This particular hotel had impeccable service and all the people who worked there were friendly, engaging, and very good at what they do. In fact, in all my travels this was probably in the top two hotels I have ever stayed at in North America. This employee retention speaker and employee retention expert was amazed. It became evident all levels in the organization drive this success. Like this employee recruitment expert always does, I chat people up to get the details about the inner workings of the hotel.
I spoke with one particular guy named Renee who handled my AV requirements and discovered he had been there for 20 years and he was only 40 years old. So, all the talk about young people not being loyal to an organization and job-hopping was clearly not the case with Renee. I probed further and found out he loves his job primarily because the leadership team leaves him alone to do his job and doesn’t micromanage him. In fact, the sales manager who arranged the event for the organization I was presenting to came in and did the opposite. He asked Renee if he needed anything to ensure my needs were met. Then, he went on to praise Renee in front of me for his dedication and said to me, “If you need anything…you can count on Renee.”
As Renee and this employee retention trainer talked further, he went on to tell me that not only did they leave him alone to do his job, they listened when he brought up ideas. Wow! Looking at this entire scenario this organization did three things right 1) they didn’t micromanage 2) they showed appreciation 3) they listened. What they did was nothing magical. They did three things and they have kept a young employee for 20 years. That’s pretty fundamental in my opinion!
When I look back, it became very apparent that their employee retention and the excellence this hotel has is a result of how they treat their people. People drive results. Focus on your people. Even if you don’t totally focus on your employees at least leave them alone to do their job!
Remember…Give Your Employees C.R.A.P.® (Caring, Respect, Appreciation, and Praise) Why? Because C.R.A.P. Works!
