Wearing The Hard Hat and Breaking The Stereotype

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The construction and development sector has historically been a male-dominated industry. The notion that men are physically stronger than women largely contributed to this state of affairs, and the industry organically grew to appear more welcoming for men in all areas – from the construction site to management roles.

But one woman is challenging the stereotype. We spoke to Denise Micallef Xuereb, Construction and Development Director at AX Group, to find out more about her story and her experience on the ground.

You have always been involved in the family business and AX Group’s business streams are diverse. What drove you to steer your career specifically towards construction and development?

When AX The Palace project was underway, I was asked to supervise the works in the new guest rooms as part of the hotel operation duties, to help with the final phases of the finishing and fit-out works. The job immediately drew me in. Despite the intensity and the challenges, the adrenaline and finally seeing the project materialise was extremely satisfying. At the end I did not think twice, and I have not looked back.

When was your first time on a construction site?

I was quite young when I used to accompany my dad around sites, eager to spend time with him and enjoying the change of scene from my weekly school routine.

In the years that followed, the first real site I worked on, was at The Palace where I was responsible for the completion of new guest rooms as well as the complete fit-out of the top floor restaurant. I just had three months to make the areas habitable and ready for use. I vividly recall standing in this open space which was nothing but bricks and concrete. It was a daunting start but an excellent experience on which I kick-started my career.

How does it feel to work in a mostly male-dominated industry?

In the early days I remember it was challenging for me to stand my ground and I had to prove my worth more than others – not just for being a woman but also for being the boss’ daughter. By time I earned the respect of my colleagues and peers, through professionalism, expertise and the right attitude. And well, grind and sheer determination too.

Can you tell us more about the mason course and what compelled you to do it?

Well for those who know me, know that I am not one to shy away from any task. During one of the conferences on the industry where I was advocating for contractor licensing, a contractor asked a question to a panellist; ‘’Having no contractor license prevents me from working as a contractor but if I have a builders’ license, am I allowed to work and hire others?’’  And the answer was yes.

Having already managed AX Construction for a number of years, I found the answer absurd and realized that to manage the company I would need a builder’s license.

A month after I applied for the course. To be honest the journey was much more enriching and insightful than when I set out to do it, and today I am grateful I did it all.

There are a lot of outdated perceptions that might keep women away from the construction industry. What is your experience of this?

In recent years I have seen a higher percentage of women join the industry, as architects, engineers, surveyors, project managers, site supervisors, consultants and contractors. The sector is wide and there is so much scope for more women coming on board as both skilled workers and professionals. I believe we have a responsibility to change this perception. At AX Group, diversity and inclusion are core values and we encourage women to work towards achieving their dreams and career plans in any field.

How can entities improve the representation of women in this sector?

Education has an important role to play on two fronts. The first is to educate workers and professionals in the industry to improve the image and safety standards of the industry. That on its own will make the industry more appealing. Secondly, exposing particular roles to girls at a young age at school will make these jobs more approachable and reachable.

What are the most exciting moments of working in the field?

The adrenaline rush. And seeing a project grow from a dream, to an idea, onto a plan, and then its execution. And after blood, sweat and tears, it’s done. The most satisfying moment of all is sitting down among the end users in the space you once dreamed of and that you played a key role in; among workers in an office block, employees in a new hotel or tourists enjoying afternoon tea in a newly transformed space.

Which of your projects is most meaningful to you?

The Palace will always be my number one, much like a first love! But my true learning curve and baptism of fire remains working on the new Parliament Building. Not only was it my first holistic project but it also set new benchmarks in local construction management.

Who were your role-models throughout this journey and which valuable advice did you heed to build your career?

My father is my ultimate role model. He has taught me that everything is possible. He always supported me in all my dreams from a very young age. His most valuable advice was to treat your job as an interest, almost as a hobby and to enjoy every moment. I also collaborated with an English woman, a project manager whose composure, strength and convictions were so powerful and admirable that she impressed me greatly as a young woman starting off into the big world of construction. Her aura still inspires me today.

Will you introduce your daughters to the industry, in hope that they will follow in your footsteps?

I will always encourage my girls to follow their dreams and work hard to reach them – no matter what they are. And I will make sure they get a good education, good core values and life skills so that they are able to make their own decisions and choose what is right for them. Having said that if you ask one of my daughters today what she wants to do when older, she will probably say a builder or an architect, because she is exposed to these roles through me. But I will always remind them that they can do anything they want if they set their mind to it.

 

 

 

 

AX Hotels Sliema Got Talent

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Oftentimes, work takes priority over everything else in our lives. The passion to succeed in our career can push us to forget other important aspects in life, including our own mental and physical well-being. That’s why it’s vital to have activities outside of work which ensure that we embrace a harmonious work-life balance. Although it is sometimes difficult to do so, it is always possible.

Andy Tanti, Our Director of Sales at AX The Palace, proves that if there’s a will, there’s a way. Apart from fulfilling a very challenging role at work, handling familial responsibilities, and reading for a Master’s Degree, Andy has also taken on coaching U6 children at the Mellieha Football School. Take a look at what he has to say about taking on this enjoyable but challenging role.

 

Why specifically football?

“I started playing football with my hometown club Rabat when I was six or seven years old, eventually leaving the club to pursue my career in hospitality. I cannot say that football is my favourite sport; that spot is dedicated to water sports. However, over the years, I have followed club and international football, and eventually, when my boys started playing, I was hooked again.”

 

How long have you been coaching?

“I have just started my second season coaching at the Mellieha Football School. During my first season, I was an assistant coach with the Under-8 team. This season, I’m coaching the Under-6 group. At this age, it is important to support their development through exciting and enjoyable training sessions that promote involvement and encourage kids to fall in love with playing football. My goal is to instil a sense of team spirit, collaboration, and the ability to deal with different and challenging situations whilst promoting children’s creativity and skills.”

 

What inspired you to start coaching children?

“I wanted to help my boys, Xandru, who is nine, and Gianni, seven, improve their skills and technique. So essentially, I started coaching to be able to help them. Luckily, my girls, Emma and Nina (I have four kids), did not ask me to help them with singing, dancing, or ballet!”

 

How do you juggle your time between family, work, studying, and coaching?

“It’s a daily challenge to balance everything whilst allowing enough time for my family and myself. My typical day, including weekends, starts at 5.30am to work on my Master’s Degree thesis for about 2 hours, have a quick breakfast, get ready, and leave home for work by 8am. The workday can be rather intensive, but at the same time gratifying. I try to leave the office by 6pm, which gives me enough time for an end-of-day swim at Xemxija, where I spend most of my summer evenings with my family. I coach on Mondays and Saturdays and play 5-a-side football on Wednesdays and Friday evenings. My children’s extracurricular activities generally take up every other minute during the day!”

 

Sports and extracurricular activities are very important, and children can be quite a handful! How do you personally benefit from this important role you were entrusted with?

“I have 14 kids in my U6 team. Keeping their attention while explaining different exercises and ensuring that they perform those same exercises correctly is a daunting task. It certainly takes a lot of patience – in fact, I had never imagined having that much patience! Coaching and playing football allows me to switch-off work and everything else for a couple of hours. Apart from the physical benefits, it’s a unique opportunity to take care of my mental health.”

 

What’s your advice to anyone out there who finds it difficult to juggle work and extracurricular activities?

“Maintaining a balance between work and non-work activities is essential for our mental well-being. I have learnt to manage my time better by colour-coding my daily calendar, so it becomes easy to identify time slots I can dedicate to myself. It is easy to fall into a vicious trap where you try to convince yourself you don’t have time or cannot do something. So start, give it your very best shot, do everything with passion, and time will find you.”

 

 

 

Cultivating a Knowledge Sharing Culture

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During the month of September 2022, a workshop was held between the IT department and the Business Transformation Unit, along with AX Group CEO Mr. Michael Warrington and AX Group CFO Mr. Albert Bonello. Throughout the session, numerous suggested projects and incentives have been presented and discussed. Various subjects, including cyber security, networking, cloud & hardware infrastructure, and internal/external user experience, have been covered.

During the workshop, team members provided more innovative ways of improving and introducing new technologies in order to give our employees the most effective tools. However, evaluating the effects of these technologies on our clients and residents. Thus, integrating the needs of our internal employees with those of our customers.

 

What collaboration means in information technology?

 

In the context of information technology, collaboration refers to any circumstance in which numerous participants (individuals, teams, or departments) work together to accomplish a common objective. Collaboration between the IT Department and the Business Transformation

department entails keeping business leaders, stakeholders, strategic partners, and IT teams engaged in order to create business results, effective collaboration, and efficient project management.

The IT Department and the Business Transformation department are committed to working together to help the team achieve a shared mission.

 

 

Cultural Integration at AX Construction

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With one in five of Malta’s population being an expat, the country has become a veritable melting pot of cultures. Historically the Island has welcomed people from all corners of the world and foreigners have long come to our shores to seek a better future for themselves and their families.

Due to the global movement of people has now increased rapidly due to significant geo-political shifts, volatile economies as well as restrictions to personal liberties and poor handling of health care during the pandemic.  These reasons are only a few that are making more and more people consider moving to other countries where they can find better prospects and lifestyles than in their country of origin.

This influx of foreign workers into Malta is helping the country fill lacunae in many industries that keep the economy going. Their contribution is valuable to the local fabric in more ways than one. A country can only gain from having a population rich in diversity, in cultures, religions and traditions, helping to sow a mindset that allows different life perspectives, histories and experiences.

Cultural integration does not happen automatically and places of work need to not only be aware and acknowledge the many interactions at play when different people from various countries come together. They also need to proactively put conditions in place that enable acceptance and integration.

At AX Construction, a staggering 246 from 281 employees are non-Maltese with the majority hailing from India, Serbia, Pakistan, Albania, Turkey and Morocco. To successfully manage such a diverse workforce, in addition to ensuring an organisational culture that’s inclusive and that draws on the strength of this diversity, AX Construction has strengthened its people strategy through a number of measures. Brandon Lee Magri, Construction HR Manager explains how.

 

Healthy communication practices

“For starters we enjoy an open-door policy,” explains Brandon. “This enables good communication across the board, but it especially encourages healthy interactions with management, so that any issues are nipped in the bud and people feel their feedback and opinion is valued. Which they are.”

“Open door measures also go a long way towards getting to know your team as individuals, what drives them and what motivates them.” This becomes more important when the people on your team hold different values and perspectives. It helps you challenge your assumptions and not take things for granted.”

Part of the communication flow at AX Construction also involves getting feedback in project post-mortem exercises that enables management to understand what was a success and what went wrong so that the team can always improve on the already high benchmarks set at the company.

“It is also crucial to imbue in each individual on the team the same professional standards and values that the Group is renowned for,” continued Mr Magri. “This ensures everybody on the team is well placed to perform as best as they can, leaving nobody out.”

Language barriers are a reality, even when English is widely spoken, as misunderstandings are not rare between a multi-cultural team. “We are blessed with loyal employees who have been with us for years,” continued Mr Magri. “These employees act as mentors to new ones on board who, despite the differences, learn the ropes from those already on the job, and who know what works and the best practices to instil in a very clear way. This in itself makes up for the challenge of language barriers.  Of course, we encourage employees to learn English, organise English courses from time to time, and along the years, there are some that have even leart Maltese on their own steam. When people are motivated, the language barriers melt rapidly.”

 

Religious diversity

AX Construction is fully supportive of religious feasts and events. Management understands employees who ask for vacation leave during Ramadan or the Orthodox Christmas and that they may need to leave the site to pray. “Indeed, this has an impact on our operations but we do our best to accommodate requests that enable people to live their cultures in our country.”

 

Building a team

Team building becomes of greater importance when the team is multi-cultural. “Getting to know each other away from the office is important for us as this is when most significant social interactions happen,” continued Mr Magri. “For this reason, we regularly organise team building activities that help us bond and learn how best to acknowledge each other’s strengths when working together.”

People development

At AX Construction, an employee reward system doesn’t just take into consideration a financial reward, but eyes a sustainable exercise of training and career development. “Some employees could only do steel fixing when they started. Now, they have learnt other skills like stone and brick laying, or restoration techniques. This ensures employees are able to progress in their careers at AX Construction.”

The result is a loyal employee base, some of whom have been with the company for years.

“Awarding our employees is an important policy at AX Construction that helps employees feel acknowledged and appreciated. But even more important is the investment in our people. Couple these with making people feel empowered and giving them room for growth, and you have a winning formula for people retention and becoming an employer of choice.”

Learning Opportunities Present Themselves on a Daily Basis

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Reminiscing about my first few days on the job, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of support I received from AX Group in the form of orientation, training, and regular follow up.

 

For the past four years, I’ve been working at AX Group, and during that time, I’ve achieved tremendous growth on both a personal and a professional level. The attitudes of each and every colleague at AX Group is one of the things that has the most impact on me. I am always able to witness a strong sense of determination and loyalty to the company. AX Group recognised my talent and enabled me to develop it by giving me more responsibility and latitude to embark on challenging new initiatives. As an IT professional, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on numerous projects and make new contacts with peers across all sectors within the Group.

 

After starting off as an IT Project Coordinator, I worked my way up through the ranks to become the Business Transformation Manager for our Business Transformation department. As a company, AX Group is renowned for its creativity, high quality, and stringent standards. Being creative and innovative brings change, and the Company’s culture reflects this. With the continuous advances in technology, a changing workforce, and competitive pressures drive us to take on new challenges and manage change.

 

The department I work in is responsible in implementing technological initiatives that improve the company’s day-to-day operations and long-term goals. In my opinion, it serves as a vital connection between the executive vision and the actual work of the organisation. When one has the opportunity to work with such a remarkable group of people, going to work each day is a pleasure.  Every day at work, I am presented with new chances to develop professionally and intellectually, both of which are rewarding for me. My co-workers are some of the most interesting, bright, and dedicated individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of interacting with, and as a team, we’ve contributed greatly to the improvement of our company.

 

“We tend to question the way things are done now to see if they can be automated or made more efficient” In my opinion, one of the most important factors in the Group’s ability to implement successful IT systems was the engagement of stakeholders through the use of good communication.

A Job you Love is a Career for Life

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There’s a popular quote I like that says: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” And as I reflect on almost 25 years of working with AX Hotels, I can safely say that the entire journey has been much more than a job to me. It’s been an integral part of my life that has allowed me to form lifelong friendships and has given me a sense of purpose and direction in my career.

My journey with AX Hotels began as a summer job back in 1996, when I was just 18. I joined the Suncrest Hotel as part of their Front Office team. Back then, my German language knowledge was a much sought-after skill due to hotel’s dependence on the German market.

I truly loved my first summer job at the Suncrest, working within a much-loved hotel right on Qawra’s busy seafront and having the opportunity to meet and greet hundreds of happy tourists visiting Malta. In fact, I loved that job so much that, as that summer came to an end, I took the decision to officially pursue a career in the tourism industry and enrolled in a further education course in tourism studies. Without ever planning it to be, the Suncrest was the beginning of my career in tourism.

Not only did AX Hotels provide me with a steady job throughout my studies, but they even offered to sponsor my education. It was a huge honour and a gesture which I am still grateful for to this day. During this time, I was also given the opportunity to work in all the different departments around the Suncrest to gain as much experience as possible. I worked in food and beverage, banqueting, cashiering, front office, and even housekeeping. All in all, this was a unique first-hand foundation course in what it takes to work in a first-class hotel, and I still carry those lessons with me today.

After a brief stint working in other areas of the local tourism sector, I re-joined the Suncrest as a Sales & Marketing executive a couple years after graduating. I received such a warm welcome back from the entire team, that it felt like a true homecoming, and I knew this was where I truly belonged.

I took every opportunity I could to learn from my superiors over the next few years. Each lesson equipped me with greater knowledge, skills, and experience to take on more levels of responsibility within the hotel. Eventually, I was thrilled to be offered the chance to set up and lead the Events department.

My responsibilities continued to grow and evolve as the resort rebranded as the AX Seashells Resort. The resort also expanded to include several new facilities, including the Tal-Kaptan restaurant, the Cheeky Monkey Gastropub, the Luzzu restaurant, among others. As such, I headed up a growing team under the Events department and helped establish new processes and procedures to increase the hotel’s revenue and business. I also completed several more training programmes to take my career to the next level, eventually taking the decision to enrol in a Master’s Degree in Hospitality Management. Here again, the management team and my colleagues were super supportive and continued to provide me with the guidance and room to flourish and become a proud Events Sales Manager.

There’s perhaps no better indicator of how well a company treats its people than when times get tough. During the pandemic, despite travel restrictions cutting off most of the hotel’s revenue for months on end, management continued to support all of us at AX Seashells. With events and functions at an all-time low, I was entrusted to take over the Front Office department where I had the opportunity to actively help the hotel and my colleagues pull through this challenging period.

And despite the industry-wide setbacks at this time, my colleagues and I had great confidence that the AX Hotels spirit would ensure we would emerge stronger. This was confirmed when we heard the surprise announcement that Mr Xuereb and the Group were going to embark on a major and complete makeover of the Seashells hotel. This was a huge boost to the morale of the entire team and was proof that AX Hotels was continuing to move ahead with vision.

As any hospitality professional will tell you, it’s not every day that you get the opportunity to form part of the launch of a new hotel opening. So, I truly consider myself lucky to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I also secretly hoped that this new hotel project would offer yet another opportunity for change in my career. And not before long, my wish was answered when I was asked to set up and lead the Guest Relations Department, a department which is integral to the overall success of the hotel. It’s a responsibility that I cherish and take extremely seriously.

From my first summer job through to the new challenges ahead, my career at AX Hotels has given me the rare opportunity to belong to something big, to be part of an established and respected company, and to form lifelong friendships that I treasure. It’s hugely inspiring and rewarding to work for a hotel that continues to push forward in order to remain relevant on every front. On top of the upcoming redevelopment of AX Seashells, I’ve particularly enjoyed being part of the Sustainable Tourism Committee with a vision of leading the Group to future sustainable practices.

I couldn’t recommend working with AX Hotels enough. Whether you’re just joining our family or have been part of the team for a while, I believe that here you’ll have a job for life with countless opportunities to improve your skills, learn more about the industry, and take on new challenges, just as I have.

All you need on this journey is a few time-tested qualities which I’d like to recommend:

  1. Communicate with your management and teams effectively and don’t be afraid to reach out for guidance.
  2. Always be kind and generous to your colleagues and never underestimate the power of teamwork.
  3. Remain determined despite any challenges that may come your way and know that management are there to support you.
  4. Seize any opportunity you get to further your education and improve your skills in what you love to do.

And above all else, I would recommend taking pride in yourself and your job. I believe this is the single most quality that will guide you forward and give you the greatest satisfaction in your career.

A Diversified Company that Champions Career Development

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Borislava Bayyumi, Head of Recruitment at AX Group

At AX Group, we provide our people with more than just jobs and paycheques. We provide fulfilling careers across a diverse range of positions and industries. Whether it’s in construction, hospitality, healthcare, or within one of our admin teams, we love nothing more than to give our employees the opportunity to reach their full potential, wherever that may lie. That’s why we actively support our people in any way we can throughout their journey with us. We truly believe that when you succeed, we succeed.

While we do our utmost to help you shine and stretch your wings, we can never truly know where your passions lie or how you wish to further you career exactly. To help us better support you, we encourage open dialogue about career development. Our management and HR teams are always happy to sit down with you to listen to your career goals and find ways to help you achieve them.

Do you have an ambition to progress your career but are unsure how to go about it? Here’s how you can help us support your career growth at AX Group.

 

1 – Discuss your career ambitions during your interview process

 We don’t simply hire candidates who are right for the job. We hire candidates who have the potential to go far within our company. That’s why we love to hear about your long-term career ambitions during your initial interview process with us. This will give us a clearer insight into how you could contribute to our company down the road. We also encourage job candidates to ask us about our career development opportunities. We want you to have a solid understanding of how a career with AX Group can help you fulfil your goals and potential.

By understanding how you wish to grow and evolve in your career at the interview stage, we can map out a way forward together, right from the start.

 

2 – Ask for a one-to-one meeting

 Not everyone has a distinct idea of where they want their career to head from the get-go. Sometimes it takes a while to discover a passion or skill that sparks a new interest. So, if you’re already some years into your career with AX Group and suddenly find an urge to progress in a new direction, we invite you to sit down with your manager or a member from HR to discuss your goals.

We believe in investing in our people. This applies doubly to employees who have already shown their worth and dedication to the company. Through your one-to-one meeting we can understand what it is you want to achieve and find practical ways to support you in getting there.

 

3 – Enquire about mentorship and job shadowing opportunities

 One of the great aspects about working at a leading corporation like AX Group is that we have a diverse and multi-talented team who possess skills in all sorts of specialist trades and professions. As a company that actively promotes knowledge sharing among our teams, we encourage employees to reach out and learn from one another. So, if you’re looking to take your career to the next level, there’s no one better to ask for mentorship than the people you already work alongside who are experts in their field.

This also applies to employees wishing to make a lateral move within other AX business units. Perhaps you work in hospitality but have a knack for social media marketing. Or say you’re in construction but have a passion for food and cooking. If you have an interest in a different line of work entirely, we’d be happy to find suitable opportunities for you to shadow the relevant teams or individuals. This will give you a clearer understanding of the skills and knowledge required for the job, how you could potentially fit into the team, and provide you with an indication of whether the role really matches your ultimate career goals.

 

4 – Upskill with the right training

 If you’re really serious about progressing in your career, you may need to upskill with further training and qualifications. To that end we launched the AX Academy, which specialises in the development of our people. By actively supporting our people in their career advancement through training and accreditation, we encourage you to rise through the ranks and take on positions of greater responsibility within the Group.

Over the years, we have seen many junior employees show initiative and approach us about our upskilling programs. In fact, we’re proud to have employees who have worked for the Group for many years. We value potential and will back you all the way to provide you with the opportunities to grow and excel.

 

5 – Check out what job opportunities are available

 We also love to promote from within. That’s why we give all our existing employees the opportunity to apply for any open roles available within the wider Group. We promise to give you a fair interview process, which will also provide you with a platform to explain how and why this particular role is an ideal fit for your career ambitions. On previous occasions, we have shown a willingness to give employees a shot at taking on new roles within the Group. If we feel you possess the right mindset and attitude, we’ll train you up for the position and give you the support you need to take on this new challenge with confidence.

There are countless ways to further your career at AX Group. Just take a look at our many success stories and employee testimonials. All it takes is initiative and a proactive attitude. Remember, we’re always here to help. Schedule in a one-to-one meeting with us and let’s put your career strategy into action today.

Once You’ve Raised the Bar, Candidates Will Respond

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Written by Michael Warrington, CEO-AX Group

AX Group is known for its construction and restoration work, its top-quality hotels in Sliema, Qawra and Valletta, and its advanced age facilities and services. Operating all these are the Group’s 1000+ employees, many of whom have been with the company for years.

Central to the Group’s employment strategy is AX Careers, an online portal serving as an in-house recruitment agency, which Group CEO Michael Warrington credits for the increasing calibre of candidates.

“AX Careers provides potential applicants with a clear idea of what we are offering and why, and projects the image of the Group effectively as it acts as a kind of shop window on our core values,” he says. Handling employment intermediation in-house allows the Group to screen candidates more rigorously, with basic checks being conducted before any CV is passed on to management. “We have had people applying to jobs, previously, who maybe should not be applying for those jobs. Typically, recruitment agencies do not go into the nitty-gritty of a candidate’s profile, but by doing so ourselves, we avoid problems later on,” he says, adding that social media profiles and Google search results can say a lot about people.

AX Careers also features a resource centre where key people within the organisation provide clear details on a wide range of topics. “People can see who is involved, they can interpret our integrity and core values.” “These are things that potential candidates typically look for, but rarely find. We wanted to raise the bar for recruitment because once you’ve raised the bar, people applying will need to be confident that they can fit into that organisation.” Mr Warrington says this creates a win for both sides. “It’s a win for those candidates that have potential, and it’s a win for us because the people we employ are a better fit.”

Ensuring a good fit with the organisation’s ethos is important, with around 700 of the AX Group’s employees being foreign, many from countries outside the EU. The organisation ensures that such Third Country National (TCN) candidates are a good fit by partnering with agencies in source markets like Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. These agencies sometimes have a bad rep on account of unethical recruitment fees charged to applicants, which can be hefty. AX Group avoids these issues by vetting each agency it works with. Mr Warrington says that “before we accept to work with any intermediary, we would have done our homework on that company”.

They go further by making the intermediary recruitment agency sign an agreement with AX prohibiting them from charging commissions to candidates. “If you don’t manage those situations, problems come into play once you have employed them, as many people enter into debt to pay that commission.” “Then,” he continues, “once they are here, a lot of their pay would be spent on repaying that loan, forcing them to live on or close to the poverty line.”. “That makes for stressed and anxious workers. Our team is very much on the alert to avoid these situations,” he says.

Turning to the challenge of integrating such a large multicultural contingent of employees, Mr Warrington points to the in-house academy set up by the Group. Noting that the Group has been employing non-Maltese for well over 30 years, Mr Warrington says that embracing multiculturalism brings a lot of opportunities, new skills, and different perspectives. The organisation does its best to create a safe and healthy working environment, with sensitivity to things like colour and religion. It pays particular attention to avoid giving offence, by not serving pork for instance. It also has a strict ban on the religious discussion in the workplace, while allowing all employees the freedom to practice their religion freely. “It’s about respecting each others’ ideals and beliefs,” he says. “We set up our academy specifically to help recruits with things like language, but through the training, we also instil our values and principles so that they may approach the job better.”

The Group spends hundreds of thousands of euros on training, but Mr Warrington explains that none of it is wasted. “If our employees are satisfied, they will be happier and as an organisation, we can reap the benefits of the feelings of accomplishment our workers feel.”

He sums up the Group’s approach: “If you help people succeed, they will be loyal to you.”The Group’s objective is to be an employer of choice, and Mr Warrington states with confidence that for many people, AX Group is an employer of choice.

Meanwhile, asked whether the Group intends to launch AX Careers as a standalone business, building on its in-house success, he says there are no such plans for the time being. The Group sees AX Careers as a service helping its growth.

“The Group is built on three pillars,” he explains. “Our assets, our finances, and our people. It is useless having any of those without the others. Assets need to be managed by trustworthy, skilled individuals, and we do our best to invest in our people as we do in our assets – by building up their value for the long-term.”

Creativity in Business: How a creative spirit helped AX Hotels rise above the pandemic

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There’s a common misconception that creativity has no place in business leadership. Managers, directors, and business leaders are meant to be strategic, logical, analytical. We’re supposedly meant to leave imagination and blue-sky thinking up to the artists and creatives.

However, I have often found throughout my career that the best business decisions arise when lateral thinking collides with strategic planning. From experience, I have seen how bringing creativity into business scenarios has been a sure-fire way to shake things up and kick-start new ideas that would never have occurred to us had we stuck to some predetermined rulebook.

There’s a reason why many companies come and go, but a select few stand the test of time. Those businesses that don’t have the vision to stray from the beaten path are bound to be forgotten because they have nothing new to offer us and they soon cease to remain relevant. We only need to look towards the leading lights in the business world to see how creativity has inspired products and services that wow us. It only takes one visionary leader to introduce us to new possibilities and then suddenly, just a few years down the line, we can hardly imagine life without those once “crazy” ideas.

I feel extremely fortunate to have been mentored in the importance of fostering creativity in the workplace by my father. Always a man with a knack for doing things in his own inimitable way, my father showed me first-hand how creativity inspires, challenges, and helps people find innovative solutions and opportunities out of problems. In fact, alongside Determination and Integrity, Creativity is one of our core values at AX Group. It’s a quality we value highly in all our people, it’s an attribute we continue to seek out in our candidates, and it’s a strength that has ensured our company has continued to move forward and thrive during 40+ years of business.

As such, I’ve always endeavoured to keep creativity at the forefront of all my business decisions. And during a year in which we faced a flurry of unprecedented challenges created by the pandemic, I truly believe that it was the AX Hotels team’s ingenuity for coming up with out-of-the-box solutions that ensured our hotels and restaurants were able to, not only survive, but evolve and grow.

From the start of the pandemic, we decided to not allow ourselves to take a reactive stance to unfold events. We strove to rise above the situation and be proactive in all our decision making. That’s why AX Hotels was quick to implement a range of versatile F&B strategies that allowed us to continue serving our patrons in a variety of ways. If our diners couldn’t come to us, then we made sure we would deliver to them. Each of our main restaurants – including TemptAsian, Cheeky Monkey, and Luzzu – began operating a delivery service in collaboration with our fantastic AX Events team.

We also wanted to innovate on your run-of-the-mill food delivery experience. That’s why we re-instated our Cruise Your Flavours service, giving customers the opportunity to enjoy exclusive gourmet dining experiences prepared by our Michelin-starred kitchen brigade at Under Grain, served straight on their private yachts.

What’s more, Under Grain began creating luxuriously themed dine-at-home experiences to coincide with major holidays, including Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day. Each multi-course menu was designed from scratch by executive chef Victor Borg, meaning no two-holiday dining experiences were ever alike. Customers could tailor the menu to their preferences and have it delivered directly to their homes. This gourmet service proved to be a great success and showed us that people were still looking for exclusive experiences to enjoy with their loved ones in spite of everything that was going on.

Needless to say, with travel and tourism thrown into disarray, our hotel teams were experiencing a considerable amount of downtime. However, we didn’t let idleness slow us down. Where others would be lying low and pulling back, we used this “idle time” productively. We pressed ahead with identifying opportunities and innovative business solutions that would keep us ahead of the competition for when Malta would eventually re-open.

Our pandemic year has in fact been momentously busy, and we’ve even achieved a number of significant milestones. During these past fifteen months, we were awarded our first Michelin star for Under Grain and retained this highest of culinary honours for a second year running. We set up a hotel management proposition to assist struggling hotel businesses and set them on a path for re-invention and growth. We also put in motion several highly complex projects, including acquiring plans to begin the development of the Verdala Boutique Hotel in Rabat, as well as a ground-up redevelopment/rethink of our Qawra properties, Sunny Coast and Seashells at Suncrest Resort.

As if all this weren’t enough for one team to handle in the face of a crisis, we also developed a string of fantastic new F&B concepts, many of which are already in the pipeline. We simply can’t wait to launch them into the world. The latest addition to our F&B family was an off-shoot of our popular Cheeky Monkey franchise. The Cheeky Monkey Creperie launched last month in Valletta, just in time for Malta’s much-anticipated restaurant reopening. It’s been hugely rewarding to see the Creperie concept come together at such a rapid pace, and it has been even more satisfying to see people wandering around Valletta, enjoying the great selection of unique bakes and shakes our team has come up with.

All this work would not have been possible had we stuck to the script. Given the situation, we could have easily shut up shop and put our staff on furlough. Instead, we found creative solutions to keep our teams actively engaged with their jobs, empowering them to endorse and own their own projects. Key to this success was also our willingness to be flexible in how our teams worked. We made use of every communication channel available to address all our business needs, whether our staff were working from home, the office, the hotel lobby, or our restaurants. It has proven to be a hugely effective strategy and one we intend to develop further and keep in place across our businesses going forward.

There’s always an element of uncertainty when you’re throwing creative decisions into the mix. It’s part of the process. After all, you’re going out on a limb, forging a new path, attempting to do something that hasn’t been done before. It can be frightening, but it can also be tremendously thrilling. Projects may not pan out as you’d hoped, but I’ll tell you something. You’ll always learn more in trying and failing, than if you never tried at all.

So, to those who feel even an inkling of an entrepreneurial spirit-stirring inside them, I say be bold, be creative, go where there is no path, and leave a trail for others to follow in your footsteps. Good luck!

Diversity and Inclusion at AX Group

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My name is Simbarashe Mapfumo. I am 27 years old and I come from Zimbabwe. I arrived in Malta in December 2018 after living in Cape Town for five years, where I also worked in hospitality.

I fled my beloved Zimbabwe due to the unstable political situation. I miss my country and my family deeply, but unfortunately going back is not an option. I settled in South Africa and when my work permit expired, I came to Malta. I now eagerly await my clearance for asylum from the Refugee Commission.

I actually studied computer engineering but I fell in love with the hospitality industry from the time of my very first job in a restaurant. Since then, I never looked back! Something about giving a great service and making a customer happy is very rewarding for me. I have worked in restaurants, cafes and hotels doing different service jobs, from waitressing to being a front desk agent. In all instances, knowing I am the reason for making customers happy at the moment, is most satisfying.

I’m always asked the same question: ‘Why Malta? So far away from home and without a family network to support me?’ Well, from my extensive research, Malta seemed to be a homely place with a strong sense of community, where people are friendly and English widely spoken.

And indeed, not only have I not been disappointed, but Malta has also surpassed all my expectations in every way imaginable! Malta has become my home away from home. The Maltese society has redefined my notion of family. I have found true friends, supportive colleagues and warm neighbours. I have since changed the way I view the world while still nurturing my sense of self-identity. And my hope for humanity has been revitalised through the numerous positive experiences I have had since my arrival.

I have been fortunate enough to be employed as a front desk agent at AX The Palace since January 2019. Fortunate because I have been given the chance to be the best I can be, by playing with the best the local industry has to offer, surrounded by a winning team determined to deliver service excellence with creativity, determination and integrity.

Being part of AX Hotels has exposed me to unlimited possibilities for my career growth. Professional mentoring and guidance from management has brought out my best skills and capabilities. Ongoing training has helped me bring out my talents and I’m mastering the mindset required for giving a service expected from a five-star hotel.

My aspiration is now to eventually hold a management position within my field of expertise. I would then pass on the leadership values I have learnt and put them to good use, ultimately always to the service of guests and customers.

I’m currently being trained as a night manager. This is a big step for me, and one which I’m really excited about. It is an opportunity I am extremely grateful for and I’m eager to prove myself worthy of this responsibility. Once again, I know it will be one step towards my long-term goals and I look forward to any opportunity for exposure in other areas of hospitality in this five-star establishment.

I love my job and my workplace and every day I go to work safely in the knowledge that I am accepted, in an ambience of diversity and mutual respect of different cultures.