Kempinski Seychelles Resort SWITCHES Things Up
On Friday 26th of July 2019, managers at Kempinski
Seychelles Resort Baie Lazare switched roles with their employees to walk a
proverbial mile in each other’s shoes. The work experience initiative, known as
Kempinski SWITCH, allowed team mates to garner first-hand experience of each
other’s daily tasks and working environment by “switching” places with another
team member for a day.The SWITCH took place across functions and hierarchies: managers were invited to step into the shoes of their staff for a day – and vice versa – so that each could experience what the other’s respective roles entail. During the course of the workplace experiment, members of the hotel’s senior management got hands-on experience of cleaning guestrooms, handling guest queries and performing security checks, while junior staff members headed up meetings and attended to staff concerns.
The SWITCH
initiative aimed to serve all team members with a platform to view and
understand the importance and value of each and every single position within
the luxury hotel.
“Understanding
how each individual contributes towards the overall success of the team and the
hotel is critical in order to craft a beautiful performance together,” said the
hotel’s general manager, Masami Egami. The experiential learning initiative was
designed to foster an ideal environment for colleagues to broaden their
horizons and promote a culture of collaboration.
“Participating
in Kempinski SWITCH also gave us the chance to discover hidden talents and
identify potential career development opportunities,” said human resources
manager, Cheryl Marie, who was responsible for cleaning staff housing during
her career swap. “As managers, we were given a first-hand experience of
employee life and were inspired with fresh ideas to identify areas for
improvement.”
The
Kempinski SWITCH imitative takes place every year, in Kempinski properties
across the globe.
