Corporate Research Assignment Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Having personally worked and managed a hotel in the past I decided to choose a company for my research assignment in the hospitality industry that has mastered the art of managing employees. That is Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, long known as one of the best places to work. Eric Stoessel begins his article “Winning Corporate Culture for Fairmont” by stating that Fairmont has been on Canada’s top 100 companies to work for 8 straight years and most recently Canada’s 10 most admired corporate cultures.
Employees that are happy and motivated are especially crucial in the hospitality industry where they are the first and last points of customer contact. Stoessel chatted with the Vice President of Human Resources, Carolyn Clark and asked her what the core values of Fairmont were. She stated “Respect, integrity, teamwork and empowerment. These core values represent the cornerstone of our culture and our hotel operations around the world. The result is an engaged and empowered workforce that feels valued and motivated. In our course we spoke quite a bit about what core values are and how a corporation uses them to communicate their fundamental beliefs throughout an organization. Chapter 4 of our “Managing Business Success” textbook talks about how there is a direct relation between core values and employee performance. The ultimate goal is for employees to feel empowered to an extent that allows them to go above and beyond to maximize the customer experience.
In class, we discussed a company’s organizational structure and how we are heading towards decentralization, meaning decisions are made throughout the organization as opposed to the just the top-level. This fits in with effectively delegating work to employees and giving the lower levels of management and employees more authority. Carolyn Clark tells Stoessel a great example of employee empowerment leading to a joyful customer. “We had a guest who was checking into one of our hotels over Halloween and she happened to mention her 4-year-old daughter wasn’t happy because she couldn’t trick or treat.
So the hotel team got together and when the guest came into her room she found a fairy princess costume on the bed for her daughter. They took it a step further and created a scavenger hunt for the little girl through out the hotel and she collected candy on the way. The guest was blown away and the whole team won an award. The whole concept of creating memories is an empowerment our colleagues feel. They can be our brand ambassadors and create those memories. ” This situation shows employees that care about their company and their customers.
Fairmont does a great job of rewarding their employees for these types of performances. Stoessel, in his research, also finds that Fairmont awards two star employees per year and sends them to any Fairmont Hotel or Resort in the world. Derek Irvine is his article “Debunking 10 recognition and rewards myths” talks about how a high-profile celebration is the best way to recognize employees. He says cash is not necessarily the best way to motivate employees, it should be something memorable.
He states “Celebration keeps culture going, uniting and unifying people. ” Irvine explains that there are many myths regarding appreciation and recognition that companies see as truth. For example, companies believe that salary should be enough of a reward. Another myth is that appreciation and recognition are the sole territory for Human Resources to deal with. Irvine ends his article by declaring; “Bust the employee recognition myths holding employees back from engaging fully with your organization culture, values and priorities. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is a corporation I would certainly want to be part of because of their reputation and achievements for being the best employer. As an employee I would enjoy being empowered and part of decision making. I would find pleasure in going above and beyond to satisfy customers. Fairmont has a great incentive program to reward employees for their success; this is something that certainly motivates me. I would be most effective as an employee with a leader that is of the transformational type and a democratic leadership style.
These management styles are more effective for me personally, as they allow me to learn and grow quickly within a company. I believe the most important skill to have is to be able to learn a new task and become effective at it quickly. This is something I take pride in the ability to do. Fairmont looks for employees with communication skills. In the hospitality this is especially crucial since there are so many people responsible for different tasks. Front desk, housekeeping, management must always be on the same page for things to run smoothly.
As listed as one of Fairmont’s core values team work within a department and between different departments is an important skill. Communication skills and team work go hand in hand. In a hotel, employees have to have the ability to problem solve guest issues. Different types of problems often arise and an employee must have to think quickly to keep a customer happy. I believe this are all skills I have acquired from my past experiences working a hotel setting, solving various issues and ensuring customer satisfaction through personalized service.
Works Cited 1. Stoessel, Eric. “Winning Corporate Culture for Fairmont. ” Lodging Hospitality (2010)ABI/INFORM Global. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. 2. Irvine, Derek. “Debunking 10 Recognition and Rewards Myths. ” Canadian HR Reporter 24. 21 (2011): 16-7. ABI/INFORM Global; CBCA Business; CBCA Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. 3. Garel, Elizabeth. “Change for the Better. ” Benefits Canada 35. 7 (2011): 58-61. ABI/INFORM Global; CBCA Business; CBCA Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. 4. Collins, Karen. Exploring Business. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
