Alla is a highly talented professional, with over 25 years’ corporate experience in management consultancy, recruitment, sales and marketing, strategic management, hospitality, and training. She is a Russian national, fluent in English, Russian, and Romanian.
Her key areas of training expertise are in: Leadership & Management, Sales & Marketing, Team Development, Succession Planning, Event Management, Recruitment & HR / Human Capital, Revenue Management, Planning & Organizing, Customer Service, Negotiation, and Customer Relationship Management.
Alla began her working career as a management trainee at the Ritz Carlton, Bahrain, in 1996, where she underwent management training across seven different departments. In 1999 she moved to Dubai, to take up a key position as part of the pre-opening team at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi. In addition to her main role with Le Meridien, Alla took on the role of Departmental Trainer, assisting the Training Manager with running the pre-opening programmes for all departments across the hotel. This involved working with over 30 nationalities to communicate the ‘Le Meridien’ culture to all staff, before the official opening. She was initially employed as a Guest Relations Officer, where she received a special award for providing outstanding customer service to guests, before she was promoted shortly after the opening. Her new position was Event Coordinator looking after MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions). During this period, her commitment to continuous learning led her to take an ILM Diploma In Management, and later to successfully complete a Cambridge University programme on: Organizational Behaviour / Change Management, Strategic Management, Strategic Marketing, and Human Resources Planning. Following notable success, in 2006 she was promoted to the post of Cluster Senior Sales Manager, which included responsibility for more than one hotel. Part of her responsibilities included the opening, in 2008, of the Starwood Group’s exclusive, Westin Dubai.
In 2008, Alla moved to the Accor Group as Assistant Director of Sales, where she was involved in the positioning of the Sofitel as a luxury brand in the region, opening in 2009. This involved working closely with the regional office to ensure the proper strategies were followed for the successful opening of this flagship property. Part of the preparation work involved planning and organizing the roll-out of a range of internal programmes to ensure the staff were fully prepared for the opening. These programmes included: Building A Culture Of Performance; Building A Culture Of Accountability; Building A Culture Of Trust & Credibility; and Building A Culture Of Collaboration.
During this period, Alla developed a deepening interest in training and Human Capital / Human Resource Management.
This led to a change of direction in 2012, when she took up the position of Director of the Opportunity Team, Dubai. This was an HR / Recruitment organization specialising in the hospitality sector. Working with a team of ten staff members, Alla recruited for over 30 international chain hotels in the UAE / GCC / Middle East & Africa regions, becoming the preferred recruitment agent for many of the world’s leading brands. The main areas for recruitment were the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Romania. Many of the personnel recruited were new joiners to hotels about to open, so selecting the right people, and ensuring they were trained to the standards of five-star hotels, was of crucial importance.
This experience further increased Alla’s passion and interest in training and development, and reinforced to her, the importance of ensuring staff receive the correct training, delivered professionally, so that delegates fully internalise the training, and translate it into improvements in their behaviour in the real-life working environment.
In 2015, Alla returned to the hospitality sector as Director of Sales & Marketing for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, looking after two properties. Here, she had responsibility for a team of 15 staff, including Revenue. This role also gave her the opportunity to train, coach, and mentor. Courses she delivered included Time Management, Negotiation Skills, and Sales & Marketing.
Deciding to move out of hospitality to other sectors where she could enhance her skills, led, in 2017, to Alla taking up a position as Director Of Business Development for a company focusing on e-commerce. The key elements of this role involved Digital Marketing, Sales & Marketing, and Negotiating Contracts.
While this role was challenging in many ways, Alla found she missed the training room, where she now knew her real passion lay. This led to her joining Spearhead in 2018.
Alla is a 100% committed professional, who has often been called an ‘overachiever’. In every role she has undertaken, her superiors have described her as highly professional, an outstanding team leader, and a fully committed customer-focused individual, always prepared to ‘go the extra mile’, and someone who inspires her teams to do the same. This is reflected in the many service awards she and her teams have received during her career, and the outstanding collective results achieved by them.
Alla now brings all her real-life experiences into her training sessions, wanting to passionately share ‘best practices’ with her delegates, to help develop new skills, and enhance old ones, so they return to their workplace with tools that can be used to improve their organization’s performance.
Alla’s key areas of expertise include:
Management & Leadership
- Developing Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Supervisory Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Leading High Performance Teams For Stronger Business Performance (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Coaching For Optimum Performance (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
Business Skills
- Creative Problem Solving & Decision-Making (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Creativity & Innovation Workshop
- Change Management
- Event Management (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Planning & Organizing Skills – Achieving Your Highest Priorities
- Strategic Thinking & Planning
- ‘Introduction To Design Thinking’ Workshop
HR / Human Capital Management & Training
- Human Capital / Human Resource (HR) Management Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Competency-Based Interviewing Skills – For Recruitment & Selection
- Train The Trainer – Group Training Techniques (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- HC / HR Policies & Procedures
Customer Service
- Excellence In Customer Service
- Customer Care & Telephone Skills
- Etiquette For Excellent Telephone Skills
- Customer Relationship Management
- Developing A ‘Word-Class Customer Service’ – As A Competitive Strategy
Sales & Marketing
- Closing Sales
- Professional Sales Skills – The Key Elements Of Successful Selling (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Advanced Selling Skills
- Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Negotiate Like A Professional!
- Advanced Negotiation Skills – Learn How To Be A Master Negotiator!
- Managing A Winning Sales Team!
- Strategic Marketing – For Today’s Business!
- The Essentials Of Digital Marketing
- Social Media Marketing For Business
- Key Account Management
- Effective Retail Selling Skills
- Learning Powerful Telesales Skills
Personal Development
- Developing Effective Interpersonal & Communication Skills (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Understanding Emotional Intelligence (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Presentation Skills – Making A Powerful Impact On Any Audience (City & Guilds – ILM Recognised)
- Advanced Presentation Skills
- Self & Time Management
- Stress & Anger Management In The Workplace
- Assertiveness Skills (& Dealing With Difficult Situations)
Additional Courses (In-Company Only)
- Bid (Tender) Management
- Performance Management & Appraisals
- Writing Effective Job Descriptions & Person Specifications
- Conflict Management / Resolution
- Coaching & Motivation
- Developing Your Emotional Intelligence For Effective Communication
- The Power of Positive Attitude
- Hospitality Workshop
