Hotel and Restaurant Industry in Russia: Recruiting Channels and Employment Process of Finnish Employees.

Abstract

The main purpose of the thesis was to find out how Finnish employees can get employed in Russian hotel and restaurant industry. Recruitment channels, features of hospitality industry in Russia, employment process of foreign employees, required skills and characteristics of hospitality employees and possible obstacles to finding employment were examined in order to solve the research problem.

The theoretical framework for the thesis was based on the information gathered from literature, lecture materials, newspaper articles and Internet sources. In addition to written sources, interviews were used to achieve needed theoretical information. Qualitative research method was used to carry out the research. The research was conducted by using semi-structured interviews. Most of the interviewees were Russian and Finnish professionals from companies that operate in Russian hospitality sector.

Based on the findings, the most important channels that foreigners can utilize to find employment in Russia are recruitment sites in the Internet, direct contacts to companies and personal networks in the industry. Russian language skills and openness are needed when considering working in Russia. The results indicate that the employment process of Finnish employees takes approximately 2-3 months and requires paper work. The results can be utilized by hospitality professionals considering working in Russia.