Hotelatelier: 5-star hotels for their employees

Ana Muñoz is the HR Generalist at Hotelatelier, a hotel chain that stands out for its dynamic and innovative approach and for the way it translates its mission statement into practice: ‘We are people taking care of people’.

Together with the other HR team members, Ana promotes the company culture and builds an employer branding to help them attract new employees and – most importantly – to make sure current employees feel happy and want to stay and grow with the company.

Hotelatelier has 39 hotels spread across Spain and Portugal and over 500 employees.

4 formulas for an excellent working enviroment

To achieve a positive work environment, Hotelatelier is committed to four key elements:

Ongoing training and development: So employees feel motivated, supported, and can see that they’re constantly growing. A couple of examples of this in action: 70% of the staff is trained in foreign languages, and the company carries out programs to internally develop future leaders.

Communication culture: Transparency is a top priority. So, the team in Bilbao knows what the team in Valencia is doing, and the same goes for the team in Porto and so on.

Culture of recognition: Recognition and celebration go hand-in-hand—and are central to the Hotelatelier culture. ‘Any achievement is a cause of celebration for us,’ says Ana. Employees feel that they can recognise and be recognised by any member of the team, not just the managers or directors.

Teamwork: The brand strongly encourages this value and organizes team-building activities so employees can connect with other departments they don't usually interact with, or even with teams from other hotels in the group.

Recognition, going beyond the usual steps

In addition to the recognition each employee receives quarterly in their one-to-one meeting with managers, Hotelatelier decided to take recognition beyond the basics with Mapal Engagement.

Two-Way Communication, Not Just Internal Communication

92% of Hotelatelier staff have downloaded the Engagement app. This allows them to reach the entire team and inform them about what the company is doing, what is being held in a specific hotel, and more.

‘Employees comment on these publications, give likes, and so on. And this helps us reach out to the team a lot. We have achieved a great degree of communication and recognition,’ says Ana.

And What About People Who Resist Technology?

Some are always a little more reluctant to use technology. Ana shares a success story that has melted our hearts:

‘I had a person who was somewhat reluctant, maybe because of the generational shift. Her colleagues and managers were giving her recognition, thanking her for her day-to-day work, and she wasn't reading it. So, the manager printed out all those recognitions, showed her, and when she

How to Measure the Results of All This Work

In addition to the one-to-one meetings with their managers, Hotelatelier regularly carries out team surveys with Mapal Engagement. These surveys measure the NPS (Net Promoter Score), an indicator that shows employee loyalty and satisfaction.

And when a person leaves the company, an interview is conducted with the manager and an exit survey carried out so they can suggest what to improve for other colleagues or what team members could be provided to continue improving their experience.

All this allows Hotelatelier not only to spot areas of improvement, but also to further enhance those aspects that work best.

All of this communication – whether in the form of Recognition, cross-team messages, interviews, surveys and anything in between – is kept secure, referenceable and forms a cohesive structure for the business to build careers, improve job satisfaction and build community.