Reflective Essay: Talent Development Program and Job Satisfaction

This reflective essay, written by a student in the Master of International Hotel Management program, provides a detailed analysis of a talent development program implemented at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, Australia. The essay explores the author's internship experience, focusing on the food and beverage department, and highlights the hotel's operational structure, including its various restaurants and lounges. The essay details the induction and training processes, including orientation and embark days, and discusses the learning experiences and observations made during the training program. Furthermore, the essay examines the hotel's objectives, provides recommendations for improvement, and covers recruitment strategies. The author reflects on the importance of communication skills, team spirit, and employee behavior in delivering excellent customer service, and the essay concludes with an overview of the training program components, such as on-the-job training, job rotation, and job monitoring.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the Organization....................................................................................................2
Placement, Preparation and Application....................................................................................5
Induction and Training...............................................................................................................5
Orientation day.......................................................................................................................6
Embark days...........................................................................................................................6
Learning and Observations....................................................................................................7
Training program...................................................................................................................7
Operating Objectives..................................................................................................................8
Objective Evaluation..................................................................................................................8
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
Recruitment............................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
I have been a part of in Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School as a
student of master degree and was pursuing with the course of International Hotel
Management. Through the Industry Placement I have witnessed that students are equipped
with both working experience in the respective field and severe knowledge only from
practicing. I have been offered an internship like all other students where I got the
opportunity to comprehend in detail regarding the professional sphere of the job and how the
diversity of culture works in Australian hotel.
My paper will be revolving around what course I have precisely gone through in my
masters level and how I implemented them in my career. The paper also concentrates on
giving a clear idea of the hotel I am working with. In this paper I will describe the food and
beverage section in detail not only because I work in that department but also because that is
a phenomenal part of the hotel to have build an amazing reputation regarding its service
among the customers. Therefore, I have given vivid detail about the food and beverage
services available here. The paper also talks about how the induction process works while the
training of the employees is going on. I also have concentrated on how the application and
the preparation is done here. I have also incorporated the objectives of the hotel along with
the recommendations that can be given in order to improve the condition of the organization.
Overview of the Organization
The hotel where I have been appointed to is Four Seasons that is either a four or five
star rated global brand across the whole world including 114 hotels which are widespread in
47 different countries around the whole world (Netherlands & Tour, 2016). The head-quarter
of this brand is situated in Canada. The only hotel of this brand that is situated in Australia is

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located in Sydney. The hotel was established in 2002 however, it was built in the year 1982
as The Regent while it the place was allocated for the colonial jail in the site namely, The
Rocks precinct. It is situated beside the historic harbor. The hotel is replete with abundance of
facilities starting from 24*7 gym service to special spa treatment. It has delicacies from
different parts of the world offered by luxurious restaurant present in the hotel. It has all the
other amenities like swimming pools and shopping zone where people can come in groups
and enjoy to the fullest. The one which is located in Sydney is one of the best known 5 star
rated hotels. This is precisely situated in the northern part of the George Street. There is an
estimated five-minute walking distance from Circular Quay Railway Station which is also
connected to the Airport Link Train Service. The other mentionable advantage that is
available here is that there are multiple corporate offices surrounding the area. Certain
example of offices would be Commonwealth Bank, Deloitte and NAB to be particular. The
hotel is considered to be the best place for both from the tourists’ and business perspectives.
If I look into the detail of structure of the hotel I would have to mention how all the
531 rooms are designed both scientifically and aesthetically. The rooms are well equipped
with different furniture like LCD TVs along with DVD players. There is also service of 24*7
free WiFi available in the hotel. The guests are offered with beverage makers along with
refreshments every morning. All the rooms are furnished with mini bars. The hotel also offers
high quality room service to all the rooms where the additional service of parking is also
available here. Since the hotel is undoubtedly best in several fields it can be easily considered
to be one of the best five star hotels current ongoing in business. However, the food and
beverage it provides is extraordinary therefore I will be focusing on how this service can be
used to attract a large number of customers to make the maximization of profit.
The Mode Kitchen and Bars are the recent operating restaurant in the hotel that can
accommodate more than 200 people. It was the opening restaurant in the hotel. They are

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familiar for delivering the best combination of bistro and the finest dining. The restaurants
are designed so beautifully that the guests are easily satisfied with the decors of the
restaurants. They are best known for providing their amazing local food with the touch of
authentic brilliant flavor. The restaurant not only offer lunch and supper but also is popular
for providing the customers with breakfast from 6.30. it is usually continued till 10.30 in the
morning but in weekends it is continued till 11 am. Lunch is served from 12 onwards to 3pm
while dinner starts at 5.30 and is continued till 10 pm. The schedule of dinner is same for
weekdays and weekend.
Grain Bar is one of the best places to get one’s self exposed to the vast corpus of
multiple varieties of whiskey. This is the best place to get 600 kinds of beverage and
probably the best of the lot in town is available here. People get the finest assortment of
beverages starting from different wines, beer to fancy cocktails in this bar. It remains open till
2pm late at night.
There is an amazing lounge namely, The Cabana, is located by the pool that serves
the guests with drinks and facilities. This is the best place to enjoy in summer. It opens at 10
am and is opened till 5 pm. Although this lounge is a famous visitors’ point in summer yet it
remains closed in the winter from the month of April to September. However an additional
offer is available during winter when the guests can ask for the special room service that they
can enjoy by the poolside.
There is another lounge called, Lounge 32 which is located in the 32nd floor of the
hotel which includes the amazing amenities of club room, suites and brilliant signature suites.
A beautiful complimentary breakfast service is included in the whole package that comes
along with the evening canapés. This is available only from 5pm to 8pm in the evening.
There is also an advantage of getting an access to the private room. It has an advantage of

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providing the guests with relaxation, dining, and appreciation of exclusive offers and services
by having a bird-view from the top floor.
Placement, Preparation and Application
For the placement in the hotel, it is better to have an experience from the same field
and that helps in understanding the job faster and in a smarter way. This filed also requires
extremely good communication skill so that they can easily understand the needs of the
customer. I have also understood that it requires a good team spirit so that all the works can
be executed quickly as a team. These are some basic things required for the placement.
I have chosen this particular hotel because this hotel is well reputed for providing
good service to the customers. I had to go through several processes like online application,
experience phone interview organized by the Human Resource Department, a face-to-face
interview by one of the members of same department, another interview regarding with room
dining manger and the next interview with food and beverage manager. There is a final round
that I had to go through is with the hotel manager and finally going through the process of
induction I could start my job.
Induction and Training
For making the employees equipped with all the information regarding the hotel and
the work culture and how it works a two tire process of training takes place. The Human
Resources Department is responsible for giving the employees orientation and embark
training.

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Orientation day
The first day is all about introduction of the employee to the authority especially HR
of the hotel and the hotel to the employee. All the paper works are done on that day while the
employees are given the prospectus, uniform, badge, and handbook. That day the room
service in charge takes the employees to different rooms and different parts of the hotel to
make the employees comfortable with the hotel. That day is primarily organized for making
the employees understand about their job roles.
Embark days
There are five different modules for three days that are arranged every month for the
new employees. Module one is for the first day where the employees are welcomed to the
hotel and the working premises as well as they are made aware of the mission and the vision
of the hotel so that the employees are able to follow them carefully (Wales, 2018). The next
day is set for the next module which involves the code of conduct of the hotel and making
them understand how they should work and behave in the working hours inside the hotel. The
employee benefits, values and ethics are also shared. Food safety training is also held in this
day. The module three consists of the brand promise and the worth of and making the
employees comprehend the culture of the organization.
Next comes the trial period of 90 days where the staffs are introduced with new
challenges and difficulties so that they can be assessed on the basis of their activities and the
module five is conducted throughout coming six months where the employees are encouraged
to show their special skills and talents that can be beneficial for the improvement of the hotel.
Learning and Observations
What I have experienced throughout my training period is something extraordinary
because I have gathered new experience everyday starting from training day to working days.

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It is one of the best places to work in because this hotel takes care of all the employees
equally and understands the needs of each employee. The way an employee works is not
judged but how their behavior is attracting the customers and how they are as moral beings
are also observed. The hotel tries to train a human being on a very basic ethical ground but
not merely an employee. We have built a good bond among the staffs and that has helped me
in learning that helping each other saves time and also assists in getting a job done in a better
way. Employees are considered to be the face of the hotel because the reputation of the hotel
depends on the behavior and the effectiveness of the employees.
Training program
The training programs start after the embark days are over. All the employees have to
go through the a process of three months of training where each of them has to pass the trial
to prove that they are working in right track and learning and adapting with policies really
well. The process includes
On Job Training is provided to the employees where the employees are continuously kept
under a training process when they are already working as employees. They are completely
given new ideas of challenges that they might have to face in working life so that they can get
prepared beforehand.
Job Rotation involves the employees to change their roles amidst themselves so that can be
ready for facing any challenge in any moment at any respective role.
Job Monitoring makes the employees follow instructions of the leader where they are made
aware of what their tasks are. They are trained to follow their respective leaders so that the
habit of working perfectly under any circumstances following the right order is already
practiced.

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Operating Objectives
Four Season Hotel Sydney believes in one motto and that is becoming the
uninterrupted leading hotel in providing the customers with the best possible luxurious
hospitality. It implies that the aim of the hotel is to shine in the brightest form in this trade
competing against its contemporary rival hotels. It does not depend on how the service id
delivered to the people in the hotel but also depends on how satisfied the customers are with
the service of the hotel. In order to stay in the summit of the trade the hotel has to
continuously improve in delivering the best quality of service and satisfy the customers with
great effort. A business model is based on four basic pillars and that are Quality, Culture,
Brand and the Service the traders are providing. On the basis of these four pillars the
objectives of any business organization is set. Similarly the hotel has set its own goals to b
achieved after a certain period. The aim of the hotel is to provide the best quality service and
amenities to its guests because that can lead the hotel to achieve its target of becoming
number one in this field and the service that hotel is providing has to be unique to attract and
impress the customers so that the hotel can become invincible. The work culture and the
ethics it has built since the first day should be followed by the employees blindly no matter
what comes in the way. It also concentrates on building a specific brand image that is
associated only with this hotel so that it can be distinguished within a glimpse.
Objective Evaluation
By business objective it is meant that what goals the company has set to achieve in a
given period of time. The hotel has arranged something new for bringing in some
technological changes in the hotel for providing the customers with the best of the services.
Therefore, the hotel is continuously working on leveraging technology. The hotel is
promoting the whole brand across new markets so that more people along with more potential

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market are getting informed about the hotel and the brand at the same time. This hotel has
always prioritized on the residential aspects and the motive has always been to gain more
profit through popularizing local things in an international way. It always looks for better
ways to communicate with the customers regarding the brand value and constantly working
on the improvement in building trust regarding the brand. It is a very smart and innovative
way to attract a good number of customers and can achieve the target easily if it followed
meticulously.
Recommendations
Recruitment
There is a custom of arranging the interview in five different rounds which last for
three consecutive weeks and the authorities always look for better candidates. However this
process seems to be very lengthy although it is very effective. The HOD then selects the
candidates precisely. With my opinion this process should be changed in order to reduce the
time of the method where the authority might arrange the interview in a way where two
HODs will be taking the interview and that will also be visualized by the hotel manager. This
will not only save more time but also allow the authority to appoint more number of
employees.
Induction Process
One thing I am certain about the employee of this hotel is it is the best in encouraging
and motivating its employees throughout the induction process. In this period the employees
are provided with a clear idea of how the hotel works and what the objectives of the hotel is.
There are arrangements of many activities and games which help in developing the team
spirit in all the employees. However one thing must be taken into consideration that it is

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impossible for all the employees to remember and get used to with all the new information
regarding the hotel in 24 hours (8 hours in 3 days). I would rather suggest changing the
timing with two sessions for first two months. It will be going on for a longer time so that it
becomes easier for the employees to get accustomed with new information.

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References
Netherlands, S. A. G. E., & Tour, F. (2016). Conferences & events diary 2016.
Wales, N. S. (2018). State/date Event Start time Venue CPD National 8/8/2018 National
Transfer Pricing Conference 2018 8.30 am Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney 6.5 29/8/2018
Monthly Tax Update 12.30 pm Online 1 30/8/2018 National Superannuation
Conference 9.30 am The Langham, Melbourne 12.