Starwood says it believes in nurturing talent. Therefore, when the company hires talent, it does not look for candidates who can fill up the needed position, but who have the potential to evolve and grow to take on larger roles. Says Dilip Puri, Managing Director, India and Regional Vice President, South Asia: “The battle for market share in the future will be fought over talent. It is therefore imperative that we have a robust strategy in place to attract, develop and retain the best talent.”
Starwood says culture permeates through everything that it does across its 10 brands. “As an equal opportunity employer, we support talent with a robust talent development and management programme and have in place a strategic road map to nurture women leaders. Our ADR (attract, develop and retain) strategy is supported by a structured programme to engage our associates, foster innovation and creativity and grow our talent,” says Puri.
One of the major focus areas for Starwood is gender diversity. To support this initiative Starwood South Asia has launched a new programme, LADDER (Lady Associates Discovery, Development, Engagement and Retention). “We are looking to have diversity across all levels with focus on senior executive levels including more Lady GM and Hotel Managers.”
To fuel its talent pipeline at mid-management level in South Asia, Starwood has a management trainee programme called Graduate Management Associate Programme. In the last six years, this programme has helped build strong bench strength. Today Starwood is perceived as an aspirational company to work for. That is why it is the first few in its industry to get invitations by leading hotel management institutes for campus hiring.
ashish@businessworld.in
BW Reporters
Ashish Sinha is an experienced business journalist who has covered FMCG, auto, infrastructure, tourism, telecom among several other beats. Ashish has keen interest in the regulatory scenario impacting different sectors. He writes on aviation, railways, post and telegraph, infrastructure, defence, media & entertainment, among a wide variety of other subjects.
