HAI Launches Mentorship Programme to Ensure Hotels Retain Talent

This new initiative, India’s first Mentorship programme, hopes to provide a clear career path, so that India’s hotel industry is not seen as a stepping stone but an industry where people can stay on and make a career.

In this conversation, K B Kachru, president, HAI outlines the programme, how it will work and make the industry grow. He speaks with Navin Berry, editor.  

Navin: How did the idea germinate about this mentorship program? 

KB: I felt that we must do something to, first of all, attract people into the industry. People must belong somewhere and there should be a clear career path. Where we are losing, as an industry, is people at the entry level, they need to be more confident of where they will be, after 5 years, 7 years, 8 years. 

I think our top leadership has to understand that they need to create leaders for the future. In my own understanding, you are really not a leader if you don’t create leaders. So, one of the best ways is, that we as an industry, take ownership at the highest level, where every company actually earmarks certain people who will devote some time in mentoring juniors and those immediate juniors will also mentor people who are below them. So, there should be a trickle-down effect. 

And this has worked in some countries. And I said, why shouldn’t we do it in India? 

Navin: So, this has been tried elsewhere? 

KB: Australia had a good program of mentorship. And I feel as industry leaders, the onus is on us. A chief executive of a company has five people who are at VP level or in other positions – take a 360 view of his performance, his expectations and company’s expectations – these are discussed and then the person is helped to grow. So, there is a sense of hope. 

We will start with people working within the same company but at some point, even be open to sending our people to other companies.

These mentees, we do not want them to be nominated, they have to apply for it and the process has started. Every company will ask people at key levels, they will apply and then be told who their mentors are, and then the mentors will allocate a specific time as per the plan and address them and help them with their strengths and weaknesses. It is a continuous process and I feel that finally this mentorship must trickle down to shop floor level. That is the HAI dream. 

The real problem is that at entry level, people come, join, work in our industry for a couple of years. They leave, sighting better opportunities elsewhere.  

Navin: This is basically right now a HAI initiative. But you have made a complete template, it’s all there. So, it can be picked up by anyone else also, across the industry? 

KB: We, hotel brands, are already involved with it. If somebody wants to follow a good practice, we won’t be shy. The entire fraternity of HAI would work within HAI members. But if somebody outside of the HAI membership, follows some good practices, they are most welcome. It’s only good for the industry. 

Navin: So, we can say it’s open to across industry? 

KB: And if they are HAI members they will be facilitated and they can be part of a structured program. 

Navin: So, as you said the whole program is going to be rolled out by Diwali or is it already on? 

KB: It has been completed in terms of structuring. We are intending to roll out by Diwali. It may get a week or 10-day delay but definitely around that time. 

Navin: Now when you say rollout, how will rollout happen? 

KB: First, we have to have the mentors allocated, the mentees shortlisted.  Areas have been identified where the necessary protocols streamlined, both the assurance and their learnings. 

Navin: So, you will have a meeting of all your members at some point where you will officially share  what each company has done. 

KB:   Yes, with the actual execution monitored by HAI secretariat.  

Navin: Can you share once again, the full picture, on people issues? 

KB: Our mission should be to attract highly motivated people. We don’t want people to use this as a stepping stone, everybody has the ambition to grow. But we want to create a bigger hype around our industry.  So that people feel, if they are good, they have an opportunity of becoming a general manager in X number of years. It’s going to be ultimately an effort by HAI members, skill council, all together so that everybody has a chance to grow. 

Navin: Our last question, how much of this programme has been put into motion within Radisson? More, as an example, of where we are heading?  

KB: This program is an HAI program and Radisson is part of it. We are also going to start at the same time. Individual mentorship, mentee mentorship is there already in some of our brands, but on an adhoc basis, not as a structured programme, yet. We need to develop this, for the sake of the larger industry aspirations, to scale these into a structured program, where we can offer this programme and help people grow. 

Navin: Will there be any kind of a certification? 

KB:  To be honest, we actually did think of one, but then there can be issues around law. After all, we are not any university, or any formal education unit, we’re not a certified body. But what we will do is somebody who completes the mentorship program, will be acknowledged appropriately.