Over Here, Over There
A comparative culture podcast including panel discussions, interviews, short clips and monologues with leading professionals and commentators from around the world discussing how we see others and others see us.
Over Here, Over There
Learning from the Best: Jacket Not Required
Over Here, Over There - A Podcast Across Borders #podcast
Ever wondered if you have the right attire when entering a high class place? Franck Arnold, Managing Director of the legendary Savoy in London, reveals dress code secrets of one of the world's leading hotels. This clip will change your understanding of what "proper" really means.
Discover how luxury standards are changing, why traditional dress codes are a thing of the past, why your outfit still matters more than you think - and how top hotels really judge your outfit!
Perfect for:
- Fashion lovers
- Hospitality professionals
- Style enthusiasts
- Career builders
- Travelers
Are you ready to learn from the best? Watch the full-length interview with Franck Arnold on the " @OverHereOverThere " Podcast here: Insights from The Savoy London - Inte...
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Franck Arnold
0:04 [Music] You know, things have changed. If you take the Savoy in the year 2000 it was a different hotel, and the cultural environment was also very different. I think that people would still as to wear a jacket and a tie and you would be asked to to do that. But the world has changed, the expectations have changed, people with culture and money do not necessarily wear a Jacket and a tie, actually quite the contrary, when they are on leisure. Sometimes they wear a jacket, so what we do is that we really recommend for people to wear something where they're going to feel comfortable, surrounded by people who are going to be quite dressed, but we don't impose a jacket or a tie. You got designer jeans that cost more than a suit, you know, if you know, and again if we want to ensure that the Savoy is still relevant in the future we need to evolve and this is where we need to judge what's the acceptable evolution for the Savoy without breaking away from what we are supposed to represent. But we need to take a certain level of risk. I know for sure that you know with the new rooms which I believe are the right level of legacy and modernity, but people... oh what did you do with our hotel - there will be an element of that and there have been elements of that in the past, otherwise the hotel wouldn't be where it is today. There must be also times when it gets stressful for the staff and heated maybe even, but I probably think that the guest shall never notice and probably won't ever notice, but how do you deal with that when - behind the scenes things are stressful and you have to cater for that? Do you feel like the leadership philosophy changes or can you maintain that?
You see, we are there in a very supportive philosophy, we are not top-down and do as I say... mhm ... we are there to guide, we are there to communicate, try to share the philosophy, we're there to support, to coach and to be there to support when especially it is very stressful. It is very stressful at times when you have a lot of people queuing, when things are not going well, when the kitchen is late when you know things are missing and you still have to produce this. So we need to accompany our staff with training and modules that help them to deal with stress. We have created a wellness room at the hotel, we have a multifaith room at the hotel we invested £300,000 in renovating the cafeteria you go to our cafeteria, it's a restaurant! You're not being served, it's self-service, but we cook, (3.07 mins.). We have a team, I don't know how many chefs we have who produce fresh food every day, you have choices, you have kosher, you have Halal, you have vegetarian, you have vegan, you have a soup, you have a salad bar, and we recreated that in an environment that helps people to relax because yes, it can be stressful at times and we need to be attentive because if it's too stressful people will leave and this is one of the biggest threats in our industry. It is turnover and the biggest challenge is retention - retention, because when you have worked at the Savoy 6 months, you become the target of other hotels for higher positions, better-paid positions, et cetera, so it is strategically critical that our staff does not turn over too much and it's changed.
COVID has changed things in the way people approach work-life. We have a younger generation that was suddenly confronted with death. You're not supposed to be confronted with death in your families or what you hear on TV and today so many people have died et cetera. So this younger generation has been ... this immortal generation, when you're 20 you are immortal, right? I was! I still am! but they have been confronted with all those facts and have changed, their approach to work, you know. They don't live to work, they work to live and if something happens, they have a tendency of changing more often than in the past. If they are disenchanted or demotivated, they can disappear and not come back. So it is very, very challenging because our service performance depends on the ability of our staff to deliver those experiences, and if we change and if we rotate too much, it gives us a lot of pressure to make sure that people are sufficiently trained and be able to cope as well with the stress. (5.25 mins.). So, it's a very big, strategic concern. [Music]