Staying at a luxury resort can feel like a religious experience.
For a handful of employees at Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, it actually was.
They were flown to Saudi Arabia this fall to help open the new Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel in the holiest city in the Muslim world. Daily calls to prayer are made from a tower with a 12-metre clock, five times the size of Big Ben.
As part of Fairmont's talent-retention and enhancement program, qualified employees are sometimes transferred to assist with openings of glamorous hotels such as this 76-storey monolith.
"If you work in one of our hotels, you work in a beautiful environment," said Kim Van Pelt, executive director of talent management at Fairmont, which was a leader in the "workspace" category of the Canada's 100 Best Employers survey. "We offer employees an opportunity to grow personally by living in different parts of the world."
Eight new Fairmont hotels opened this year, and for each, between four and 10 employees were transferred internally, she said. Those who aren't able to enjoy these perks can still stay at Fairmont resorts at discounted rates, as can their families and friends.
In all, 8,643 full-time employees work at Fairmont. The 102-year company now has more than 50 locations worldwide.
Before joining the hotel's administration, Ms. Van Pelt was one of those employees who opened hotels and travelled the globe. She did so for 14 years, starting in 1991 at Deerhurst Resort in Ontario's cottage country, and continuing on to Dubai, Vancouver, Scotland, California and Seattle. She now works mostly as a "remote employee" from her home in Fort Worth, Tex., travelling once a month.
It's true the hotels are for guests to enjoy - those comfy feather pillows aren't for employees to bury their heads in - but Fairmont has devised a number of ways to attract and retain talented workers.
"We have a very strong human resources culture," she said. "And how we select talent is core to our culture."
The four core recruitment principles are to select, train, lead and recognize talented people, she said. This makes for a more engaged employee and a better workplace overall.
This year, Fairmont put a number of its teaching aids online, allowing more employees the opportunity to grow within the company. Courses on leadership and conducting performance reviews are among the offerings.
If Fairmont is to follow its mandate to "turn moments into memories for our guests," it must hire people who want to offer warm hospitality, treat each guest as an individual, anticipate their needs, solve their problems, and generally be an ambassador to the Fairmont brand, Ms. Van Pelt said.
"You can teach people how to do a job, but you can't teach talent," she said.
How to attract the best talent
Short of opening offices in glamorous parts of the world, it's difficult to copy Fairmont's exact model. However, having a clear program that recognizes talent and achievement can go a long way to retain good people and build a better workplace, Ms. Van Pelt says.
Fairmont also has had success with starting the job interview process with an online component to weed through applicants.
Training and promoting leadership will also improve the workspace for all employees, she said.
