. That's why training and development is extremely important to us. Even during the recession there was no decrease in training investment which meant that we could continue our growth."

Managing such a diverse and geographically spread workforce does, of course, present its own challenges. "Globally, we have more than 3600 hotels in 82 countries and more than 130,000 team members. Our challenge is to ensure that although we are a global company, we remain relevant for our team members in every country in which we operate. Here in Europe, we have a focussed and high-performing HR team who are absolutely dedicated to the task ahead. We are well placed to support the business by having a HR presence in all our hotels. This allows us to provide a tailored approach with at least one representative per property who supports recruitment, as well as team member relations and training."

With such an aggressive expansion plan in place, it's no surprise that the HR strategy revolves around innovative staffing and a continued focus on quality. "Our strategy is to forge strong links and support the communities in which we operate. Hiring a strong local team at each new hotel also allows us to deliver an authentic experience for our guests. We aim to establish links with schools and colleges and provide new employment and career opportunities, often locally then internationally. Our aim is to prepare a legacy of a better skilled local workforce not only to deliver superior and authentic service and experiences to our guests, but also to enable them to better support themselves and achieve their ambitions."   

When it comes to incentivising staff to deliver brand standards, optimal financial returns to shareholders and owners and "delighting customers every time they come into contact with a Hilton Worldwide property", Bengougam says a range of factors come into play. "It's about selecting the right people, training them, motivating them, providing them with a great working environment and career opportunities and rewarding them for their valuable work."

Training and professional development is a key strand of the company's motivational strategy and Bengougam says it's an area that has continued throughout the recession to ensure that staff feel that they are progressing in their careers. The jewel in the training crown, however, is the Hilton University, an award-winning e-learning facility that is available to all staff across the world to access on-line learning and development. "Whether it's management skills, personal development courses, learning a language, financial training or brand toolkits - it's all there for team members to access and benefit from." Complementing this is a range of incentive programmes at all levels of the organisation designed to focus effort and reward success, the key levers of which are customer loyalty, brand standards compliance, revenue per room, profits, customer service measures, market share and return on assets.

Bengougam, who started his career in the hospitality industry by doing everything from cooking to making beds, says career progression is a particular strength of Hilton Worldwide. "We have a strong history of promoting from within the company and providing opportunities for personal and professional development. What starts for many as a part-time job can often lead to a long-term career in hospitality. We have an online performance review system where team members work globally with their direct reports on professional development and career progression. We invest significant resources in ensuring that we attract and develop world-class leaders, for example, our Elevator programme is an industry-leading programme which attracts talented graduates as well as identifies high potential within the organisation. These rising stars then go through an 18-month training programme before assuming their first management position, and are usually fast-tracked to senior leadership positions."

Ask Bengougam about succession planning and he'll launch into a detailed dissection of effective leadership, empowerment and inspiration of the individual. "We invest significant resources in ensuring that we attract and develop world class leaders. For example, we have many 'best in class' leadership programmes that help develop supervisors, chefs, department managers and general managers, and this forms part of the employment value proposition which enables us to promote such a compelling offer to the labour markets in which we operate. In essence, Hilton Worldwide is committed to ensuring that, once employed, team members are offered a wide range of training and development options, which enables staff to work towards promotions within the company. This ensures our team members can progress their careers without having to find a new job and also helps in succession planning and grooming team members for future opportunities."

Such a diverse and scattered workforce naturally lends itself to a large degree of crossover between different regions. But that's only made possible by the common culture that's underpinned by common vision and set of values. "Success in globalisation comes from a keen understanding of the differences in language, culture, ways of being and working, as well as social and labour frameworks. Each Hilton Worldwide brand has its own HR programmes and offers team members different opportunities. We have a strong philosophy of promoting from within and generally seek to hire employees from the home country in which we are operating. However, if we are unable to do so, we may look outside the home country to fill available positions whilst still complying with local laws. Ultimately, it's about finding the best person for the role." To illustrate this, Bengougam says in 2010, around 95 percent of Hilton Worldwide's general manager appointments were internal transfers or promotions. Many of these appointments were to a different country, although a few included entry into brand new markets for the organisation.    

Bengougam, whose CV includes Trust House Forte, Dixons and Utell International, says he was pleased to rejoin the hotel industry in May 2010. "I had been trying for the last few years to find the right opportunity to rejoin the hotel business. I have always felt that HR has a crucial role to play in global strategic priorities and at Hilton Worldwide, HR is truly at the heart of the company's work as it continues to position itself as the pre-eminent global hotel company in our industry. For me, it's all about finding great people with the right mindset for whom service comes naturally and is a pleasure not just a job."

When BMEU spoke to Bengougam, he had only been in the role six months, but he was already talking about the strides made in repositioning HR in the business. "We have realigned our team to clearer sets of accountabilities and are now majoring on the value-add aspect of HR, including optimising the talent agenda as a hard deliverable to sustain our growth and expansion. If people are important to a business then it follows that good HR must be too, but I will also concede that it must be good or even better. I have great ambition for the HR function and profession and I'm tremendously proud to work in HR. Let us just be concerned with being business focused, with delivering value and a return on investments which we seek, and with promoting professional competence and excellence in HR moving forward..."