Corinthia Hotel St. George’s Bay

Placement organization

Name of organization: Corinthia Hotel St. George’s Bay
Town/city: St. Julians
Country: Malta
Website: http://www.corinthia.com

Student

Name of student: Werdana de Zwarte

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Hotel
Organization’s activities: Corinthia Hotels see themselves as leading craftsmen in the world of hospitality, by offering the guests a five star service. Although the main objective of the hotel is obviously to sell rooms and aim for a high occupancy rate, the company believes that this will be achieved by an outstanding service provided by all employees. Furthermore, Corinthia Hotel St. George’s Bay activities consist of gastronomy and organising events.
Target group of the organization: Corporate and Leisure
Company culture: A Formal five star company with high standards. Providing a smile to both customers and colleagues. Within the office, a good atmosphere with smart colleagues.
Number of employees: 250
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Human Resources
Brief description of your daily activities: Assisting and shadowing both the HR Administrator and HR Executive in daily activities within the office. Basically what we do is manage all the employees who will, are and have been working with us. Our department basically is in charge of any employee with regards to recruitment and selection, performance appraisal and recognition, but also the resignation of employees. The HR department is being considered as one of the most important assets of the hotel, because without employees who are working smoothly, it is impossible to run a five star hotel with a five star service.

Basically my daily tasks consist of administrational work, for example registration of employees and their leave days. But besides that, I am also in charge of the birthday celebrations for them, as part of their appraisal. Once a month we have a celebration party in the staff canteen where we celebrate their birthdays, which I have to organise. Furthermore, I am responsible for the Blog, which is an employee magazine, where I have to write the content and prepare the design for. One of the bigger projects, which I am part of is the recruitment from summer employees, where I had to join the assessment day, interviews and inductions of the employees.

Besides all this office work, I am truly one part of the team, they involve me in all of their meetings and pro-actively ask for my opinion and solutions. And since the HR office is in charge of all the staff activities, I am allowed to join these activities, for example the Scavenger hunting, which was a survival day and which other intern can say that hé will meet the president of Malta.
Brief description of your company assignment: The Company Assignment consist of an HR assignment, to research the absences of employees and look if there is a certain pattern or if correct procedures are being used by the Head Of Departments. Problems need to be recognised and thereafter, solutions need to be found and reported to the company supervisor.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Good supervision, highly involved within the team and informal culture within the office, although we are working in a formal company. Personal development is considered as an important factor by the company and supervisors, since we are provided by trainings with regards to hotel business and personal development.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Team Player, Social, Stress-proof, coming up with own solutions, Creative
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excel, Publisher
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Internet/Colleagues
How did you go to work every day? By foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: NA
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? NA
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? NA

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 300
Accommodation (monthly): € 350
Local transport (monthly): € 10
General costs of living (monthly): € 150
Costs of visa: € NA
Costs of work permit: € NA
What did the company pay for/to you? Free meals in the staff canteen

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
Read about habits and culture in books of Malta and reading through academic papers with regards to culture in Malta.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: werdana@zeelandnet.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Be pro active and help others out. Always greet your colleagues. And involve yourself in the job, don’t define yourself as the student or intern, but be the colleague!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Enjoy the culture in Valletta and Mdina, enjoy the beaches in Gozo and Blue Lagoon, enjoy the shopping centre in Sliema, enjoy the nightlife in Paceville.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link