Project reference · Hospitality & leisure
Thirty-five job titles for a members’ club in the Gulf.
A long-established private family club in the Gulf was growing its restaurants, children’s club and fitness operations, and needed kitchen, service, reception and fitness staff from abroad at short notice. Over ten months it sent us nineteen headcount lists, from 13 people to 165. We presented 121 candidates from three continents, and learned exactly where a salary band stops being a recruiting tool.
121 candidates presented
Shortlist
35 job titles, 19 client lists
Scope
8 weeks from first CV to first arrival
Speed
Europe, Asia and Africa
Sourcing
Demand against pipeline
The list kept moving
The club’s needs changed almost every fortnight: new titles, new quantities, and a large block of fitness roles tied to new sites whose opening then slipped by months. We kept the pipeline running against whichever list was current.
The brief
What the client actually needed
The first request was thirty people in ten roles: chefs, waiters and waitresses, lobby ambassadors, children’s activity staff, nutritionists and personal trainers. Days later a second list followed with about eighty-five more for the gyms, pools, spa and reception. Every role came with the club’s own job description, a salary band and a package: shared staff accommodation, transport, meals on duty and a flight home every two years.
The club was open to most nationalities, so we searched well beyond Ukraine: Eastern Europe, the Balkans, South Asia, the Philippines and Africa. Every candidate was presented in our own format with certificates and photos, then interviewed by the club over video call, with our recruiters arranging each one.
The hard parts
Where it gets difficult
A salary band is not an offer
Each job description showed a range whose top was about twice its bottom. Candidates heard the range and expected the top; offers came in the middle. Most offers that failed, failed on pay, and all of those were kitchen roles.
Housing nobody had seen
Shared staff accommodation was part of every package, but candidates wanted to see it before leaving a job at home. Without photos, good people dropped out before the interview.
A list that kept moving
Nineteen headcount lists in ten months, from 13 people to 165. Roles were added, merged and dropped, and a large block of fitness hires waited on new sites whose start kept slipping.
Even the inbox had a limit
The client’s mail server refused anything over 10 MB, and a full candidate pack with certificates is bigger. We split every submission into parts and checked that each one had arrived.
Other agencies on the same roles
The club recruited through several agencies at once. A clear written rule on who presented a candidate first saved everyone’s time and avoided arguments about fees.
Visas, medicals and clearances
Visa limits for some nationalities, blood tests and a chest X-ray before the visa, and original police certificates. One hire who had already signed waited weeks on paperwork alone.
What we did
Launch, interview, reset, stand by
- Oct–Nov 2015 · Launch. A project meeting on the day the order was confirmed, first CVs out the same day, 37 candidates presented in the first full month, and a written report to the client with every candidate by ID, role and date.
- Nov 2015–Feb 2016 · Interview and mobilise. Video interviews arranged for the club, offer letters signed, then medicals, visas and tickets. The first hire started work eight weeks after the first CV.
- Jan–Mar 2016 · Reset on pay. We paused the search, asked for accommodation photos and offers at the top of the band, and agreed to focus on roles where the package could reach the market.
- Apr–Aug 2016 · Stand by for new sites. Fitness candidates selected for the new sites and kept informed through the delay, alongside senior searches for guest services and club management.
Not every brief ends with a full house. This one taught us to say early, and in writing, where a salary band will find people and where it will not. Our clients hear it from us before candidates tell them.
In the client’s words
“Thank you for the batch of candidates, your efforts are very much appreciated.”
The club’s executive secretary, sending interview feedback in 2016.
How we work
We do not show you another company’s name
The client, its owners and its people are not named here, and they will not be named in a meeting either. We are glad to talk this project through in detail. What we will not do is discuss the last client that way with you, or you with the next one.
Next step
Hiring for a hotel, club or restaurant in the Gulf?
Tell us the roles and the package. We will tell you honestly which ones the market will fill, and how fast.
