“You’ve been here how long?”

Retention is often an issue in catering and hospitality, but key staff at the Novotel London West have clocked up more than 500 years between them.

Between Jan 08 and Jan 09 staff turnover at London hotels was at 88 percent. Against that background, it is no wonder that the Novotel London West in Hammersmith are so proud of the fact that their staff turnover rates are at a record low of 13.3 percent.

On 28 July, the hotel is held an awards ceremony to celebrate this achievement and to thank the staff for their continued loyalty. 34 staff, who between them have worked more than half a millennium at the hotel, were toasted by Jean Jaques Dessours (the Managing Director of Accor – the owners of the flagship Novotel – himself a longstanding employee of the group) and Michael Sloan (the General Manager of the Novotel London West). Each longstanding member of staff has been awarded with a cash bonus and will receive a tailor made award. Many of the 34 staff being recognised have worked at the hotel for over 25 years in roles that are traditionally some of the most transient in a transient business: front of house, finance and IT. Some staff have enjoyed more than 30 years of service.

So what is it that makes staff so loyal to the Novotel London West?

Michael Sloan, General Manager of the hotel, said: “Happy staff lead to delighted guests. We know that to exceed our guests’ expectations every member of our team needs to be enjoying their role. There’s a unique family feel about our hotel and we treat each other as we would like to be treated. That atmosphere is one of the reasons that employees stay with us for so long.”

According to Rosita Salah, Head Housekeeper at the Hammersmith hotel, who received a long service award: “I’m proud to have been part of such a great team at Novotel London West for 35 years – so far -We meet every week to discuss the feedback that we get from our guests and their positive comments are the best bit of the job.”

Isabelle Macart, Communications Manager, who has worked at the hotel for the last 12 years added: “One of the most rewarding aspects of my job has been helping to develop and implement Service Extraordinaire – our Novotel branded approach to customer service. It engages our team and the benefits get passed on to our guests.”

And Madge Herraghty, Senior HR Officer at the hotel who joined six years ago as a part-time payroll officer, added: “The team at the hotel gave me the support that I needed as the mother of a young child to get my work life balance right. Now that my son is in secondary school they have given me the training and encouragement to get back to full time employment and realise my full potential.”

 Ed Hobson is Director of Sales and Marketing at Novotel London
West