Hilton Hotel’s Regional Director of Human Resources Malaysia, Shamala Krishnan, is excited about Hilton’s centennial anniversary.
Shamala Krishnan is the first and only Asian lady who holds the position of Regional Director at Hilton hotel, has stayed committed to managing more than 800 employees at Hilton Kuala Lumpur for seven years now.
While her experience was in finance and investment banking, Shamala began to take an interest in HR while she was working full time at Sainsbury’s in United Kingdom during her tertiary education.
“I made a deal with my parents that they only needed to pay for my firstterm fees then I would find part-time work and work my way through. I started my first job at age 19 as a part-time cashier and worked my way up to part-time supervisor. Since I didn’t go back to Malaysia during the summer breaks, I wouldwork full time. In that time, I had formal sit downs to chat about the job. So, I was exposed to HR at a very young age, and that’s how I started to get interested in that field,” explained the 49-year-old. “At that time, I thought that HR was amazing– it takes care of team welfare, and they (HR) are the first people that you interact with.” Shamala has worked in a few international hotel chains. In 2012, Shamala first joined the Hilton team as Director HR at Hilton Petaling Jaya. She then moved to Hilton Kuala Lumpur and two years later was promoted to handle all of Malaysia.
This year Shamala celebrates Hilton’s 100th centennial anniversary with all the team members working in Kuala Lumpur.
“Hilton is not just providing jobs but it also helps the community as well. One of our 100-year plans is to do a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project. We are planning to tie up with the Malaysian Aids Foundation and get involved in its Hot & Cold Charity Run this year. So, wherever there is a Hilton, that’s where the run will be.”
Shamala also wants her team members to share a story about their journey with Hilton, “Sometimes we don’t know how much Hilton has impacted their life, so we want to find the stories so we can compile it into a book or collage because that 100 years is not going to come again,” Shamala explained, sharing one heart-tugging tale.
A true ambassador of Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Mohamad Rasif Mohamad Hussiah spreads the light and warmth of hospitality. For him, it has been a long hard journey and he is still a traveller. He was 16 when his father had an accident while working and Rasif took on the responsibility to supplement the household income. He worked from day to night, stopped school and began his journey in 2016 with Hilton Kuala Lumpur on the stewarding team. Recently, he was promoted to Assistant Chief Steward of Hilton Garden Inn, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and nominated for the CEO Light and Warmth Award.
“I am sure you are wondering why I am submitting Rasif for this award. He deserves it; he has all the Hilton values even before he joined Hilton. All these qualities are an asset at Hilton. He is humble, has perseverance, integrity, responsibility, hardworking and is a team player.
“You would not believe this but, he is giving back to the community – his alma mater-La Salle Jinjang. He contributes monthly to the CSR fund at Hilton Kuala Lumpur. This fund is used for the children at the school to have a proper meal daily! Every time we have an activity, Rasif will be there to help ensure that the event goes smoothly and spread joy to the children,” explained Shamala.
Shamala hopes there will be more Hilton hotels opening up in future. “When we opened Hilton Kuala Lumpur 13 years ago, people wouldn’t have imagined we could exist in that space because KL Sentral was very different back then. But because we created a lot of partnerships with the people around us – the Malaysian Association For The Blind and La Salle Jinjang 2 – now it’s growing.”
Currently, the world renowned group has been operating 11 hotels under three brands – Hilton Hotel & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn. It has continued to grow this year by developing DoubleTree by Hilton scheduled to open in i-City Shah Alam and Hilton Garden Inn at Capital City in Johor Baru. It will introduce two new brands that are scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2021 into the country – a luxury brand called Conrad Hotels & Resorts and Canopy by Hilton.
One of the things Shamala is proudest of is that her staff is happy. ”Back in 2015 when I joined Hilton Kuala Lumpur, I got the award for the best HR for Southeast Asia in India. Being recognised as the best HR was a big deal. It was among 32 other HRs and we were chosen to be the best based on the engagement and training that we do. Even though we have a very high number of employees among the other Hilton hotels, our happiness level is the highest. For the last three years, we have been sitting at 92% to 95%, so it’s a good achievement – the staff to be happy!”
