Innovation

“We treat the employees as our most important treasure and valuable capital”, said by Hewei Fang. He told me that only when you made your employees satisfied, then they would provide high-quality service which would eventually make the guest feel satisfied and create revenue. In order to achieve it, management of the hotel has incorporated the employees’ benefits within the organisation’s strategy and is working hard on improving the living standard and working environment of their employees.

Considering employees health and well-being, Kande has invested heavily on improving employees’ living and working environment. As most of the employees are migrant workers from different cities in China or different countries, Kande provides free accommodations for those people which many other hotels don’t because of the high cost. In addition, the staff canteen provides three meals a day with a variety of dishes for free to all employees. Also, to ensure all employees can enjoy safe and delicious foods, the investment in improving food safety and quality has increased by 50% compared to 2017. However, the fact was that in the first few years after the opening of the hotel, the managers and other employees used different canteens which led to a problem that both managers and employees felt a sense of distance from each other. The lack of communication decreased work efficiency. Therefore, in order to improve the relationship between employees and managers, the management decided that all workers in the hotel would use the same canteen. The result was that the interpersonal relationship problem had been addressed and the internal cohesive force had increased as well. In addition to this, the hotel also organises annual staff travel, annual sports events and regular department parties which allows employees to relax, which not only enhances mental health but also physical health as well.

For decent work and economic growth, unlike many other hotels that prefer to hire young people, Kande encourages retired people to come and work in the hotels. As a city with massive migrant populations, the workforces in Guangdong are facing great employment pressure and increased family economic stress. Therefore, in order to improve family finances and help reduce poverty, Kande tries to hire people that still want to work after retirement and distribute them to do work such as housekeeping. This not only improves the family's economic condition but also promotes the local economy. Moreover, Kande has also created more than 2000 job opportunities for society.

Inspiration

Actually, like most of the other hotels, Kande used the client-oriented approach in the early-stages of the business. However, management started to find that it had ignored the well-being, physical and mental health of the workers. Hence, Hewei Fang pointed out that the first step to providing high-quality service and satisfy guests was taking care of the employees. He believes that only when your employees feel happy in the workplace that they can provide high-quality service to their customers. Importantly, as most of the founders and investors were born and grew up in the city, they not only want to create profits and promote the local family but also want to help the local residents improve their living standards.

Overall impact

The innovation that focuses on improving health and well-being of employees as well as bringing benefits to the public has made Kande succeed and receive recognition such as the ‘Innovation Service Award’ in 2007 and ‘The Top 10 Business Hotels of China’ in 2009. Kande has become a leader in the hotel industry in China and their reputation has raised local awareness and attract tourists which have deeply promoted the local economy and improved the environment.

Business benefit

Kande’s high attention to employees results in high staff satisfaction, high employees retention and low employee turnover. As I have worked in the Kande International Hotel in Dongguan, I know that almost 70% of the managers have been working in the hotel for over 5 years and 30% of them even grew up with Kande Hotels & Resorts. Moreover, the high-quality of service provided by the employees who enjoy their work also create a competitive advantage for the company. Its special recruitment strategy that hires retirees has created a good brand image among the public.

Social and environmental benefit

Kande has created a lot of job opportunities. For example in Kande Dongguan, it has created over 2000 job opportunities for the local community which at the same time also gives a boost to the local economy. The retirees’ recruitment program has addressed many family economic problems. The good image of Kande not only raises local awareness but also attracts tourists which will eventually contribute to the local economy.

Kande believes that the first step to become successful is to satisfy employees and has made many efforts to improve the quality of life of their guests and employees. Considering the positive impact, the innovation will not just impact the business by generating revenue as the high quality of service attracts more customers and talents but also contributes to a certain brand image. The innovation has brought good reputation and honor to Kande, whilst it also benefits local society and increases the city’s popularity.

Interview

Hewei Fang, CEO