Constance hotels staff boost leadership skills |18 September 2013
A group of staff from the Constance Lemuria and Ephelia resorts recently graduated from a leadership development programme.
The programme, known as BRIGHT (Bridging the gap through holistic training), is an initiative launched in 2010 by Constance Hotels and Resorts with a view to equipping its supervisors, managers and executives with the necessary attitudes, knowledge, skills and tools to be confident in their roles and in so doing, contribute positively to the advancement of the company.
Altogether 35 staff graduated from BRIGHT group #2 this year of whom 29 are Seychellois.
The graduation took place in two separate ceremonies – on September 10 at the Constance Lemuria Resort on Praslin and on September 12 at the Ephelia Resort on Mahé.
Present at both ceremonies were directors Captain Guy Adam and Jean Weeling-Lee, general manager of Employment Promotion Egbert Rosalie, Seychelles Tourism Academy principal Flavien Joubert, CEO and COO of Constance Groups and Resorts Jean-Jacques Vallet and Andrew Milton respectively, general manager of Constance Academy Claude Narain and senior HR advisor Marc Marivel.
Also present at the ceremony at Ephelia was Mohamed Lodhi, director of Le Refuge du Pêcheur.
Speaking at the Lemuria ceremony on September 10, general manager Bruno Le Gac took great joy in welcoming and congratulating his successful group #2 BRIGHT graduates.
On September 12 a similar excitement permeated the surroundings of the Ephelia Kabana and Seselwa restaurant, where the regional general manager Mr. Guitton expressed his appreciation for the dedication of his graduates and urged them on with these words: “Your graduation today does not mean it is the end of your learning at Constance Hotels but on the contrary, it marks the beginning of your future development within our company. I urge you to apply what you have learnt during the course of the whole programme, prepare yourself to be challenged and seize every opportunity to learn and grow. You must always find ways to challenge yourself, look at the positive side of things, live your work with passion everyday.”
Addressing the graduates, Claude Narain, one of the brainchild of the programme, said:
“BRIGHT has compelled you to better discover and explore your own potential, your personal approach to develop your aptitude. The objective is to build up your confidence by empowering you to construct your own model of thinking and behaviour. Remember these words -- tolerance, humility, charity, hope, faith, patience and perseverance -- should not be empty words for you. They are values that you should practice every day.”
Mr Vallet confirmed once again the commitment of Constance towards the empowerment of the people: “Empowerment is one of the values of Constance Hotels and Resorts and this is what we are trying to achieve with the BRIGHT Leadership Development Programme... This commitment to people development is in our DNA and will never falter. Learning is a never ending process. Should you decide to continue your journey on the progress path, you will always find Constance Hotels and Resorts standing by your side.”
Expressing some of their feelings, the graduates said: “The confidence that we lacked before has improved a lot, intellectually it has helped us to communicate more clearly and more efficiently, giving us a better view of what our goals and targets are and how to achieve them. I know the knowledge and skills we’ve obtained will guide and help us in different ways.”
After each of the elegant black robed graduates had received their well deserved certificates some also got special mention for their 100% attendance record.
Soon the skies opened to shower its share of blessings, prompting guests and graduates to celebrate the remainder of the evening with a fine cocktail dinner at one of the resort’s flagship restaurants.
Contributed