The Opportunity Every Hospitality Chief Human Resources Officer Has to Drive Revenue
Engaged employees are necessary to the successful functioning of any enterprise. In businesses that rise and fall on the quality of their customer service, employee engagement is especially critical.
Today, employee engagement measurements frequently tell a disheartening story of growing numbers of disaffected workers whose alienation from their organizations and jobs too often has led to suboptimal service, rising customer dissatisfaction and defection, and disappointing shareholder returns.
This situation presents a key challenge to the hospitality sector, as it does to all B2C businesses. Yet lackluster employee engagement is a major opportunity for chief human resources officers (CHROs). By helping their company’s leaders define the organization’s purpose, values, and vision, CHROs can play an outsized role in improving employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and shareholder value.
In this paper, we show the crucial roles that CHROs played at companies whose high levels of employee engagement have had a big impact on customer satisfaction and financial success: Vail Resorts, Marriott International, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and other companies.
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About the Authors
Dr. Mark Gasta
Prior to joining FMG Leading as Tourism and Hospitality Principal, Dr. Gasta served as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for Vail Resorts Management Company. In his role at Vail Resorts, he planned and executed on organization-wide people strategies that increased effectiveness and enhanced performance and health throughout Vail’s 30,000 employees. Dr. Gasta is currently the Associate Director of the Outdoor Recreation Economy (ORE) Program and an Associate Professor at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Jen Bales
Before joining FMG Leading, Jen held a range of senior Human Resources roles, from Director of Human Resources at Starbucks Coffee Company to Senior Director of Human Resources at Vail Resorts. In her current role, Jen currently serves as Chief Human Resources Officer for Nashville-based Shearwater Health.
Steve Cokkinias
Prior to FMG Leading, Steve spent 20 years in the luxury hospitality industry, most recently serving for nearly a decade as General Manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). In his current role as Principal, Marketing, Steve focuses on a range of growth initiatives, including market development, marketing and sales strategy, brand management, and client value creation.