How Sheraton conducted a virtual mass recruitment campaign amid a time of crisis

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This article is brought to you by Sheraton.

Not letting the pandemic upend its growth plans, Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel, which was scheduled to open in December 2020, decided to host a virtual mass recruitment day in September 2020 to recruit associates at all levels and departments. Here's how it achieved this.

The hotel industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this time of crisis, recruitment is more challenging than ever as the pandemic has upended the traditional face-to-face recruitment processes.

As Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel was scheduled to open in December 2020, the hotel management team decided to host a virtual mass recruitment day in September 2020 to recruit associates at all levels and across all departments, since face-to-face interviews were prohibited under the social distancing restrictions.

To maintain an engaging and smooth recruitment process in this time of uncertainty and rapid change, Sheraton tapped into digital tools, while inviting HR professionals from Marriott group to assist with the interview and selection process and conducting workshops to align employees’ skills with digital transformation.

Not just the people aspect, the Sheraton team covered all its technical bases too prior to the event – from testing network stability and quality to dispatching guidelines to candidates on how to use the applications and attend the interview.

“In a time of crisis, we have to adapt to a new mindset, as well as redesign our talent acquisition processes through a user-friendly digitised approach which incorporates a higher level of human-centric communication that drives compassion, provides stability, and shares career opportunities with candidates. Our initiatives are driven by our company’s core values such as putting people first, embracing changes, just to name a few. We aspire to cultivate an environment where each one of us feels like a valued member of a team and is motivated to make a difference in our communities,” says Patrick Chan, Director of Human Resources (pictured above).

To allow candidates to have a glimpse of what Sheraton is like, the team filmed a video to showcase the hotel and invited the General Manager to share some of his thoughts prior to the recruitment day.

“Sheraton is a place where the world comes together. At the heart of local communities since 1937, we bring people together—both our guests and our associates. Sheraton is also where all our colleagues create a space for the community to gather. We emphasise this brand value throughout the entire recruitment process and touchpoints, ensuring that candidates are aware of our core values and philosophy.”

The event was a rousing success, with over 1,200 resumes received over the short span of two days, and the Sheraton team conducting more than 350 interviews. Not only did the company overcome the challenge of staffing its upcoming property within safety guidelines, but it also received positive feedback from candidates on the logistics and the overall experience.

Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel was awarded a silver in Best Recruitment Transformation - In-house and a bronze in Best Local Recruitment Strategy at the Asia Recruitment Awards 2021 Hong Kong, organised by Human Resources Online. Meet all the winners here.

Photo / Provided (lead image - Sander Looijen, cluster general manager for Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel)