Focus on increasing efficiency and Generation Z - this is how Zsuzsanna Kiss, HR Director of Marriott 4 Budapest hotels, saw the year
Change management, integrating foreign workers, reducing staff turnover, making operations more efficient - all were among the challenges for 2024. And the focus for next year will be on intensive development, said Zsuzsanna Kiss, Marriott Multi-property Director of Human Resources, in our year-end HR Leadership Series.
What were the biggest challenges and successes from an HR perspective this year?
The biggest challenges for our hotels have been managing change, dealing with an increased third-country population, increasing efficiency and reducing turnover. We have been successful in filling our vacancies despite the difficult labour market, operating our hotels at full capacity and achieving outstanding guest satisfaction results thanks to the commitment and warmth of our employees in the guest areas.
What specific HR measures have been a big hit with employees this year and what have they indicated they need to improve?
Opening access to employee assistance services, staff events and a strong corporate culture that actively engages with the communities in which our hotels operate through our CSR activities, and employee wellbeing programmes that support the physical and mental wellbeing of our employees are all very positive. We are constantly improving our labour processes, digitising the availability of employee certificates and payroll documents to provide even greater support to operations.
What HR trends do you see as the most important for the coming year? How might these impact your HR strategy?
Increasing efficiency will be the focus of HR in our hotels, as well as the ongoing review of the benefits package. We are also launching in-house training programmes, trying to develop the talent ourselves or at least help out the training facilities with practice-oriented training tailored to Marriott.
What training will you focus on next year?
We will intensively develop our middle managers and seek to provide development and career opportunities for all our talented, ambitious employees. I am also responsible for several Marriott-owned hotels in Budapest, which gives employees the opportunity to learn more about our brands, to cross train at another hotel and to expand their experience, transfer best practices and even learn from each other. This way they are constantly developing, they don't need to change jobs to improve their knowledge.
As a leader, which topic will be your focus next year?
More than 70% of our workforce will be Generation Z employees in the near future, so researching the changing demands on the workplace will be a focus, with the aim of increasing efficiency and engagement. We are constantly innovating, going digital, trying to put technology at our service to make HR service as fast and seamless as possible.
Photo of Zsuzsanna Kiss