Workday backs Club Med HR overhaul for global staff

Workday is supporting Club Med's HR digital transformation with Workday Human Capital Management, covering the resort operator's global workforce.

Club Med is using the system as it expands internationally and works to bring recruiting, time management and talent processes onto one platform. The company operates nearly 70 resorts in 40 countries and employs about 30,000 people, including a large seasonal workforce.

Its staff represent 110 nationalities, adding complexity to hiring and workforce administration across markets. Employees are known internally as Gentil Organizers and Gentil Employees.

For Club Med, the project centres on replacing fragmented HR processes with a single system for employee data and day-to-day workforce tasks. That includes recruitment for permanent and seasonal roles, time and attendance tracking for frontline staff, and benefits administration.

The arrangement is intended to give managers a clearer view of workforce performance, skills and employment trends. It also aims to support more consistent HR processes across locations, from hiring through later stages of an employee's career.

Global workforce

Hospitality groups face particular pressure in labour management because staffing levels can shift sharply with seasons, occupancy and location. At Club Med, that challenge is amplified by the spread of its resorts across multiple countries and the need to recruit at volume for guest-facing roles.

Workday's HR platform is being used to provide a central record for workforce information. The tools are also intended to help Club Med respond more quickly to changing business needs and align HR planning with broader growth.

The agreement reflects a broader trend in travel and hospitality, where operators are investing in digital systems to standardise internal processes while maintaining service levels. Employers across the sector have increasingly focused on staff experience as a factor in retention and recruitment, particularly for frontline roles where turnover can be high.

Club Med said the system has already improved its ability to understand changing employee needs and helped connect HR strategy more closely with business growth.

Employee focus

Julien Denis outlined Club Med's rationale for the project in terms of staff experience and operational efficiency.

"We're in the business of creating top quality experiences for our guests, and we must first start with top quality experiences for our people. With Workday, we can lighten workloads and make every interaction more valuable, so our teams can focus their energy on creating unforgettable moments for our guests," said Julien Denis, Vice President HR Digital Transformation, Club Med.

Workday's role in the project is part of its broader push into large multinational employers seeking to combine HR data, workflows and planning on one system. More than 11,500 organisations use its platform worldwide, including a large share of Fortune 500 businesses.

At Club Med, the emphasis appears to be on bringing together core HR administration with tools for recruiting and time tracking, areas that are especially important in businesses with dispersed sites and large numbers of hourly staff. A centralised system can also reduce duplication in local processes and improve visibility for executives overseeing multiple regions.

Artificial intelligence is also part of the project, although the companies gave limited detail on how far automation will reshape specific HR tasks. The stated aim is to digitalise a people-led business model while keeping the personal aspects of the employee experience intact.

Jess O'Reilly described that balance as a shared objective between the two companies.

"Our shared goal was to digitalise this human‐interaction‐based business model through AI transformation without losing the personal touch that makes Club Med unique. We're proud to support them in delivering an equally all‐inclusive, modern employee experience for their people," said O'Reilly.