Remote retention key for JDDR

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KANWAL: Many ex-staff later ask to return.

The remote location of Jebel Dhanna Danat Resort has proven both a blessing and a curse to staff retention, according to general manager Manoj Kanwal.

Kanwal said staff were attracted to the resort with the possibility of saving money, being able to focus on their job and a strong company culture that would be impossible to achieve in a big city hotel.

"It becomes more like an extended family," he explained.

"We have more opportunity to interact with these staff, on the job as well as off the job. Like me, I stay in the hotel, so I am basically 24 hours a day. My office starts at 8.30 am, I finish at 5.30 pm, but I still have time that I spend in the hotel, so staff see me in the suit and they see me in the T-shirt and jeans as well.

"Even if a city hotel tried to bring in the same working culture it would be impossible. The hotel is busy, the staff are not on the premises all the time with you. They come on the job, they finish the job and they go home."

Kanwal said the turnover rate at the property was quite low, at 2-3% per month, despite the remote location.

"We are able to pay better attention to individuals and their personal requirements, off the job as well as on the job, like training and development opportunities, which is very difficult in the city hotels," he added.

"If we have five people leave every month, we hire two from outside and three we try to promote from within. We have a lot of staff who have grown here, so the majority of our hiring, say 80%, is always rank and file."

While the property is keen to promote staff internally, it is also realistic about the attractions other companies may offer.

"If somebody joined here as rank and file and worked here for two years, gained experience and due to circumstance we may not have a good opportunity for them to grow and they move to a new hotel, it is good for us," Kanwal said.

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