db Group ( Lifestyle Group and db Hotels & Resorts ) is one of Malta’s fastest-growing hospitality operators and is in the middle of a major expansion. With two large four-star hotels, a smaller three-star property, Starbucks outlets, Hard Rock Cafes, and a lifestyle division of restaurants and beach clubs, the company already employs around 1,200 people on the island. Its ambitious plans anticipate a further 600 roles for a new five-star Hard Rock Hotel in St. Julians as well as additional hotels in Dubai and Copenhagen.
This rapid growth put a strain on the company’s operations. Historically, HR processes depended heavily on manual work and Excel sheets. Employee information was stored in physical files, often inaccessible to managers, and HR teams had to maintain parallel spreadsheets to meet internal reporting requirements. Managing time-sensitive items such as expiring ID cards and work permits for third-country nationals was particularly challenging, especially across such a large and seasonal workforce.
db Group implemented a HR system, which delivered some important improvements. The platform centralised employee data, enabled managers to access records remotely, stored key documents such as ID cards and contracts, and allowed HR to generate reports on upcoming expiries. This reduced manual admin time by around 50% compared to before,” says Claudine Valastro, HR Business Partner at db Group. “I have all the information accessible, I don’t have to go for a physical file or folder: everything is there on the platform.”
However, the vendor was based in the United States and this caused difficulties whenever db Group had an issue requiring support. HR often had to wait until late afternoon Malta time to speak to someone, only to be redirected to online help guides rather than receiving direct, practical assistance.
The turning point came in summer 20205 when db Group partnered with Grouper, a Europe-based consultancy that was able to provide support within a similar timezone. Assigned a dedicated contact, support became immediate, personal, and continuous. Claudine and her team now speak to Grouper every week, to troubleshoot issues, explore enhancements, and align the HR system with db Group’s growth plans.
Working with Grouper has already delivered tangible improvements for the group. At one point, there were 130 open vacancies on its careers web page. Grouper redesigned the page by adding a search function and improving the structure to better handle the long list of open roles. Grouper is also working with the team on a potential custom dashboard to replace the Excel-based reporting they still rely on, aiming to consolidate HR data and reduce duplication of effort.
For Claudine, the relationship goes beyond standard vendor support. Having a single, responsive partner who understands db Group’s context, urgency and ambitions is “priceless,” she says. The responsive support is especially important when dealing with sensitive, time-critical HR issues; in one instance, a senior leader who had access to employee files had left the company, and Grouper was able to remove that individual’s access immediately on request.
Asked to describe the best part of working with Grouper, Claudine doesn’t hesitate. “Speed of response. They always tackle things very quickly. We’re a large team, and we dream of making things a bit easier. Sometimes we come up with ideas that we think are achievable, so we always reach out to Grouper,” she adds.
Looking ahead to a projected 50% increase in headcount, db Group sees Grouper as a key partner in managing that growth effectively while keeping HR operations under control and providing constant flexible and attentive support.
