Conrad Centennial Singapore has earned a reputation for quality, superb customer service and outstanding business performance. Conrad Centennial Singapore was also able to prevail in spite of the tribulations and achieve labour productivity that was two times higher than that of the hotel industry in 2002.

Through a strong learning culture and cohesive team spirit, Conrad Centennial Singapore was able to transform itself into a nimble unit capable of overcoming any business challenges.

Since established in 1996, the emphasis on corporate values has always been strongly aligned to the development of its team members to their fullest potential. This is propagated through "Conrad's Real-Time Training Process".

The learning and development culture pervades from the commencement of a new team member's career with Conrad Centennial Singapore. The induction of new team members forms one of the four sub-systems within "Conrad's Real-Time Training Process".

Conrad Centennial Singapore deems that new team members must be blended into the hotel as part of its total approach toward quality. This means equipping team members with the right skills, knowledge and attitudes to deliver excellent service in the shortest time possible.

"We are looking at a people innovation approach which cuts across hierarchy. It is important to understand the potential of people," expresses Mr Heinrich Grafe, General Manager of Conrad Centennial Singapore. "We want an organisation with a very clear philosophy, where we can treasure people and build from within."

The training of team members relies heavily on various platforms of measures and feedback. The beliefs in service quality put forth the two sub-systems of buddy and operation training to address skills gaps, determined by performance appraisals, stringent monthly external and internal audits and feedback from our customers and trainers. This proactive approach of addressing service weaknesses ensures that better year-end results are achieved through timely interventions.

Performance measurement provides for the acknowledgement of team members with outstanding performance through the Conrad Stars' Recognition Programme. The Conrad Stars have certainly brought about shining examples of exceptional team members' performance that led to enhanced customer service and outstanding business performance. This can be attributed to the training guidance of 50 trainers and 90 buddies.

The impact of "Conrad's Real-Time Training Process" is significant. There are improvements in the service measurement and Revenue Generating Index over the last three years. Labour productivity has improved by $1,000 per team member since 2001.

"We are a long-standing supporter of hotel education. Through our efforts we have helped team members achieve their dreams by giving them the tools to serve our guests passionately, make informed service decisions, and achieve success. Today we are enhancing that commitment with new resources and a sharper focus backed by the energy and enthusiasm of the 400+ employees of our company," says Mr Grafe.

Conrad Centennial Singapore has also been bestowed with numerous awards and accolades over the years for its service standards, customer orientation and training programmes. It was awarded "Best Business Hotels in Asia (Finalist)" by Business Asia & Bloomberg consecutively for the past three years, "Hotel of the Year" crowned by Singapore Tourism Board in 2002, "Company with the Best Training Programme" by Hotel, Tourisme & Restauration (HTR) in 2003 and "People Developer Standard" by the Productivity Standards Board since 1998.

"We recognise that a commitment to complete career path management and providing a working environment where all people are valued and involved is essential for us to be the preferred employer with a passion for people excellence. Ultimately, becoming the first choice luxury hotel of frequent world travellers," declares Mr Grafe.