Save the date for Champions "Meet and Greet" with The Westin, March 19

Champions Career Centre is proud to partner with The Westin for our next employer “Meet and Greet” on Wednesday, March 19. In attendance will be Human Resources and Housekeeping Directors and staff from The Westin. They are looking forward to meeting job candidates to fill multiple positions at their hotel. Click for current listings.

Champions hosts regular “Meet and Greets” for the community to bring together job candidates and employers who are hiring. They are informal and open forums where Champions and community partner candidates are invited to meet and talk with hiring managers from Calgary businesses at the Champions office downtown.

Susan Reeves, Director of Human Resources at The Westin took some time to speak with Champions about their commitment to accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Westin Hotels all follow the Ontario Disabilities Act which guide their policies and in Calgary, they are led by General Manager Didier Luneau, who believes the core of diversity is showing respect to individuals. 

Champions has featured The Westin in the past as a 'Diversity Champion', not only for its commitment to inclusion of persons with disabilities, but also of women, visible minorities and immigrants, aboriginals and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) peoples.  Cultural diversity is also embraced and over 34 different languages are spoken among employees at the hotel. Embracing diversity of all kinds is a smart business decision and also makes the hotel a more welcoming place for their guests and associates.  

In terms of inclusion of persons with disabilities, Ms. Reeves leads regular diversity sessions for employees of The Westin. These activities put them “in the shoes” of a person with a disability, leading to a greater understanding of the barriers that persons with disabilities may face in the context of their hotel. Ms Reeves comments that this awareness is crucial to her staff, noting that staff members are not always aware that disabilities can be invisible, as well as visible.

Looking ahead to the “Meet and Greet” in March, Ms. Reeves says that, as they are first and foremost a customer service focussed workplace, they are looking for candidates who are people-oriented. She also says that often, The Westin will hire an individual based on their attitude and realise that skills can be taught later, upholding the Champions philosophy that employers interview “for skill” and hire for “fit”.

Attendees of the “Meet and Greet” will learn more about the hotel industry and all the opportunities that exist within it. They are currently looking to fill positions in their kitchen and in their housekeeping team, as well as others, emphasizing that many people don’t realise the variety of opportunities within a hotel.

“We are a 24-hour operation, all kinds of shifts, all different skills. It’s like a big house, there are so many different jobs that you can do here,” she says.

For more information or to pre-register for The Westin “Meet and Greet” at Champions Career Centre, please call us 403.265.5374. Space is limited.