3 May 2022 till present Mondrian Singapore Duxton
Director of People & Culture (Pre-opening)
HR lead for pre-opening hotel, development and formulation of policies, procedures and practices to support the operational needs of the hotel. Developing a unique culture-driven diversity and inclusion solutions that supports the hotel’s strategic goals and people life-work journey experience through the People Management program. Built a career on breaking new ground and thinking outside the box in unique approach to hiring under Mondrian’s ‘unexpected talents’ mantra.
Driving end-to-end People operations, talent processes, integrate Talent Strategy processes & programs with Talent Acquisition, Performance management, Learning & Development to enhance succession planning, diverse critical talent pipelines. Lead HR pre-opening in creating policies and procedures, compensation and benefit initiatives, implement pay system and wellbeing program.
Key Contribution
- Recruited a core team of over 180 people from unconventional hiring for pre-opening
- Implement Talent Acquisition strategy and Unconventional approach Hiring Strategies by casting a wide net of sourcing.
- Develop & implement HR Policy and promoting employee engagement activities and welfare programs.
- Establishing performance appraisal and compensation package including benchmarking salary structures, bonus and incentive program in line with market band to drive smarter hiring and retain top talent. Ensuring all leaders are setting Goals with KPIs measures of success, tied to merit and incentive pay expectations.
- Successfully obtained 45% Special quota from STB to hire foreigner during the hotel pre-opening.
- Successfully Curated a fixed pool of permanent hourly casual labor of 60 part-timers flexible in controlling manpower based on business needs.
- Successfully completed talent review / Succession plan and identified 8 talents to grow into future leadership. The 8 talents were put under a leadership development programs such as Revenue Management training program, Master housekeeping program, global leadership for emerging leaders’ program and F&B academy program and Rooms Academy program etc.
- Awarded in the Finalist for Employee Experience Award 2024 for Best In House Recruitment Team.
1 Dec 2019 to 30 Apr 2022 Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel (MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED)
Director of Human Resources
KEY CONTRIBUTION:
Champion People & Culture Initiatives, Business Support to the Hotel and SG F&B, and manage resources allocation (people & budget) in a heavily competitive hospitality market.
HIGHLIGHTS (50% of time on TA, 20% on HR Initiatives, 15% on L&D, 15% on Special Project)
- Talent Recruitment: 50% of time contributing to recruitment to fill 110 vacancies for re-opening staycation. Re-structure F&B and S&M departments. Recruited 45 staff for F&B Service & Kitchen and 10 for S&M in just 3 months’ time to meet the business needs during high occupancy.
- Lead TA strategies and initiatives to widen talent search improve the hiring process and promote Employer Branding. Hands-on talent sourcing to fill internal shortage (30% from internal employee referrals program. 20% from Campus recruitment, 20% from external job adv such as in-house job fairs, gov partner for entry-level (WSG, YRSG & Inclusive Organizations), 30% of candidates apply thru social media (LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram).
- Design/implement recruitment strategies and L+D program, analyze the company’s long & short-term people development.
- Multi-sourcing strategies for solving talent shortage from inside out to fill all vacancies. Widening social media and government agency search for talent, transforming the onboarding process. Collaborations with school/university for graduate’s program / internship placement.
- Collaborates with Global Head of HR in reviewing L+D activities, implementation training policy, frameworks, learning roadmap & solutions at all SG Hotels. Conduct training assessments, training needs analysis, and training gap. Deliver training courses enriching individual career journeys to unique skillsets.
- Partner external authorized Training provider delivers content accredited Courses. Collaborate Training module and custom design eLearning curriculum for leadership career development across 6 Millennium Hotels.
Onboarding policy/staff benefits/AWS/Annual Increment/Special CNY Bonus/Medical Insurance). Managed annual performance appraisals to help low performers make improvements. Launch Sales incentive scheme when KPIs and revenue /profits are met.
Align Salary, C+B on market pay, AWS, AI, special CNY bonus, medical insurance, and other rewards programs (join bonus/employee referral) and corporate policies.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENT:
- 65 positions were filled in just 3.5-month time to meet the business needs and to achieve recruitment KPIs.
- Lead STB for Manpower Support project to increase foreigner quota from 35% to 48% to hire foreigners to fill positions
- Partnering with RP to support Learn & Grow Graduate Program. Offer a 2-year fixed-term Graduate contract on a mid-management role to track real-life learning & development projects in various disciplines to grow and develop skills and knowledge.
1 Apr 2017 to 31 Jul 2019 Swisstouches Hotels & Resorts (An Iconic Blend of Swiss Hospitality)
Group Regional Director of Human Resources
KEY CONTRIBUTION:
Work closely with Chief Operating Officer (CEO) to elevate the Human Resources function within the Swisstouches Hotels group in China, roll out talent acquisition and HR strategies, and drive Quality engagement throughout the properties as the gentle evolution of the brand continues.
Plays as a Group Human Resources functional head overseeing for the China and Southeast Asia region, properties HR leaders and work closely with Hotel General Managers to drive the people strategy, developing an empowered and efficient workforce, and building a culture focused on creating unforgettable moments for both guests and employees.
Brand training & transformation of Swisstouches Passion Charter 7 Statement and Golden Commitments to all 1000 family members at 3 existing hotels and 1 pre-opening hotel.
Implement Recruitment strategies. Recruited 20 graduates from parent School HTMI each year and put on a Brand Management Trainee program. Participate in the Scholarship program.
Led Performance Management (PM) system. Set goals and KPIs to align business strategies for the annual budget planning cycle in all Swisstouches hotels.
Setting up a Brand Standard auditing system in the areas of HR, Training, and F&B including Pre- and Post- opening audits, Quality Assurance Audit Properties support to 3 operation Hotels.
15 Jun 2007 to 31 Mar 2017 The Ritz-Carlton China (Beijing & Tianjin) Cluster Director of Human Resources
Lead and manage all HR functions (including Learning & Organization effectiveness) in the hotel, ensure that HR practices match the business interprets of the hotel seamlessly – through a strategic approach that sustains loyal, talented, trained, aligned, engaged, and empowered employees to deliver service excellence and enlivening the organization culture. Oversee all areas of discipline & operations at the following Centre: talent acquisition, leadership development, human capital planning, compensation & benefits, training & learning, HR audit, graduate recruitment, and employee engagement.
KEY CONTRIBUTION:
- Talent Management (Talent Acquisition /Talent Development / Performance Management / Compensation & Benefits) Human Capital Planning/Talent Review
- Talent Engagement & Communication
- Learning & Development
- Lead talent acquisition - manage the full cycle recruiting process, sourcing, mapping talent skill, matching, and developing talent through career coaching.
- Champion Human Capital planning & process - set goal set ting, performance rating guidelines, and talent readiness for ‘Role model, Top performer, and Co-worker from the individual department.
- Identify talent readiness for the next 6 months/12 months /18-month leadership level.
- Delivered Marriott leadership programs for over 160+ managers and supervisors. 30 Learning Coaches attended Operational Excellent certification. As well as completed the Compliance training program and achieved 170 hours per manager
- Recruited 20 International interns/full-time graduate Voyage as per corporate policy and goal setting and put them on 18 months of development programs.
- Lead Graduate Recruitment program, establish the Ritz-Carlton Class with the local Hospitality University /College/school for the size of a classroom of 30 students.
- Champion engagement of management trainee and internship programs
- Coaching session for internal talent/graduates to help talent attain career clarity and verify job fit into the entry management position through a structured and robust 12-month program.
1 Oct 2003 to 30 Apr 2007 Windsor management Corporation, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Group Director of Human Resources
KEY CONTRIBUTION:
- Overseeing approximately 1200 associates and directed a team of 10 HR & Training leaders.
- Business Partner with senior executives and stakeholders to support the growth of the young organization.
- Managed, review, develop and implement Compensation and Benefits schemes and policies, conduct competitive market analysis of Total Rewards Compensation, lead the annual performance appraisal, salary and performance bonus review cycle, support operational Compensation & Benefits matters including payroll administration and benefits administration
- Lead Leadership Performance Profile and career progression that are tied to success gaps and people capability gap through counselling, mentoring for top talent and entry talent.
- Improve employee retention retain employees and keep turnover low through coaching and mentoring for career growth and positive feedback.
- Promote learning culture and Brand strength, built competency-based training for ongoing training and education programs, design thinking in crafting employee experience, career development and developing learning coach.
- Engage external professional academy conducted a one- week Coaching & Mentoring workshop to develop strong and efficient teams. 6 senior management level attended and was identified for the next group of company leaders to mentor.
- Implemented centric human resources shared service structure in terms of standardized JDs, Operations P&P, performance evaluation, and HR plan processes.
