Marriott Hotels & Resorts Engaged employees hosting brilliantly! As Marriott International has grown to be a leading lodging company with more than 3,700 properties in 74 countries and territories worldwide, it has maintained a strong set of core values: ‘put people first, pursue excellence, embrace change, act with integrity and serve our world’. Marriott has always had an employee focused philosophy and believe that this translates into guest loyalty. A relentless focus on innovation and action fuels the way Marriott does business. With one of the most powerful brand portfolios in the world, Marriott sets the bar for the hospitality industry. Every associate at Marriott is focused on ‘hosting the new world brilliantly!’ Marriott has achieved Best of the Best status in 2013.
The key people challenges facing Marriott now and in the years ahead High and increasing wage costs in Australia which demand an increased cost and productivity focus. Local skill shortage within key functions which makes attracting, developing and retaining talent both a challenge and a priority.
Having a high performance workforce helps Marriott to address these challenges Marriott’s highly engaged associates all have a role in reducing costs, from smarter menu planning through to improved heat and power practices. With everyone taking accountability for their role in achieving organisational goals, targets for profit growth were recently achieved. To overcome the obstacle of skills shortages, Marriott provides an environment for ongoing growth and development. Associates are hired for possessing the right attitude and Marriott makes a promise to provide them with the required skills and development opportunities. Marriott commits to a minimum of 40 hours of training for every associate per annum. These training hours include extensive skills based, service focused and management development training. Marriott knows that when associates feel valued and respected, guests feel that way too. The organisation prides itself on its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and strives to create a workplace environment where every employee has the opportunity to achieve their potential.
“The values established by our founders have served our company well and will continue to guide our growth into the future. Foremost of these values is the enduring belief that our associates are our greatest assets. Create an inclusive environment where talents and ideas can flourish and you will also drive business results.” Neeraj Chadha, Multi Property Vice President Australia Marriott International
Marriott worked with Aon Hewitt to measure their alignment with the organisation’s global culture and people standards To truly align with Marriott International culture and people practices, it is important for Marriott to understand how it benchmarks locally. It is about providing Australians with the opportunity to work in a company recognised for ‘putting people first’. Achieving Best of the Best status in 2013 confirms that Marriott’s performance in effective leadership and people practices within Australia supports its global strategy. In line with their commitment to innovation and excellence, Marriott was also seeking to benchmark against and learn from other Best Employers, as well as continue to develop and improve people practices. Achieving accreditation will not only enhance Marriott’s Australian market reputation but is also an opportunity to promote the brand to existing and potential associates. Marriott’s Best of the Best accreditation will reinforce the belief of all associates: ‘Proud to be at Marriott…Where I belong!’
Skill and career development have been key factors in Marriott’s journey to becoming a Best Employer One of Marriott’s key priorities over the past 12 months has been equipping its people to understand and respond to a changing customer demographic. This was achieved through a global employee development program – ‘Hosting Brilliantly’. Employees have been equipped with the skills they need to provide personalised customer service and are also truly empowered to make the best decisions for each customer. Whilst customer service was already being rated ‘very good – excellent’ a three percentage point gain was experienced as a result of this initiative. In its 2013 Aon Hewitt engagement survey, Marriott achieved higher levels of employee career satisfaction compared against other Australian companies over the past five years. The high level of career satisfaction is partly attributed to the organisation’s career development initiative launched in 2012. The ‘Career Development Centre’ was launched specifically to guide and assist associates with their career growth and development at Marriott. Over the past 12 months associates have had the opportunity to attend a career development workshop, where they learnt about the available career paths across the organisation, and the associated development opportunities available. A follow up career discussion between the employee, their manager, and HR takes place to develop an individual career plan. Regular career discussions are then instigated by the direct supervisor to review the progress of individual career plans. The Career Development Centre within each hotel provides the means for operational employees to carry out focused career development activities such as completing online training modules linked to individual career plans. Ongoing plans are in place to keep growing and enhancing the Career Development Centre at each hotel.
What can be learnt from Marriott as a Best Employer? A genuine ‘people first’ culture, where people’s growth, development and wellbeing is prioritised, balanced with high performance and accountability expectations, has a positive impact on customer service and ultimately business outcomes. Equip and empower employees to provide differentiated customer service. Create an environment where ideas can flourish to achieve company goals and objectives.
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