Most hotel executives have long understood the value of retaining top notch employees. Countless studies have linked high employee retention to vital results such as improved service quality and operational effectiveness, reduced overtime and hiring costs, as well as increased customer satisfaction and guest experience ratings. Strong retention is highly correlated with strong company performance.

To provide further evidence of this link, the hotels consistently appearing on the lists of most admired companies and best places to work report an average annual turnover rate of 9% compared to industry averages of 27-37%. This difference results in a significant and immediate benefit to the bottom line, especially considering that the American Hotel and Motel Association, Cornell’s Hotel School and the Society of Human Resource Management report that the average turnover cost of a frontline hotel employee ranges from $3,500 to nearly $6,000.

But the drivers of retention are about much more than the glamour of appearing on a Top 100 list. Sure, having an admired brand, consistently solid financial performance and best practice HR programs do indeed help companies achieve desired retention results. The more critical impact on retention, however, is made in the trenches when managers at ...