Glion Institute of Higher Education and Vendôm partnered second edition of the "EXCELLENCE by Vendôm" luxury recruitment fair

It was a unique opportunity for recruiters like AccessAir, Accor, Audemars Piguet, Bucherer, Bulgari Hotel London, Cheval Blanc, Chopard, Clarins, Dior, Ferragamo, Four Seasons, Hublot, La Prairie, Louis Vuitton, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott International, Montblanc, Monte-Carlo, Tiffany & Co. to showcase their professional environment and meet with a pool of qualified talent, and for candidates to gain visibility with significant luxury brands.

The conferences tackled the themes of innovation, corporate culture and customer experience: what is luxury and what factors are going to shape this most desirable of industries in the coming months and years?

The four panels explored three key challenges - human capital, sustainability, and skills transmission - before concluding with a delve into the true essence of luxury itself, and where the sector might be headed in future.

People to People with François-Henry BENNAHMIAS, CEO Audemars Piguet and Maud BAILLY, CEO Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems.

Luxury and Hospitality is a one-of-a-kind people to people business: both employees and customers are at the heart of it and the quality of their relation brings luxury brands to life.

For François-Henry Bennahmias, luxury brands have tended to overlook the central human element as they have built ever more impressive boutique environments in which to sell their wares.

“With luxury stores, we spend millions and millions on the outside, on the box, then we spend millions on décor, so I said, we need to work on people before we work on the box around the people. And to be successful with people, we had to do it first within the company before we could then do it outside.”

The discussions focused on the importance of service in the hospitality and luxury industry. Service entails soft skills but also intercultural comprehension, empathy, mindfulness and precision. Unique experiences as a whole encompassing both products and services are at the core of Luxury brands’ selling proposition.

For Maud Bailly, the cultural relevancy in the way customers are treated is absolutely key to a global operator like Accor. “One size does not fit all. It is hard for us to try to identify the same clients and treat them the same way no matter where we are going to be (operating). We are currently in 110 countries, and if you think about the way you treat one guest in one country, then if you try to replicate that treatment somewhere else, you are going to be wrong. This is why we desperately need cultural relevancy, to really make sure we meet each guest’s expectations, locally speaking.”

Therefore, corporate culture and talent recruitment are interlinked with customer experience and customer satisfaction. The discussion further revolved around how the contours of the ‘people’ or Human Resources functions could be redefined as well as the leader’s role in attracting, retaining and developing talent. Employee empowerment is also a key element within the corporate culture.