EMPLOYEES

NH Hotel Group cares for its employees and seeks their commitment to and involvement with the Company’s Corporate Responsibility, so that it is integrated in their daily activities. All this through fluid communication and recognizing their responsible commitment.

In NH Hotel Group’s business strategy, the corporate culture is key. The Company considers its human capital, its people, to be the motor of the Company and it is therefore understood that in order to build a corporate culture of leadership, it is essential to manage effectively the attraction, development and retention of talent.

NH Hotel Group is committed to the training and development of employees so that it always has the best professionals and customers can continue to trust in the quality service offered in the Group’s hotels. Each employee’s professional development is carried out through continuous multidisciplinary training as well as performance and talent management programmes.

Under the premise “our shared beliefs and, consequently, our behaviour, define what we are”, NH Hotel Group has laid the foundations of its internal culture for the purpose of helping to attain the goals of the Strategic Plan, promoting a shift towards a leadership model.

This culture provides the foundations and the backing to adapt to current market needs, which demands that importance be given to the customer and technological transformation aligned with the Corporation Responsibility bases in order to ensure the sustainability of the business over time.

Furthermore, the capacity to generate and encourage local employment has enabled us to become a Company that contributes to sustainable development in the communities where we carry out our activity.

“Our employees: ambassadors of our values, make the Company’s achievements possible”

People strategy

The key policies and projects of the strategy have been consolidated in 2019, with the completion of the implementation of the Company’s HR Strategic Plan and the establishment of the basis for the launch of the strategic initiatives grouped around the 3 main pillars: Global Leadership and Talent Management, Top Performance, and Best Place to Work. Much of this is driven by technological measures, to take advantage of the opportunities to be more efficient and to help the evolution towards a more agile and connected working environment. This evolution will take place in line with the pillars of the People strategy in the coming years.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND TALENT MANAGEMENT

Continuing to drive and convey leadership within NH Hotel Group, focusing efforts and investment on internal talent that has the potential to make a difference in the Company’s strategy and become role models of our culture.

TOP PERFORMANCE

Creation of interdepartmental plans to work on empathy and gain a better understanding of each department, with the aim of also improving teamwork.

BEST PLACE TO WORK

Making our employees the best brand ambassadors, based on their high level of commitment, and increasing the recognition of NH Hotel Group as one of the best companies to work for.

Transformation and new technologies

Seeking, assessing and taking advantage of opportunities to evolve and develop our working environment to make it more agile, connected and productive and in order to acquire advanced predictive analytical skills. All of this through clear policies and processes, keeping promises proactively, supporting, developing and implementing the NH Hotel Group operational model, and controlling staff costs and related budgetary items.

Along these lines, the Human Resources team has continued to consolidate the strategic lines of work set out in the Strategic Plan and to prepare the launch of new initiatives:

STRATEGIC LINES OF WORK FOR HUMAN RESOURCES IN 2019
    • Guiding the evolution of the top management team as a united and integrated decision-making model and towards a more agile and more connected way of working.

 

    • Consolidating talent management with particular attention to achieving Development and Succession Plans for key positions.

 

    • Continuing the improvement and standardisation of programmes to prepare future leaders.

 

    • Providing support to the improvement and optimisation of managers’ role in team management.

 

    • Designing recognition programmes and compensation policies for employees with the highest performance in hotels and Central Services.

 

    • Reinforcing internal commitment with campaigns for the communication and implementation of the New Way of Working at local and global level, as well as campaigns to accompany integration and change management.

 

    • Continuing work to reinforce the level of commitment in the organization by following up the shaping and implementation of plans based on results of the global commitment survey.

 

    • Continuing to develop and drive our Employer Branding strategy for local customisation.

 

    • Being a partner that offers service and advising in the processes identified in relation to the integration with Minor.

Furthermore, in 2019, Human Resources has led or co-led strategic projects with the Operations and Finances Departments to guarantee the quality of HR data, the finalization of the operational model and the professionalization of budget processes. The Company continues along the lines marked out by the former Plan, reinforcing the three pillars of action where efforts merge to improve the competitiveness, evolution and performance of the organization.

NH Hotel Group employees by Business Unit are detailed below:

* Figures showing FTE (Full Time Equivalents) for all types of employees (except Outside Labour, Extra Labour and Trainees) considering hotels under ownership, lease, management and franchise, including in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system.

Compared to the previous year, there has been a slight decrease in the workforce in the Americas Business Unit, and a more significant one in the Southern Europe Business Unit, caused in part by the Hesperia hotels leaving the perimeter at the end of 2018. The growth in employees has occurred mainly in the Corporate Offices, and to a slight extent in the Northern Europe Business Unit.

Our human capital

At the end of 2019, NH Hotel Group had 11,464 employees in 20 countries, of whom 51% are women and 49% are men.

BREAKDOWN OF EMPLOYEES BY COUNTRY:

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system.
** The increase Portugal employees is should be the integration to Minor management of Portugal in NH Hotel Group.
*** The decrease in the number of employees in the USA is due to the temporary closure of the hotel for renovation work.

BREAKDOWN OF EMPLOYEES BY GENDER*:

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management.

BREAKDOWN OF EMPLOYEES BY AGE*:

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease)
** No information on age available for less than 1%

BREAKDOWN OF EMPLOYEES BY PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY:

The categories by which all the information is broken down are as follows:

  • Top management:
    • CSS/Corporate Offices: Chief Officer, Senior Vicepresident, Vicepresident, Senior Director and Regional Director.
    • Hotel: Director and Deputy.

 

  • Middle Management:
    • CCSS/ Corporate Offices: Director and Manager.
    • Hotel: Chiefs of department.

 

  • Staff:
    • CCSS/ Corporate Offices: Executive, Staff and Assistant.
    • Hotel: Other hotel positions.
EMPLOYEES BY PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY*

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system.

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system.

Quality job creation and talent retention

NH Hotel Group’s commitment to job stability can be clearly seen in the high percentage of employees with indefinite contracts. The Company fosters job stability, especially for women and those under 40 years old. Accordingly, in 2019, 79% of the contracts of women for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter are indefinite. Furthermore, 79% of employees between 25 and 40 years old have indefinite contracts.

ANNUAL AVERAGE OF CONTRACT TYPES*

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease)

ANNUAL AVERAGE OF NUMBER OF CONTRACT MODALITIES BY GENDER *

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease)

ANNUAL AVERAGE OF NUMBER OF CONTRACT MODALITIES BY AGE**

** Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease).
Part-time contracts are a type of contract for both temporary and indefinite contracts.
Part-time retired employees are considered to be a type of temporary contract.
** No information on age available for less than 1%.

ANNUAL AVERAGE OF NUMBER OF CONTRACT MODALITIES BY CATEGORY*

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease).
 Part-time contracts are a type of contract for both temporary and indefinite contracts.
 Part-time retired employees are considered to be a type of temporary contract.

NUMBER OF CONTRACTS AND BREAKDOWN BY TYPE OF WORKDAY
Nº OF CONTRACTS

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease). No information on 2% employee contracts.
** 2% de empleados sin dato de contrato.
Part-time contracts are a type of contract for both temporary and indefinite contracts. Part-time retired employees are considered to be a type of temporary contract.

 

Nº OF CONTRACTS

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease). No information on 2% employee contracts.
Part-time contracts are a type of contract for both temporary and indefinite contracts. Part-time retired employees are considered to be a type of temporary contract.

Culture of diversity, equality and inclusion

NH Hotel Group sees diversity as a key factor in building up a network of diverse talent, capable of understanding customers’ needs, innovating and reflecting society in the business world in this 3.0 era. For all these reasons, a fundamental pillar of NH Hotel Group’s corporate culture is also based on diversity, equality and inclusion.

Thus, the Company’s 11,464 employees in 2019 are of 139 different nationalities and 18% of them work in countries that are different to their country of origin. Furthermore, 51% of the total workforce are women, who hold 43% of the total management posts.

As far as age is concerned, in 2019 the percentage of employees between 25 and 40 years old was 45 %, while those under 25 represented 11 %, and those over 40 years old represented 44%.

In 2019 the workforce also included 114 disabled employees, who represent 1% of the global workforce. Additionally, NH Hotel Group is committed to the integration into work of disabled persons through responsible purchases from Special Employment Centres as providers of laundry services. Purchases from Special Employment Centres in 2019 represented 9.68% of the total*.

* Estimate referring to the workforce in Spain, together with the Special Employment Centre employees associated to NH Hotel Group’s purchases.

* The figures published differ from those published in 2018 due to a change in the calculation criteria. They have been recalculated to provide comparability between the two years.
** Corporate perimeter (hotels under ownership, lease, management and franchise).
*** No information on age available for less than 1%.

Through its Code of Conduct, NH Hotel Group formalises its commitment to promote non-discrimination on account of race, colour, nationality, social origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, ideology, political opinions, religion or any other personal, physical or social condition of its professionals, as well as to equality of opportunities among them.

* Information corresponding to data held in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for workplaces in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease).
No information on 2% employee contracts.

The policies and actions relating to selection, hiring, training and internal promotion of employees are based on criteria of capacity, competence and
professional merits.

NH Hotel Group, recognized for promoting equality and diversity

In 2019 NH Hotel Group was publicly recognized in two rankings as one of the most egalitarian companies in the world.

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Equileap gender-equality ranking

The international organization Equileap, created to speed up progress towards gender equality at work, published its first multisectoral classification in October 2019 which shows the behaviour of the world’s biggest companies in relation to gender equality. NH Hotel Group obtained the 48th position, making it the best-placed Spanish compa-ny, out of more than 3,000 companies from around the world, based on 19 gender-equality criteria.

Logo-Bloomberg

Bloomberg Gender & Equality

In January 2020 NH Hotel Group was included for the first time in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index 2020. The Company is the only hotel company out of the 15 Spanish companies that appear in the index.

This international index, which includes almost 6,000 companies in 84 countries, measures the commitment and contribution in terms of transparency of gender infor-mation and promotion of equality. NH Hotel Group sees this inclusion as an opportunity to continue working globally towards diversity and inclusion.

EQUALITY PLAN

In July 2010, NH Hotel Group signed its Equality Plan with representatives of the workers. To draw up this plan, the Company: carried out an exhaustive diagnosis of the situation and position of men and women, which confirmed that NH Hotel Group in Spain had a high presence of women and a high number of female executives present in the organization.

After this positive first assessment, work was done on an action plan with specific measures in different areas of access to the company, hiring, promotion, training, remuneration, work-life balance, occupational health, communication and awareness-raising that would make it possible to eliminate or correct inequalities in these areas.

The document also included a series of measures to ensure the protection of women victims of gender violence: giving them priority in hiring, monitoring any cases of gender violence that arise, as well as the measures taken and informing the workforce of the rights of women in this situation.

In order to guarantee compliance with the objectives set out and the execution of the actions established in the Plan, a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee was also created, made up, on a parity basis, of representatives of the company and of the signatory trade union organizations.

This Plan has enabled the Company to develop mechanisms that will facilitate greater female representation throughout the organization’s hierarchical structure.

This was the starting point for the development of the guidelines that define the Company in terms of its commitment to equality, focused not just on gender difference, but on different nationalities, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, religion, disabilities…This is also recognized in the NH Hotel Group Code of Conduct.

The work carried out made it possible to replicate the diversity and equality diagnostic and assessment process in other countries, creating action plans on this matter in all Business Units.

Since July 2019 NH Hotel Group has been in negotiations with the most representative trade unions for the renewal of this Plan. A new Plan is expected to be presented by the end of 2020, maintaining and/or extending actions to guarantee gender equality.

Protocol against sexual harassment

As a complement to the Plan, and to facilitate its implementation and raise awareness among employees, it includes a Protocol for the prevention and treatment of situations of sexual harassment and harassment on account of gender in the workplace, as well as a manual for non-sexist use of language.

A TEAM WITH THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES

The salary of women in NH Hotel Group in 2019 represented 89% of the gross hourly salary for men; the average gross wage per hour was 15.40 euros for men and 13.70 euros for women. The pay gap has been calculated by comparing remuneration between equivalent professional categories. In other words, categories that carry out the same function or have the same position. In performing the calculation, 99.1% of the workforce has been taken into consideration.

The overall figure for the pay gap is obtained by weighing the gaps obtained in the comparison between average remuneration (considering fixed and variable remuneration paid) received by the professionals in each category by the number of professionals in that category.

RATIO OF WOMEN’S SALARY COMPARED TO MEN BY PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY (%)*

* Analysis performed on 99.1% of the workforce for workplaces included in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease)

Despite having 51% of women in the workforce, this analysis of the pay gap has served to identify that the gap increases in Top Management, especially due to the lower presence of women in this category.

This situation offers a great opportunity to carry out an analysis in more depth of the different groups, not just women, and establish as a priority the continuation of a long-term project of real management of employee diversity in all respects and support their professional development within the Company. NH Hotel Group will continue working to adopt the most suitable measures to eliminate this gap.

** No information on age available for less than 1% .

AVERAGE REMUNERATION BY PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY AND GENDER

* Gross annual fixed salary plus variable. Analysis performed on 99.1% of the workforce for workplaces included in the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease).

The NH Hotel Group remuneration model

The remuneration policy applied by NH Hotel Group has no gender bias. The annual fixed cash remuneration and variable remuneration, the two fundamental components of the Company’s remuneration structure, are established objectively. Fixed remuneration mainly reflects the professional’s experience and responsibility in the Company, while variable remuneration rewards attainment of annual targets, which are fundamentally quantitative, and are shared by professionals who perform their activities in the same functional areas.

NH Hotel Group’s success depends, to a great extent, on the attainment of individual targets by the professionals who are part of the Company. To promote attainment of these targets and, therefore, those of each Business Unit and those of the Company, a variable remuneration system is in place. The model is based on recognizing the professionals who make a bigger contribution to the attainment of the Company’s goals.

In Spain, the Company offers a flexible remuneration plan that allows all professionals to assign part of their remuneration to transport tickets, childcare vouchers, collective life and savings insurance, the purchase of vacation days, restaurant card, medical insurance or external training, among others. In this way they benefit from special prices and tax advantages.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

In 2019 NH Hotel Group has continued to work in the framework of its Engagement Commitment, implementing actions based on the results of the 2018 Engagement Survey.

The teams responsible for working on engagement at each workplace carried out action plans with the aim of improving the working environment in line with the results in their hotels. In 2019, an external tool provided help for this task, which enabled each team to explore best market practices, share their own practices and conduct a follow-up of these plans.

The action plans implemented vary considerably according to the results of each workplace.

Significant engagement actions in hotels in 2019
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Weekly committee meetings continue to be held, at which the hotel General Manager shares information with Heads of Department: on vision, strategy, main challenges, prioritization of tasks, available resources, context and decisions made at organizational level to be implemented in the hotel. In addition, time is set aside for the Heads of Department to raise their main concerns, lessons learned, suggestions and proposals with the General Manager.

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In 2019 efforts have been made to ensure that every employee gets to be a “Quality Inspector”, spending a day as a “customer / boss”, checking the entire hotel.

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With the initiative entitled “A day in the life of…”, employees of different departments have the opportunity to experience the everyday activity of another area of the hotel, learn the standards of other departments, and gain awareness of others’ work, developing their empathy.

Engagement Pulse Survey 2019

In 2019, one year after launching the biennial working environment climate survey in 2018, an Engagement Pulse Survey was launched to all employees. The aim of this survey was to measure the progress made in the engagement initiatives implemented following the results of the Employee Engagement Survey 2018.
A participation index of 63% was achieved, with a favourable response rate of 68%. There was also an open comments field that allowed for new information be obtained to review the ac-tions plans implemented, with the aim of boosting their effectiveness in increasing employee engagement at each workplace.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

For NH Hotel Group, internal communication is a key factor in generating and maintaining employees’ engagement with the Company.

The first year of the new Internal Communication Plan 2019-2023 came to an end in 2019 with great success. This plan provides for the evolution towards an employee-centric philosophy. In this new phase, personalization and segmentation of communication are key, handling personalized information scenarios in which the stories and the opinion of employees will feature more and more prominently.

In this ambitious path towards personalisation of information, included in the new Internal Communication Plan, both the MyNH app and the other channels will evolve technically in order to adapt to the new model. This will involve the implementation of a new analytical dashboard that includes the new local and global KPI.

Main Internal Communication projects in 2019

MyNH App

La Compañía ha trabajado en un análisis general de KPIs de tráfico de su APP para empleados durante 2019. Los resultados siguen posicionando esta herramienta como clave para lograr el ambicioso reto de llegar a conectar con el 100% de los empleados.

MyNH permite a los empleados consultar desde su dispositivo móvil las últimas noticias, campañas, proyectos o vacantes internas del Grupo y realizar reservas con tarifa empleado, a la vez que da acceso a la intranet y a un chat interno para los hoteles. Además, a partir de 2019, los empleados del Equipo de Ventas cuentan con una sección propia gracias a la cual tienen acceso a toda la información relevante para su trabajo diario.

El número aproximado de descargas registradas entre empleados desde su lanzamiento ha sido de más de 5.000, con más de 3.500 usuarios activos durante 2019.

‘Tell the World’ Internal communication channel

The new Internal Communication Plan continues to favour the digital strategy applied to all its environments and channels. The consolidation of ‘Tell the World 3.0’ as the major internal communication channel in the group has encouraged the Company to explore new environments and formats for communicating news and relevant contents for employees.

In 2019 continuity was given to the pilot project for the internal TV channel in Central Offices, Central Reservations and Central Services in Madrid and Barcelona. ‘Tell the World – Latest news’ continues to evolve, and the goal is to implement it in all the Company’s hotels through TV screens located in canteens and communal areas.

In 2019 a total of 132 editions of the Tell the World news bulletin were published in up to seven languages, and more than 48,518 visits were recorded.

TTW

Town Halls

These innovative conferences, which seek to share the most relevant milestones and initiatives with all employees, reaffirm the commitment of Senior Management and the main leaders of the different Business Units to the Company’s communication. At the end of 2018, the Internal Communication team organized a massive Town Hall, with the presence of the Chairman and CEO of Minor International, as well as the CEO of NH Hotel Group, and which served to make the integration of the two companies official.

In 2019, the CEO of NH Hotel Group, Ramón Aragonés, led a total of four conferences of this type, in conjunction with the Management Committee. These conferences could also be followed by live streaming.

Change Management Projects

Without a doubt the great milestone this year has been the integration of NH Hotel Group and Minor International, and once again Internal Communication has consolidated its status as an indispensable tool in change management. To accompany this process and inform employees of the pro-gress and strategy of this integration, a new Internal Com-munication channel was created, called ‘Moving Forward’, accessible to all employees by mail and the MyNH app. Furthermore, to facilitate the integration process for Minor hotels in Portugal, a specific version in Portuguese was created for all employees.

A new channel called ‘Quest for Excellence’ was also creat-ed in 2019. With this channel, the Company takes another step in its strategy towards excellence and its ambition to lead the sector in technological innovation. Audiovisual content prevails in this new newsletter, which describes the major achievements of this multidisciplinary project and gives visibility to the protagonists behind each success story.

In its first months, the new ‘Quest for Excellence’ newsletter has already launched 4 editions, with a total of 9 videos.

EMPLOYER BRANDING – FURTHER TOGETHER

NH Hotel Group is proud that its employees are the key to the success of the business. Therefore, in 2019 the Company has sought to consolidate the NH Hotel Group employer brand throughout the world, to attract and motivate the best talent among employees and external candidates.

The long-term goal of the Employer Branding (EB) plan is to establish a unique culture around our values as an employer brand, through uniform and consistent communication of the Company’s identity and essence. To do so, work has continued on the “Further Together” campaign, featuring employees from all Business Units who talk first-hand about what they like most about working in the Company, thus becoming Ambassadors of NH Hotel Group.

With this campaign, which includes several initiatives, particular emphasis has been placed on social media and digital actions since the end of 2017, with more than 200 posts published, over 1,300,000 people impacted and more than 18,600 interactions in 2019 alone. All of this has been possible thanks to the stories told by the Ambassadors and also thanks to all the employees and members of the public who follow NH Hotel Group on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

MEMORABLE DATES

In 2019 the Memorable Dates programme has carried on with the tradition of celebrating the most important anniversaries (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years), as well as the retirement of hotel and central office employees in all Business Units. Events have been held in all countries and workplaces where the sole stars were the employees whose anniversaries were being recognized.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

At NH Hotel Group the performance management process is a key and consolidated element of our leadership culture, carried out through the Time for You programme.

The evaluation of the performance and skills of the NH Hotel Group professionals allows us to know our internal talent in order to guide their training and professional development more effectively. The evaluation serves to identify the strengths and development areas of professionals in the performance of their work, based on which the different development plans are defined. The results of these evaluations are linked to their professional development and the increase in their variable remuneration.

Time for You

The NH Hotel Group performance management process, called ‘Time for You’, is designed to support the performance evaluation -which takes place every six months – and development planning throughout the year. It is aimed at all permanent employees who have at least 3 months’ service in the Company. The performance evaluation measures WHAT employees do and HOW they do it.

Skills-based performance

NH Hotel Group has a skills-based performance management system in which a maximum of 8 skills are identified that employees must show. Depending on each employee’s job, between 5 – 8 of these skills are assessed. These skills can be divided into three groups: Technical, Core and Managerial. The skills are evaluated during the Annual TFY Review. To help understand and measure them better, a definition and certain key words have been added.

In addition, certain benchmarks behaviours are included for each organizational level, to provide more information on how to evaluate the skills. Managers also have the possibility of asking any other employee with a corporate email, and through the same tool for additional feedback on the employee they are evaluating in order to enhance the observations given to the employee, and helping him or her to improve his or her self-knowledge.

The participation rate among target employees in 2019 has increased compared to 2018 85% completed in the Mid-year Review, which is more than two points higher than the results in 2018 (82.6%).

360º Evaluation Process

The 360° evaluation process is associated to the strategic pillars of “Global Leadership and Talent Management” and it applies to all hotel General Managers and Deputy General Managers at global level. At the end of 2019, the 3rd edition of the process was launched, which seeks to measure the progress in skill development by these key leaders in NH Hotel Group, as well as the effectiveness of the action plans they defined in the last evaluation. In 2019, 329 General Managers and deputy managers took part.

Additionally, this totally anonymous process aims to improve participants’ self-knowledge through the information they receive from all the people invited to respond: peers, team, management and self-evaluation.

During 2020, participants will receive a personalized report, designed as a workbook that includes questions to reflect on, and which will be returned to each participant at an individual feedback session, to help both in understanding their results and in designing their new development plan.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

NH Hotel Group is currently developing a process to help identify and develop talent by looking not just at sustained performance over time but also the potential and ambition of the people who have key positions in the Company. In this way, NH Hotel Group assures that key roles for the future are adequately channelled. The overall objective is to create a mindset of talent in leaders at all levels, starting with the top 100 executives in the Company and going on to our Hotel General Managers and Heads of Department.

Training: NH University

NH Hotel Group is committed to the professional development and training of all its employees as a way to put into practice the philosophy that inspires its customer service vocations. All the face-to-face and online training projects are managed through the corporate university, NH University. Every year the training curriculum is adapted so that the people who work at NH Hotel Group can continue to refresh both their technical knowledge and their skills.

The total number of hours of training, both face-to-face and online, in 2019 was 134,651.
NH University has trained 6,547 employees in 1,197 face-to-face training sessions, which represents 50% of the total workforce.

In line with the Company’s training strategy and following the trend of previous years, this year saw a high ratio of participation in online training. A total of 12,546 employees received some online training during the year, which represents 95% of the total workforce.

In addition, the Company received a total of €155,208 in public grants for training.

Once again, the Company has continued to show its commitment to internal talent in 2019, using 313 internal trainers in its face-to-face classes.

1,3M€

Total investment in training in 2019*

126.779

hours of face-to-face and online training online

13.286

participants received training in

651

face-to-face programs
Se ha formado a

13.286

Participantes en

651

programas presenciales

*Information referring to the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease)

134.651

total face-to-face and online training hours have been completed

13.667

participants received training in

652

face-to-face programs

*Information referring to the corporate perimeter (hotels under ownership, lease and management)

EMPLOYEE TRAINING HOURS BY BU

SHOWTIME: Experiencing the hotel business

All new employees who join NH Hotel Group at Central Services receive training in one of the Group’s hotels.

The object of this training is for these new employees to get to know our business and experience the passion we feel for what we do, promoting integration, empathy, and a holistic vision of the Company.

ShowTime consists of a full 2-day stay in one of the Company’s hotels, where the new employee becomes another member of the team at the hotel in question and has the chance to gain more in-depth knowledge of the different departments. Through 3 different methodologies: direct contact with guests, participating in the daily activities of the departments, or learning by observation of colleagues, the new employees of Central Services get close to the heart of the Company: the hotels and their teams.

KEY CORPORATE TRAINING PROJECTS IN 2019

To respond to strategic training needs, throughout 2019 NH University has carried out, among others, 3 training programmes for groups from all its business units.

  • “BUILD THE EXPERIENCE” NH HOTELS BRAND GAME

    NH University has launched a new training action to convey the essence of the NH Hotels brand and its key elements, common to all the hotels of this brand. The main goal is to raise awareness in the teams of the important role they have in conveying the brand values to customers.

    Through a gamified training and over a period of 5 weeks all the teams from NH Hotels participate in groups to overcome challenges related to each of the brand elements, while at the same time building the best experiences for our customers.

    It is planned to carry out this training at every new hotel opening.

  • GSO GROUP SALES COMMERCIAL PROCESS

    This blended (online + face-to-face) training was designed for teams at the Company’s Global Sales Offices (GSO) with the purpose of reflecting on the 5 key moments in the group sales process so that all GSO specialists receive the same information and have a uniform knowledge level.

    The programme consists of two parts: an online escape room called ‘The Lost Client’ and, subsequently, a face-to-face class called ‘The 5 moments of truth’ where the knowledge acquired in the previous e-learning is put into practice. The programme was completed by 145 employees.

  • REVENUERS CLUB

    Based on the theme of a rugby league, NH University designed this training pathway for 527 employees comprising hotel General Managers, Deputy General Managers and the revenue teams, of whom 466 completed the programme, more than 88% of the participants.

    The pathway consists of 5 e-learning modules, all of them related to Revenue Management, which the employees complete through the NH Talent training platform and 4 “Coach Sessions” in webinar format, led by experts on the subject.

    The training seeks to strengthen knowledge of revenue and reinforce collaboration, as well as share best practices on this area among the teams.

KEY PROJECTS BY BUSINESS UNIT IN 2019

Southern Europe Business Unit

  • TOP HOTELS PROJECT 2018 – 19

    A project that analysed and classified more than 1.700 qualitative comments ncluded in the “Areas of Improvement”section of the Individual Development Plan in the evaluation of more than 900 people of the 19 hotels representing 80% of EBITDA in Spain and Portugal.Once the comments had been categorized, the training needs were identified by different areas of knowledge: Quality and Innovation (related to improving customer service and innovation); Company (related to business and financial aspects and the definition of indicators); Leadership and Management (team management and development, communication); Professional Efficiency and Professional Development (skills to improve work performance) and Computer Tools.

    RESULT: Based on these areas of knowledge, a fully tailored training plan for each hotel was developed with the aim of covering the needs for improvement proposed by each supervisor for his or her team.

  • F&B ACADEMY 2019

    The F&B Academy training programme, which started in September 2019, is aimed at the entire Italian F&B department. It consists of eight different modules to reinforce the skills of our F&B specialists. The principal subjects covered deal with economy, hospitality, cooking techniques, the world of coffee and wine. In order to identify the main needs for the purpose of planning the training, we have created a survey which was shared with all Italian General Managers, Chefs and Maîtres.

    RESULT: We involved different trainers from Italy and other parts of Europe, and this was a great opportunity for our F&B personnel to grow and to share experiences.

  • RAISING YOUR LEADERSHIP 2019

    How to lead and direct people is one of the key points to be dealt with in modern organizations. NH Hotel Group has thought about how to train and develop its Hotel and Central Services managers. Two different training courses were planned, one for all hotel General Managers and the other for Central Services Heads of Department. The common theme for both was concerned with raising leadership by gaining deeper knowledge of subjects such as communication, the feedback process, role play, motivation and performance management.

    The trainers involved were two experts in leadership and coaching with strong cultural and professional backgrounds. Around 60 people received training with a total of 96 hours.

  • PRESENTATION SKILLS

    A number of training sessions were organization on how to implement and develop presentation skills, both communicative and creative.

    RESULT: Professional growth and being able to present results, projects and initiatives in a creative and impactful way. The participants were very pleased with the skills acquired.

F_NH_collection-constanza_302_web
Unidad de Negocio Norte de Europa
  • Proyectos PDI + Onboarding 2019

    The PDI class of 2018/2019 graduated in February with the presentation of the special projects that they had been working on for 6 months. The winning team presented the Onboarding project, which was then implemented in NH Talent.

    The programme for new employees was launched for all employees in every country of the Northern Europe Business Unit. The programme was presented to all Heads of Departments, Deputies and General Managers of hotels.

    All new employees had one month to complete it and it comprises information on: the Company, the business unit, compulsory online training courses, checklists and the Welcome to the Job programme that allows all new employees to experience the service from the guests’ point of view by spending one night at the hotel, including F&B services.

    RESULT: An inspiring induction process for each new employee.

  • JUMP

    All participants in JUMP have the opportunity to gain experience alongside someone who inspires them and they would like to learn from, choosing to join inspiring F&B Managers, hotel General Managers or even members of the Business Unit Executive team.

  • ‘START UP NEW TRAININGS’

    In 2019, NH Hotel Group started to create content for new training cours-es called ‘Discover Your Talents’ and ‘Boost Your Energy’.

    The first pilot sessions of ‘Discover Your Talents’ were successful, so the training will be offered in the Training Plan for 2020 in the Northern Eu-rope Business Unit. ‘Discover your talents’ is about discovering partici-pants’ key personal qualities and how to use them effectively in their work. This training is focused on each person’s talents and how to get the most out of them.

    In turn, ‘Boost your energy’ is a two-day training course focused on the importance of feeling fit and full of energy, both physically and mentally. Taking care of yourself is the first step to feeling good and therefore the first session deals with nutrition, exercise, sleep and relaxation. In the sec-ond session, matters related to effective stress management are discussed, with several practical tools being presented for this purpose.

    RESULT: Taking the lead in personal vitality using specific advice and tips.

Americas Business Unit

Colombia

  • NH STYLE

    The object of this training was to improve the service offered in hotels, with the purpose of generating memorable experiences for both internal and external customers.

  • NH INDUCTION

    ‘NH Induction’ seeks to help new employees get to know the Company, its history, beliefs, structure, brands, etc., as well as important employment-related matters (payroll, health and safety at work, document management, among others). It is an event at which the Director of the region welcomes new employees and invites them to give the best of themselves and grow in NH Hotel Group.

  • HOTEL ENGLISH CLASSES

    Training given to 10 Heads of Operations, Managers and Regional Directors. The training in English has helped to improve participants’ performance and give them greater security with the language to strengthen their professional relations.

Argentina

  • NH SERVICE STANDARDS

    Continuing with the initiative that started in 2018, training in NH hotel service standards was completed in 2019, for both Housekeeping and Front Office.

    In 2019, a booster to the Housekeeping Standards course was developed for Buenos Aires, comprising 6 four-hour sessions. Training in Personal Image & Make Up was also included to add value to the training and surprise the participants.

    As far as F&B is concerned, with the incorporation of a new F&B Manager, all the hotels in the region have personnel trained in F&B Service.

  • PASTRY WORKSHOP

    Pastry chefs in Argentina and Uruguay were invited to a two-day training course that covered breakfasts, shared good practices, defined standards for the area and at which they received a motivational talk given by a renowned pastry chef in the region.

  • FRONT OFFICE MANAGER TRAINING

    In 2019, NH Hotel Group had the opportunity to bring together all the Front Office Managers from Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. The training agenda was distributed over three days and, beyond the training goals themselves, it provided a great opportunity for networking.

    The main subjects covered were Front Office Standards, Quality, Commercial and Revenue, Data Protection, NH Rewards, Administration, Taxes, TraNHsformation Plan and Public Speaking.

  • SPECIAL TRAINING FOR THE OPENING OF NH COLLECTION CASA COSTANERA

    An ad hoc nine-day training course for all hotel personnel was designed for the opening of this new hotel, dealing with the main areas of the hotel and its particular operating arrangements.

  • AMBASSADOR TRAINING

    A two-day training course was carried out with all the Ambassadors in the Southern Cone, the purpose of which was to provide knowledge and a space in which to develop the skills that would allow each participant and the entire team to know their strengths and their areas of improvement, in five essential areas: Self-leadership, Communication, Teamwork, 360 Leadership and Motivation..

  • LAUNCH OF CROSS TRAINING

    The key aim of this training is to provide the employee with training in a specific area which is not the area in which he or she works. The programme can be carried out in a week on a full-time basis or in 15 days on a part-time basis.

    RESULT: The participant will have contact with another area of the hotel in which he or she will learn the main functions. This gives participants a broader vision of the business.

FLEXIBILIDAD Y CONCILIACIÓN: ‘NEW WAY OF WORKING’

For NH Hotel Group the work-life balance is about finding a balance between the needs and interests of its employees and those of the Company.

The NH Hotel Group culture is evolving towards a more flexible model, in which individuals can enjoy greater facilities in terms of time management and in doing their jobs in environments that are adapted to their activities and with the necessary tools. The project, called “New Way of Working”, is structured around three lines of action:

  • Redefining and adjusting physical office space according to employees’ needs
  • New technological equipment and systems that facilitate flexibility
  • New flexible working culture both in terms of hours and workplace

Accordingly, at the corporate offices of NH Hotel Group Mayors have been defined for the purposes of facilitating change management, communication, employee engagement and answering questions. These 7 Mayors represent each of the districts or areas of the offices (Commercial, Marketing, Resources, Operations, Finances and Communications) and have the following functions:

  • Representing their area at the weekly meetings of the Engagement Team, which is responsible for the Engagement Commitment in the corporate offices.
  • CChannelling possible requests, suggestions or proposals for improvement that have been generated in their respective areas and convey them to the Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP).
  • Proposing new action plans, with both local and transversal measures, based on the results of the Engagement Climate Survey.
  • Reaching a consensus on the proposed measures with two sponsors -Executives of special relevance in the Company- to obtain their feedback and seek their support in presenting the Action Plan.
  • Presenting the Action Plan to the CEO and the Management Committee.
  • Following up on the implementation of the different measures in their districts and proposing corrective measures, if necessary.
  • Checking the working environment on a weekly basis and sounding out how the different measures launched by Human Resources are perceived by their co-workers.
Principal work-life balance and flexibility measures and other employee benefits in NH Hotel Group
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    Exámenes en horario laboral

    Previo preaviso con una antelación de 48 horas y justificante de asistencia.

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    Cumplimiento de un deber inexcusable de carácter público y personal

    La Compañía concede el tiempo indispensable para su realización.

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    Técnicas de reproducción asistida

    Cualquier profesional en tratamiento de técnicas de reproducción asistida tiene derecho a ausentarse del trabajo, previa justificación.

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    Nacimiento o adopción

    La Compañía ofrece:

    • Una gratificación económica en caso de nacimiento o adopción de un hijo.
    • Garantía de un permiso retribuido para las gestiones previas a las adopciones internacionales.
    • Posibilidad de una excedencia de 4 a 6 meses para las personas en trámites de adopción internacional, con reserva de puesto de trabajo.
    • Posibilidad de unir el permiso de paternidad a las vacaciones, para facilitar el desplazamiento del otro progenitor/a cuando el hijo/a haya nacido fuera de España.

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    Fomento de la contratación de mujeres víctima de violencia de género

    Prioridad en la contratación de mujeres que acrediten su condición de víctimas de violencia de género, en igualdad de condiciones.

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    Movilidad geográfica

    Preferencia en la movilidad geográfica por motivos de cuidados de personas dependientes (menores y familiares).

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    Fomento de las nuevas tecnologías

    Uso e impulso de las nuevas tecnologías de la información (videoconferencias, etc.) siempre que sea posible, para evitar continuos viajes o desplazamientos.

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    Flexibilidad horaria y jornada intensiva

    Flexibilidad horaria en entrada y salida. Jornada intensiva en verano y durante todos los viernes del año.

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    Flexibilidad espacial (teletrabajo)*

    Para todas las posiciones fuera de convenio compatibles con dicha modalidad. En la actualidad, no existen medidas específicas de desconexión laboral.

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    Nutrición

    Comida gratuita para todos los empleados de sede central. Cestas con fruta diaria en la sede central.

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    Programa de descuentos

    Acceso a un programa de descuentos y precios exclusivos en una amplia gama de productos, servicios y ocio de forma online.

Health and wellbeing at work

NH Hotel Group understands that offering people a safe and healthy working environment is an absolutely necessary requisite. In Spain, NH Hotel Group has an Occupational Risk Prevention Plan which is the master document that governs the Occupational Health and Safety actions to be carried out at the Company’s workplaces in Spain. This Plan includes, among others, essential procedures such as:

  • Risk Assessment
  • Health and Safety Training and Information
  • Health Monitoring
  • Health Damage Management
  • Emergency Management
  • Maternity Protection
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Business Activity Coordination

The Plan is based on the integration of these processes throughout the Company’s hierarchical structure. Both Central Services department managers and hotel personnel (from General Managers to staff) have been assigned functions and responsibilities in this area. Furthermore, in Spain there is a Joint Prevention Service which provides services to the NH Hotel Group hotels and workplaces in Spain.

In other countries, this Plan is not applicable and therefore technical advising on Occupational Risk Prevention is outsourced with external service providers. In some countries, NH Hotel Group employees are designated as responsible for coordinating the actions of these service providers and for implementing the established corrective measures and prevention procedures.

NH Hotel Group strives to promote a culture of occupational health as part of its commitment to health and safety. The integration of occupational health into the Company’s activities is reflected in the programmes and action plans in hotels and offices in different countries.

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS IN NH HOTEL GROUP IN 2019

* The countries that have reported information on accidents that have occurred are Argentina, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.

In 2019, NH Hotel Group recorded 19 cases of occupational illness, affecting 14 women and 5 men.

* Accident rates have been calculated on a representative sample of the data.
** FR = number of workplace accidents or occupational illnesses / hours worked *1,000,000
*** SR= days lost by workplace accidents or occupational illness / hours worked *1,000

TURNOVER AND ABSENTEEISM

TURNOVER IN 2019

* Annual Turnover considering hotels under ownership, lease and management for all kind of employment contracts (except Outside Labour, Extra Labour and Trainees) as reflected in the NH Hotel Group ERP SAP HCM management system.

Due to the characteristics of the hotel business, NH Hotel Group considers it relevant to know and manage the specific turnover of employees with indefinite employment contracts. The table set out below shows the results obtained with regard to permanent employees.

TURNOVER OF EMPLOYEES WITH INDEFINITE CONTRACTS 2019 (%)

* Annual Turnover for employees under indefinite contracts, considering hotels under ownership, lease, management and franchise as reflected in the NH Hotel Group ERP SAP HCM management system.

ABSENTEEISM IN 2019

* Information based on data recorded in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for the corporate/consolidated perimeter.

EMPLOYMENT TERMINATIONS IN 2019**

* No information on age available for less than 1%.

** Information based on data recorded in NH Hotel Group’s ERP SAP HCM management system for the consolidated perimeter (hotels under ownership and lease).

Social dialogue with employees

NH Hotel Group seeks to maintain a model of responsible and positive labour relations based on principles of dialogue, consultation with and participation of workers.

Accordingly, in October 2015 the European Works Council (EWC) of NH Hotel Group was set up as an initiative of the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors (EFFAT) and at the request of affiliates from Italy, Belgium and Spain.

This EWC affects all the Company’s workplaces in the European Economic Area and operates under directive 2009/38/EC, as well as its transposition into Spanish legislation. Its principal function is to achieve a level of communication and social dialogue that, in a climate of confidence, makes mutual understanding possible on cross-border matters that affect its employees.

Coverage of NH Hotel Group employees by Collective Agreements, which generally include aspects related to employees’ health and safety, varies according to the different Business Units.

% OF EMPLOYEES COVERED

* The decrease in the percentage of coverage of the Americas Business Unit in 2019 is due to the difference in criteria from one year to the next; considering in 2018 only salary aspects, to determine whether the employees conformed to an agreement or not; while in 2019 the application of all the aspects regulated in the regulations.