What hospitality taught me about human resources

Carolin Bartel is the Human Resources Manager at the Gstaad Palace, one of Switzerland’s most luxurious hotels. She graduated in 2011 with a BBA Degree in Business Management & Hotel, Restaurant & Resort Management from Hotel Institute Montreux. In this interview, Carolin shares how she brings the hospitality touch to her role.

 

The Human Resources Department of a company helps set the overall tone of a company. How do you personally handle this responsibility?

I have seen in past positions when employees are afraid to approach the HR Department and how this affects the entire company culture. It’s very important to me that employees feel they can talk to us anytime – even about their families and home life so we can help work together to support our staff in the best way we can. And this message comes from the top – our Owner/General Manager has expressed how important it is for our staff to feel open and safe with our team.

 

What do you believe makes a Human Resources team exceptional?

Just like in hospitality, paying attention to the finer details helps to make an HR Department great at what they do. We take the approach of happy employee = a happy customer. Everything we do on a daily basis works towards that.

 

What are three key soft skills you look for in all recruitment profiles?

1. Languages: Multiple languages is a must for us. Even though we are in German-speaking Switzerland, the language of the hotel is French.

2. Passion for people: The personality of the person is very important. It’s important that they have a positive attitude and genuinely like working with people.

3. Trust, respect, loyalty, tradition, pride, dedication and togetherness: We are always thinking about building our family when we hire a new person. One of our staff members has been with us for 44 years. This is a good example of how we treat each other and what we expect from each other.

 

Would you hire a student from HIM? Why?

I would totally hire a student from HIM! HIM students are, in general, very good at presenting themselves and are almost always fluent in multiple languages. But what stands out for me is that they bring real-world work experience thanks to the mandatory internship component of their studies.

 

What advice would you give to someone starting a brand new job?

I would encourage a new employee to work towards gaining the trust of their supervisor and colleagues and to establish positive relationships inside and outside of your own department. And of course be yourself, this will create a healthy foundation for your future with the company.