WHEN SARAH CALLAGHAN phoned about a vacancy at the Holiday Inn Edinburgh, she found herself speaking directly to general manager Philip Counsell, who invited her for an interview later that day. “That to me was impressive,” says Callaghan, who landed the position as senior reservations manager after a second interview. Now, nearly three years later, she's still at the 303-bedroom hotel next to Edinburgh Zoo, and still impressed. “There is a nice atmosphere,” says Callaghan, who also runs reservations at a smaller sibling hotel in the west of the city. “People are happy and they like their job. I've got a good work-life balance and that's important to me. I do not want to go anywhere else.” She's not alone. Employees at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which also includes the brands InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo, have fun with their colleagues (a positive score of 84%) and care a lot about each other (77%). They also find that work doesn't interfere with their responsibilities at home, and they wouldn't leave tomorrow if they were offered another job (both 70%). “There are so many opportunities for people,” adds Callaghan, whose role includes overseeing the training and development of eight staff. “There is a review of what they want to do over the next three years and how we can help them progress to the next stage. We do a plan and make sure they are on track.” IHG comes first in our Personal Growth category, with a score of 75% — staff feel the experience they gain is valuable for their future (79%). The pay and benefits go down well, too (63%). While almost 60% of the 7,351 staff earn £15,000 or less a year — some on a basic salary of £11,309 — they do get to use the leisure facilities and have big discounts at the company's 4,600 hotels in nearly 100 countries. IHG has more guest rooms than any other hotel group in the world, with more than 677,000. “It's great,” says groups and incentives manger Gosia Malkowska, who once stayed at a five-star InterContinental hotel in Cancun, Mexico, for £25 a night. She also gets an annual free anniversary weekend stay in one of IHG's managed hotels in the UK, plus a night at her hotel on her birthday. Across IHG, employees go out of their way to help each other (80%) and feel a strong sense of family in their team (79%). Last year, staff from across the country walked, ran, swam and cycled 185,000 miles to raise funds for charity — including Counsell, who rode his bike 120 miles. “We treat people well,” says Counsell, adding: “Without the right people, we really are absolutely nothing.” www.ihgplc.com
