Prior
to this appointment she was Vice President
for Human Resources of The Savoy Group following
her earlier appointment as Director for
Human Resources of the Group and prior to
that she was Director of Human Resources
at Claridge’s, the world famous, 5
Star Hotel in London’s Brook Street.
While
at Claridge’s she was responsible
for winning the following awards, The Employer
of the Year – National Business Awards,
Hotel of the Year – London Tourist
Board and HR Manager of the Year, Excellence
in Human Resources – Hotel & Catering
Personnel & Training Association, each
one an amazing achievement, but, when you
consider the fact that at the same time
she was heavily involved with the opening
of ‘Gordon Ramsay at Claridges’,
her achievements could be described as phenomenal.
Sara
Edwards entered the world of hotels with
her first job on leaving college as Trainee
Manager with Swallow Hotels at the Kings
Head, Darlington, when she moved on three
years later, she had worked her way up through
the Swallow Hotels chain to Senior Assistant
Manager based in the Eden Arms, County Durham.
Looking to progress and gain more responsibility
she became Deputy Manager of Kirkby Fleetham
Hall Hotel, in Northallerton, Yorkshire.
In this position she found the job a real
challenge, as the owner was present for
one day a week only, she was totally responsible
for all aspects of the operation including
personnel. Learning a great deal in a short
time using the ‘in at the deep end
method’ Sara rose to the challenge
and flourished.
The
chance to broaden her horizons in Australia
was an opportunity too good to miss, and
Sara spent a whole year in the land ‘down
under’ travelling and working holding
the position of Restaurant Manager at the
Gazebo Restaurant, Langley Plaza Quality
Hotel in Perth for nine months of that year.
On
her return to Britain Sara joined the Select
Country House Hotels chain as Personnel
and Training Manager at the Rookery Hall,
Cheshire. Here, she was employed as the
sole Personnel and Training Manager in the
company, completely responsible for staffing
and training new hotel employees, including
management. The staff levels rose from 30
to 90 under Sara’s guidance. Whilst
at the Woodlands Park Hotel, in Surrey,
one of the Select chain, she was training
the staff to levels of excellence in the
hotel’s bid to reach 4 star status
when they went into receivership, Sara was
able at this uncertain time to maintain
and improve staff morale throughout the
receivership period. Her next move took
her back to the Swallow chain to The Swallow
International Hotel, a 4 Star, 417 bedroomed
hotel in London where she became Personnel
and Training manager, her responsibilities
included, a £2 million annual salary
budget, policy setting for company and hotel,
implementing NVQ qualifications into the
hotel and creation, implementation and delivery
of all in-house training to name but a few.
Sara once again achieved and exceeded all
the objectives in her three years at the
Swallow International Hotel.
Senior
Executive, Regional Human Resources Manager,
at the Forum Inter-Continental Hotel, became
Sara Edwards next appointment, the hotel
with 4 Stars, 910 rooms and a staff of over
400 is in London’s Cromwell Road.
In her time at this hotel, Sara created
standards for human resources which have
been implemented in all European Hotels
as personally requested by the President
of Company Operations, she was a key player
in establishing a European–wide Personnel
Workshop on succession planning and was
winner of the highest human resources operating
and service standards within Inter-Continental
Hotels and Resorts for three years running.
In
1999 Sara joined Claridge’s as Director
of Human Resources, her track record and
approach to customer care, service and standards
that are second to none, fitted the profile
of the prestigious Savoy Group and in that
time they have gone from strength to strength.
At Claridge’s she addressed and brought
a reduction to staff turnover, she increased
employee satisfaction and pride; introduced
innovative reward and recognition programmes;
the guest satisfaction ratings have also
risen. She has introduced the Staff Handbook
for the Savoy Group, and all HR policies
and procedures for Claridge’s, including
Equal Opportunities, Sexual Harassment,
Recruitment and Disciplinary procedures.
An
award-winning innovator in the Hotel / Recruitment
field, Sara Edwards speaks with authority
and insight - as only one who came up through
the ranks can.
Feedback:
“Sara has a very relaxed style. She's
confident, knowledgeable and engaging. She
speaks from personal experience and focuses
on common sense solutions to everyday problems.”
Angela Austin, Events Manager, Business
Link Surrey.
