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27 May 2011

he long-lasting benefits of transparent

adership

 

April 2011 8:06 AMCharles A. ConineelNewsNow.com columnistckc@hospitalityhrsolutions.com  

When transparency drives theompany vision, bothmployees and guests develop deeper trust in management.

Transparent work places alsoield an energized workforce.

The third lasting benefit of ransparency? Brand trust.

ory Highlights

The well-known quotation goes something like this:  “If you tell the truth,

you never have to remember anything. ” Credited to the American

author/philosopher Samuel Clemens, whose “pen name” was the iconic

Mark Twain, the lesson is simple: The truth sets the speaker free. What

long-lasting benefits can hotel organizations expect when everyone, from

the CEO to the reception clerk, picks up the mantle of transparency?

The first lasting benefit: Trust in management  

When transparency becomes a company’ s vision, a critical long-term

impact is the regard with which the company ’ s leadership is held. Jack

Welch, the outspoken former chairman of General Electric, strongly valued

the truth, and he understood its far- reaching impact. “Trust happens,” 

Welch wrote in his bestseller, Winning,  “when leaders are transparent,

candid and keep their word. It's that simple. ”  

Indeed, trust in management is a highly

valued asset, particularly when things

aren’ t going smoothly. In times of 

challenge, when employees and every

other stakeholder need reassurance,

what could be more reassuring than

regarding what you are told as being the

100% truth?

Last year on a trans-Pacific crossing of 

the Crystal Symphony, the cruise liner ’ s

master Ralf Zander had to deliver

unsettling news to passengers: The ship

was running on a safe albeit parallel

course to not one, but two cyclones as the vessel sailed between Hawaii

and Australia. Zander’ s calm demeanor combined with a ubiquitouspresence in every passenger and crew area allowed anyone to simply walk

up to the captain and ask,  ‘Is what you said really true? ’ The captain, a

veteran of many years of commanding icebreakers, had no doubt, he said;

he knew what his instruments told him. The key here was the captain

shared what he knew. He also was willing to walk around his vessel to

offer personal reassurance. An observer seeing and hearing the captain

could feel much better about his  “tomorrow, it will be better” outlook than

the choppy waves, winds and rain no doubt would have led the less

trusting aboard to theorize.

The second lasting benefit: An energized workforce

Important progress in creating more transparent workplaces has shown the

way forward for three hospitality companies profiled in a recent study by

the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research. In “Implementing Human

Resource Innovations: Three Success Stories from the Service Industry” 

by Justin Sun and Kate Walsh, the authors discuss how Fairmont Hotelsand foodservice icons Sodexo and McDonald ’ s targeted three tough HR

challenges—employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction—and

challenged employees to be part of the solution.

Fairmont cited the value of its  “Bravo Grams” program, which encouraged

employees to send one another congratulatory notes to call attention to

their colleagues ’ attentiveness to guest service.

A McDonald’ s franchisee crafted a successful incentive program that built

upon the chain ’ s vaunted People Promise, its vision for championing

employees.

At Sodexo, the challenge was recruitment: How could the foodservice

giant change perceptions of a career in that industry? Using Facebook,

Twitter and YouTube to rave about employees, Sodexo scored big,

bringing in 160,000 interested job seekers. 

These success stories illustrate how employees can become energized

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when their value is continuously communicated by management and they

can easily see the positive benefits of being a part of a team.

The third lasting benefit: Brand trust 

The name “Marriott” affords a classic example of how a brand achieves

iconic status with customers based on how it cares for its employees.

Since 1927 when J. Willard Marriott Sr. opened the company ’ s first outlet,

a root beer stand, in Washington D.C., the Marriott family has been

aggressively pursuing open relationships with its employees. The effort has

paid off handsomely. So-called  “moments of truth” about employee/guest

interaction abound at Marriott International.

When a recent Marriott hotel guest checked out, leaving an envelope

containing US$5,000 behind, the outcome gave Bill Marriott, Jr., the

company’ s president since 1964, an opening to do what Marriott does

best: thank employees. In his Internet blog, Marriott wrote about Kelsey,

the housekeeper who found the envelope: “Her first instinct was to

immediately call her supervisor and report what she found. She says she

didn’ t have to think twice about what to do and credited her parents with

instilling in her these morals from a very young age. ‘Integrity is what you

do when no one is looking, ’ she said, and I couldn ’ t agree more.”  

A Marriott guest posted this response:  “Great news but very typical of 

every Marriott I have stayed in around the world. Marriott is my second

home and has been since 1967.” 

The message to Marriott employees? Transparency is a virtue your

employer values. The cost of that unsolicited brand-approval message

that has no doubt been read thousands of times? Zero.

Chuck Conine, a 40-year hospitality industry veteran, is president of Hospitality HRSolutions and provides a full range of HR services and performance coaching to the

hospitality industry. He is a graduate of the Cornell University School of HotelAdministration and a member of the consulting team at Cayuga Hospitality Advisors andSynergy Restaurant Consultants.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of HotelNewsNow.com or its parent company, Smith Travel Research and its affiliatedcompanies. Columnists published on this site are given the freedom to express viewsthat may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussionwithin our reader community. Please feel free to comment or contact an editor with anyquestions or concerns.