Picture it: you jump in your car and set off to explore Australia on a six-month road trip, safe in the knowledge that you are part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts family and have the freedom to top up your bank account by working at more than 40 hotels around the country along the way, as and when you need it.

Once you’re plugged into the system, you’re a truly universal operative: no pressure of going through a job application for each role, just a quick hotel and brand onboarding and you’re up and running.

With the launch of the industry gamechanger, myFlex, IHG is offering exactly that and making a bold move to become one of Australia’s most flexible hotel employers with a broad, innovative offering.

Based on the principle that life and work should complement each other rather than compete, new colleagues who sign up with IHG as a myFlexer simply plug into the system and then get full flexibility to choose their hours and balance their work/life commitments. MyFlexers are paid at the full Hospitality Industry General Award (HIGA) rate or above, and just will need to commit to working a minimum (but low) number of hours over any period to ensure they remain active. They’re then able to self-schedule their hours at any IHG managed hotel using innovative Kronos technology, flexing or pausing their hours and availability at any time.

Existing IHG hotel colleagues will also enjoy increased flexible work options, and from February all full- and part-time employees who are normally rostered by their manager will be able to bid for the shifts they prefer, using the same Kronos tool as myFlexers. The message to the IHG family is: we are up for anything, and flexibility requests of all shapes, colours and sizes will be open for discussion.

What’s more, every IHG hotel colleague will also have access to IHG’s market-leading myBenefits offering, which gives them access paid parental and partner leave, birthday leave, and the ability to use personal leave for proactive wellness, as well as generous retail and accommodation discounts, as part of IHG’s myPerks benefit.

There are already a significant number of colleagues at IHG hotels enjoying the new world of flexibility. Belinda Iacono, Marketing Manager at Holiday Inn Sydney Airport has worked in IHG hotels for more than five years and is a great example of myFlex in action:

“I’m already benefiting from this new way of working!”, she commented on the initiative. “For anybody wondering, I am working 2 days a week in marketing for a Sydney hotel… from Melbourne. I am loving the opportunity to learn a new market with a new team”

Matt Tripolone, IHG’s Managing Director – Australasia & Pacific, commented: “The traditional employer rule book has well and truly been cast out the window over the past two years, as employers around the world have been compelled to find new and flexible ways of working. For the hotel industry, we want job seekers to know that we offer great pay and conditions, elevated with unmatched flexibility and fantastic benefits.

“And, alongside this flexibility, you can have a stellar career in hotels regardless of the field in which you specialise: from marketing, to HR, finance, sales IT or frontline operations. While hotel experience is a ‘nice-to-have’, what we really want is skills and attitude! And, in return, we offer fast-track leadership opportunities which mean you could be running your own multi-million-dollar business in a few years – either here in Australia or anywhere in the world.

“Building amazing careers is part of IHG’s DNA. Colleagues are supported through a lifelong development program, IHG career milestone celebrations, and transfer of entitlements as they move and grow with IHG across hotels!”

There are currently 62 IHG-branded hotels open across Australasia under some of the world’s best-known brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, as well as recently launched brands voco and Vignette Collection.

With at least another 35 due to open in the next few years, the opportunity to build a career almost endless.

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