Ms. Gioia

Executive Leadership

Signature Practices From My Favorite GMs Around the World

By Joyce Gioia, CEO, Employer of Choice, Inc

In mid-February, I began a six-week trip, visiting nine countries around the world. On past trips documented in my passport, I already had traveled to seventeen countries. Every time I visit another country, I make it a habit to meet the GM of my hotel and ask about his/her people practices.

This article details some of the best signature practices I have gathered from my favorite GMs. First, let's look at what they have in common. While all endure pressure from their owners (and/or the corporate office) to maximize profits, they still put their people first. All of these ideas are clearly employee-centric, cost little or nothing to implement, and result in higher levels of engagement and performance. My challenge to you, dear reader, is to think about how you might apply these practices to your property.

Use a "campaign" to change behaviors.

Fintan Odoherty, the GM at the Windsor Plaza Hotel in Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, noticed that his people were not smiling very much and that made his guests feel uncomfortable. It seems that in Vietnam, people who smile are considered to be ignorant or foolish; thus it is a cultural norm not to smile. To respond to the situation, he launched a "Smile Campaign", with smiling face buttons and forms that allow fellow employees and guests to acknowledge team members' smiles. The person with the most acknowledgements would win a prize. It must have worked, because I saw a lot of smiles on my visit.

Encourage your staff to stay fit.

Weng Aow, GM of the Angkor Palace Resort and Spa in Siem Reap, Cambodia, wanted to encourage his people to be fit. He noticed that after climbing a flight of steps or hurrying to get to the other side of the property, they were winded. A dedicated fitness aficionado who, himself, is in great shape, he began offering his people the opportunity to run with him two mornings a week.

Now Wednesdays and Sundays, about 15 of the hotel's employees (up from five) may be found running with Weng around the area of the property. Open to people of all fitness levels, the group started walking and running one or two kilometers and are now up to almost five kilometers per session. The best part is that Weng is also using this opportunity to identify talent and groom his staff for more responsibility.

Ask people how you can help them do their jobs better?

David Kelly, GM at the Hilton Cairns, employs a very simple process that not only wins him the dedication of his people, but saves money as well. He does the kind of "rounding" that we have long recommended, but doesn't stop there. As he walks around, he engages his people in conversation and asks, "What can I do to help you do your job better?" On a recent visit to the laundry, one of his people asked if it would be possible to fix the fan. Some months earlier, the fan had broken and for whatever reason, engineering had not installed a replacement. Of course their laundry, like all laundries, is extremely hot, and the heat was affecting everyone. David asked his engineering people what they could suggest. The chief engineer turned around and said, "Well, we have that fan over there."

There, in the corner of the room on the floor, was a fan¯similar to the one in the laundry. The idle fan now provides the ventilation that was missing in laundry for all of those months. Needless to say, the laundry staff is much happier and with that simple adjustment that cost nothing, David has raised morale and productivity in the laundry. And as any hotel executive knows, wet-towel complaints are not uncommon and it is sometimes a difficult problem to fix.

Model the behaviors you want your supervisors to express.

Once many years ago, I delivered a seminar on "Keeping Good People" to the assembled management staff of the Hilton Hotel at Newark Airport, and as I had requested, their former GM, John Sweeney, was in attendance. I talked about modeling the behaviors we want our managers and supervisors to have. I also talked about the value of "walking in the shoes" of your direct reports to see what things look like from their perspective.

John heard me. The next month his office was painted. Instead of setting up shop and fielding phone calls in someone else's office, he reported to housekeeping and asked for the uniform of a room attendant. John spent the day cleaning rooms. What a great lesson for his direct reports!

Decorate doors at holiday times.

Eliza Miramontes, GM at the Hampton Inn Winchester-University/Mall Area in Winchester, Virginia has each department decorate a door at holiday time. It engenders great team spirit. Then they ask the guests which one is their favorite. This initiative is a win-win-win idea that costs almost nothing and results in increased employee morale and increased guest involvement. Of course, the property wins because their occupancy rate goes up and employee turnover goes down.

Celebrate wins with your people¯yet look at how things can be even better.

Sajid Kahn, GM of the new Golden Tulip Festac Lagos, Nigeria is beloved by his staff. In his previous position as GM of a hotel in a neighboring country, whenever the hotel achieved 100 percent occupancy, he scheduled celebrations with each of the departments. They served non-alcoholic Champagne and toasted their success together. However, if any complaints, taken during this period, applied to those departments, he included a discussion of those complaints and how they could eliminate the problems that caused them.

Drop in on departmental meetings regularly.

When Sajid was organizing to open this new hotel, he wanted to meet all of his employees. He chose to accomplish this task by attending the departmental meetings and making it a point to get to know each of his people personally. Like other well-respected leaders, Sajid knows the names and circumstances of each of his people and takes pride in addressing people by their names in conversations. Though far from a micro-manager, about once a month he continues to attend these meetings so that he can keep his finger on the pulse of what is happening.

Let your employees drive the enrichment process.

Holland America Cruise Line's hotel manager for the MS VOLENDAM is an Aussie named Rene Tuinman. On the ship, the crew drives the decisions about all the perks and non-financial benefits from holiday parties to crew-only shore excursions to crew spa nights. With crew representing many of major world's religions, each of the committees decides the nature of their own holiday parties and celebrations. Whether they are recognizing Hari Raya, a Hindu holiday or Waisak (Vesak) a Buddhist commemoration or Christmas or Easter, Christian celebrations, it is the employees who schedule the parties and decide what food will be served as well as what the entertainment will be.

Consider implementing these signature practices into your management style.

Implementing these best practices from some of my favorite GMs in the work can help you increase employee engagement and guest satisfaction. Why not review this article now for your preferred ideas? Then share those ideas with your direct reports and create action plans. This investment of your time and energy will reap significant rewards.

Joyce Gioia is a workforce futurist concentrating on relationship aspects of the future. This arena includes workforce and workplace trends, as well as consumer, education, and business-to-business trends. Ms. Gioia is also CEO of Employer of Choice, Inc, a distinction earned only by companies whose leadership, culture, and best practices attract, optimize, and hold top talent. Employers of Choice® enjoy "a higher level of performance, greater workforce stability, and the level of continuity that assures preservation of the knowledge base, customer loyalty, employee satisfaction, and stronger profits". Ms. Gioia can be contacted at 336-210-3548 or joyce@hermangroup.com Extended Bio...

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