Early this year, amongst many cv’s we received an application . Her application was smartly printed, in her covering letter Lara let us know that she has a disability but with admirable determination she attached certificates of all the courses she has attended. Her cv was actually more impressive than most cv’s received from 17 year old youths looking for a job. What also struck me is that the applicant had attended a specialized ITS program called Pathway to Independent Living, covering the basic skills to start a job in a F&B related area. Before meeting the applicant, we decided to meet with ITS to understand better how the applicant can fit in our hotel and we were reassured that with the right support she can easily settle with the Food & beverage Department.
Following a discussion with the hotels GM, we assessed the various areas we could place her, keeping in mind that we needed to ensure a very safe environment, which is not too big or confusing and where she can easily be continuously coached & supervised, especially initially.
The conclusion was Agliolio which is casual a la carte restaurant within the Golden Sands Hotel. Agliolio’s BOH area would provide the secure environment we thought the applicant would be comfortable working in and being such a busy operation we could easily identify various tasks which would be of value to the team.
Finally we set a meeting to meet the applicant with her dad. The applicant brings with her all the workbooks used during her training with ITS and proudly takes us through what she had done to show us she knew what she was talking about. We discuss the hours and again she’s completely flexible, obviously with the backing of her dad. We explain the tasks we had in mind for her and take her down to see the workplace in Agliolio for her to better understand where she would be working and she smiles so enthusiastically and just asks when she can start. her determination is admirable. So we conclude on the details and plan her Induction after which she immediately started to work during our busy time back in July. The applicant is scheduled for work regularly and is there when the restaurant is busiest to help the service team with all the preparation required such as polishing of crockery, cutlery and glasses, preparation of glasses etc. She takes on one task at a time until she is ready to be given another task and today she knows clearly what is expected of her and has become a valued member of the team. Her presence brings a warmth to the people around her and her colleagues enjoy taking that extra little attention to take care of the applicant too.
As a Group, IHG does take pride in supporting such initiatives, not just because of a social obligation to do so but because we really believe that through a little extra effort we can really make a difference in some people’s lives. We look forward the applicant and all of our other employees with special needs to enjoy a long future working with us and I also congratulate them for having achieved so much more than some may have expected from them.
