Richfield Hospitality Blog

By: Cathy Cooper, Corporate Director of Human Resources at Richfield Hospitality

Since 2009, employees have been reluctant to leave positions, waiting for signals of economic recovery.  As revenues improve, our organization must reach out to our talented employees in a meaningful way to keep them motivated and excited about their jobs. Today’s employees are more inclined to stay with their current employer when they have a sense of purpose and they feel their efforts are genuinely appreciated.

According to September’s HR Magazine, The Deloitte Talent Edge 2020 study notes 65% of employees are actively or passively exploring the job market and 29% acknowledge “they will act on their turnover intentions and walk out the door”. The survey found escalating work demands have created environments where ees don’t feel appreciated or valued by superiors.

When benefits and compensation are competitive, recognition is our most powerful tool to ensure employee engagement and commitment to the organization.

In the hospitality industry, as none other, happy, motivated, engaged associates are the difference between mediocre performance and creating outstanding guest loyalty.  As employees have had to become more productive, working longer hours, fulfilling multiple roles, individual identity is influenced more by work than by family or community. Meeting employee needs reaches beyond just the workplace and affects the overall quality of life. High performing organizations recognize employees need an emotional and intellectual connection to their work.  To continue to outperform our competitors in this economic environment, our priority must be to recruit, select, retain, and inspire associates who love to serve people.

Through open communication and transparency, associates begin to understand the logic of company decisions and the stakes involved. Understanding the desired outcome and sharing the vision is key to organizational success.  Each individual should know the importance of their role and be recognized as a contributor to the end result.

There is no work relationship as important to the employee as their relationship with their manager. This relationship reflects their view of the leadership of the company, the values, the culture, the mission and goals. For the employee, the manager is the Company. We should carefully select our managers based on their like values and focus on their development. They should be recognized and rewarded for their ability to develop and lead their teams.

In order to build strong employee engagement and retain talent we need to:

• Create career opportunities
• Develop benchstrength
• Inspire trust in leadership
• Focus on top performers
• Communicate effectively

If we develop leaders and managers who are genuinely caring, provide the tools for our associates to perform their duties, and motivate them by recognition and constant feedback, we will inspire a new team of leaders in our future and retain our top performers.

By: Tom Clearwater, Senior Vice President of Sales at Richfield Hospitality

Richfield recently had a 2012 budgeting process call. Afterwards, I went to the Web to see what the experts are saying for 2012. PwC is always a very reliable source when it comes to projections and below is a hot off the press article that I ask you to read very carefully.

We must believe in our abilities, systems and strategic thinking to achieve in times like these. Planning is critical. If we always think about who are the individual customers and groups and take care of them, they will continue to return. That is part of what will make us even more successful next year. And equally, if not more importantly, who are the replacement/target customers we will need if the economy stays fragile in this uncertain climate. If we do the strategic planning correctly and know our completion better than they know themselves, we will win. (more…)