John Timmerman, Corporate Vice President of Operations at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. (click here for his bio) was my guest on a recent webcast on Brighttalk.com’s Leadership and Employee Engagement Channel. You can see the webcast by clicking on employee engagement.
During the webcast John identifies a variety of Ritz-Carlton practices that hep make it a Connection Culture including:
Employee Selection
The Ritz-Carlton Credo
Inclusive Practices
The Daily Line Up
The Employee Promise
The 12 Service Values
Day 21 Follow-up
Employee Engagement Survey
I have long been an admirer of Ritz-Carlton since my days as an investment banker when Ritz-Carlton’s made being away from home less painful. In Fired Up or Burned Out, I included 20 stories that illustrate Connection Cultures, on story was about Ritz-Carlton. Here’s what I wrote:
Ritz-Carlton Character and Culture
While I was working on this book my family spent several vacation days at the Ritz-Carlton Resort on Key Biscayne near Miami. I have long been a fan of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, having stayed there during business trips over the years. I knew from firsthand experience that Ritz-Carlton connects with its guests. On this particular trip, I was determined to closely observe the employees to learn more about the best practices of the company.
One of the first Ritz-Carlton employees we met was Mery Castelblanco, a gracious, Colombian-born club concierge. Mery told us about the club and asked about our children. Immediately, Katie and I were impressed with Mery’s focus on us and her kind, caring spirit. Throughout our stay, the club staff—Mery, supervisor Marc Rapp, concierge Paul Hoyo, and others—helped us line up activities for the week. With our frequent interactions, we learned more about their backgrounds and families, and they learned more about us.
My impression of the Ritz-Carlton staff was echoed by another guest, who remarked, “The people here are so nice.” And she was right. Actually, Ritz-Carlton is intentional about hiring people who fit that general description. Marco Selva, the resort’s general manager, graciously took time to sit down with me and discuss the company. He told me that Ritz-Carlton employees are selected based on a structured talent interview by telephone that identifies character strengths, such as caring and empathy. In addition, potential employees undergo numerous interviews with current staff, who provide feedback about whether they would want to work alongside a particular job candidate.
During our stay at the Ritz-Carlton, I couldn’t help noticing how the guest experience reflects the cultural element of human value. For example, whenever I made eye contact with Ritz-Carlton employees—in an elevator, a hallway, or anywhere else for that matter—they always greeted me with a smile and a warm hello and wished me a pleasant day. They seemed to be looking for opportunities to go the extra mile. Early one morning I was returning to our room with cups of coffee for Katie and me when the floor’s housekeeper noticed I had my hands full. Right away she set aside what she was doing and insisted on helping me. She walked with me to the room and opened the door with her room key so I wouldn’t risk spilling our coffees. What’s more, she seemed genuinely delighted to help me. It was a small act of kindness but one that I sincerely appreciated. On another occasion, when we wanted to pick up a certain DVD at the local Blockbuster to watch in our room but didn’t have an account, our club concierge Paul Hoyo contacted Blockbuster and made the arrangements for us to use his personal account at the store. I could go on and on, but I’m certain you get the idea.
One secret to the Ritz-Carlton’s success is that the organization takes good care of its employees. According to Sue Stephenson, Ritz-Carlton’s head of human relations, guest and employee loyalty go hand in hand. That’s why Ritz-Carlton is so particular about its workplace culture and disciplined in maintaining it. Its Employee Promise states unambiguously:
At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies and Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to members and guests. By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity and commitment, we nurture and maximize talent to the benefit of the individual and the organization. The Ritz-Carlton fosters a work environment where diversity is valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton mystique is strengthened.
The Ritz-Carlton’s inspiring identity is reflected, first of all, in the employees’ pride in the company’s reputation for excellence. Employees are also united by the company’s values that include treating everyone with dignity and respect, creating pride and joy in the workplace, continually identifying defects to be corrected, recording individual guest preferences in the firm’s guest database, taking pride in and care of their personal appearance, using proper vocabulary, and so on. Each of the preceding values is represented in “The Ritz-Carlton Basics,” a set of twenty values, one of which is reviewed each day during a brief session known as the Daily Lineup that supervisors have with their staff. By continuously reviewing this list of values, Ritz-Carlton keeps them on the minds of all staff. Each Monday the company’s locations worldwide celebrate employees who went above and beyond the call of duty to serve a guest. When I met with Marco Selva, he happily recounted the story of Miriam Carballo, a receptionist at the front desk who overheard that a guest family’s car seat had broken and gave them the car seat her child had outgrown.
At Ritz-Carlton, the cultural element of human value is reflected in several ways. Beginning on the first day of work, an employee goes through a two-day orientation led by the hotel’s training manager. Each hotel’s general manager participates in these sessions and interacts with the trainees. Each employee also receives training about his specific job and then re-certification training annually for his position. Ritz-Carlton’s employees have the right to be involved in planning work that affects them. The respect and dignity that Ritz-Carlton aims to provide its guests apply equally to its employees. Marco Selva told me he periodically asks disruptive or verbally abusive guests to go elsewhere and even arranges their transportation to a different hotel property at the Ritz-Carlton’s expense. Emphasizing how much the Ritz-Carlton values its employees, he told me that “our employees respect that tremendously.”
Knowledge flow is present in the Ritz-Carlton culture. Early in an employee’s tenure she is asked to share her observations about how Ritz-Carlton can improve. Furthermore, Marco Selva and other general managers hold quarterly meetings with all employees to share performance results (including financial and ongoing guest satisfaction survey results) and seek employee input. White boards are maintained on the walls in the various departments where ideas to improve are recorded for staff to see.
With the high degree of connection among management, employees, and guests, it should come as no surprise that Ritz-Carlton was the first and only hotel to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the only service company to win it twice. After all, the statement that “the genuine care and comfort of our members and guests is our highest mission” is more than words on paper at the Ritz-Carlton. It’s a way of life.
Application
Ritz-Carlton increases inspiring identity by upholding values that its employees personally embrace and routinely celebrating employees whose actions embody those values. It increases human value by having guests leave if they become disruptive or verbally abusive to an employee. Knowledge flow is increased at Ritz-Carlton by maintaining white boards in the departments where employees can record ideas for improvements.
What other “to-do’s” could you put on your organization’s list that would bring about this corporate cohesiveness? What ideas might come out of a brainstorming session in your organization?
Additional information about Ritz-Carlton’s Culture and leadership practices can be obtained at Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, phone: (301)547-4806 or email: theleadershipcenter@ritzcarlton.com.
