HR Professionals as Strategic Partner in Marriott’s Talent Management

Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………3
Executive summary………………………………………………………………………............3 Organizational Profile……………………………………………………………………..3 Organizational Vision……………………………………………………………………..4 Organizational Mission……………………………………………………………………5 Human Resource Profile…………………………………………………………………..5 Economic context………………………………………………………………………….6 Political and regulatory context…………………………………………………………...8 Competitor analysis……………………………………………………………………….8 Operations Infrastructure………………………………………………………………….9
Organizational Perspective...……………………………………………………………………9 Key Performance Indicators and Analysis..………………………………………………9 Core Values……………………………....………………………………………………10 Measurement..…………………………....………………………………………………10
Cultural Perspective..…………………………………………………………………………..12 Cultural Categories and Analysis...……………………………………………………...12
People First……………………………....………………………………………………12
Pursue Excellence..……………………....………………………………………………12
HR as strategic partner………………………………………………………………………...11 Talent management is all about putting people in the right jobs………………………...13
The talent pipeline is only as strong as its weakest link…………………………………15
References……………………………………………………………………………………….16

Introduction
Marriott is a leading lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with more than 3,900 properties in 72 countries and territories and reported revenues of nearly $13 billion in fiscal year 2013. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 18 brands, including Marriott Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Bulgari, EDITION, Renaissance, Gaylord Hotels, Autograph Collection, AC Hotels by Marriott, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club. There are approximately 330,000 employees at headquarters, managed and franchised properties. Marriott is consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business operations, which it conducts based on five core values: put people first, pursue excellence, embrace change, act with integrity, and serve our world.
Business Perspective
Executive Summary for Marriott International, Inc. Organizational profile. In the past ten – fifteen years, the hotel industry has taken a turn. No longer do travelers search for that unique spot to stay. Instead, they search for brand recognition and use their membership rewards cards to earn free night(s) stay(s), airline miles, etc. As a member of the hospitality industry, hotels must offer the best service available and that means recruiting, training and retaining the best. This paper will utilize Marriott International, Inc. as a member of the hospitality/hotel industry to representation of how an excellent talent management program is utilized and can still be improved. According to Marriott:
“The Marriott name took root in American business and history in 1927 when J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott opened their first A&W Root Beer stand in Washington, D.C. During the next three decades, the Marriotts grow their food service business to include a new in-flight service and several new eateries.
For the next fifty-eight years—until his death in 1985—J. Willard Marriott rarely rested. Whether adding locations, perfecting procedures or expanding into new enterprises, Marriott breathed, ate, and lived his company. Even when his oldest son, J. Willard “Bill” Marriott, Jr., was named CEO and took over most major responsibilities, he could not bring himself to retire. A true hands-on manager, he thoroughly enjoyed visiting Marriott’s increasingly exotic locations, as well as spending time with the ever-growing ranks of associates who, in his mind, were the secret of his company’s success. “Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers,” he constantly advised Marriott’s managers.
Today, Marriott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide hospitality company with nearly 2,800 operating units in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. In keeping with Marriott’s most cherished tradition of service, the JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand is, itself, a fresh take on luxury, providing detail-oriented personal and dependable service. From the luxury features you expect to the smallest details that delight, JW Marriott prides itself in providing those unexpected touches that elevate each guest’s stay (JW Marriott Grand Rapids, 2014). Organizational vision.
The vision statement is future focused and paints a vivid picture of what the hotel would like to accomplish in the long term.
“Our vision is to be the #1 hospitality company in the world, leading on three success measures: Loyalty, profitability and growth” Organizational mission.
A hotel’s mission is focused on the present and describes the purpose of the hotel and/or why it exists. Often, the mission is supported by values statements reflecting the core behaviors or principles that guide the actions of employees as they execute plans to achieve the mission and vision.
“Marriott Vision is to be the world’s leader in hospitality services and it achieves that through its spirit to serve culture.”
Marriott also has a list of core values that support the mission and guide the organization to achieve the mission and vision. * “Put people first: Take care of associates and they will take care of the customers. * Pursue excellence: Dedication to the customer through service excellence. * Embrace change: Success is never final. * Act with integrity: How we do business is as important as the business we do. * Serve the world: Our 'spirit to serve' makes our culture more vibrant and our business stronger.” Human resources profile.
As Marriott is a large international corporation, they have a large human resource department to support its corporation. The chief human resource officer is also an executive vice president. The human resource department also includes positions such as a director of human resource law, HR compliance manager, training directors, benefits and compensation directors, and marketing directors. Marriott’s HR department also has regional (area) directors over their corporate hotels and franchises. Franchises are covered by training to ensure all Marriott brands follow the vision and mission. Franchises are not covered under the corporate marketing or benefits and compensation. Marriott’s resort and timeshare divisions have their own HR departments. Marriott’s human resource department manages the talent management program from HR law to training, benefits and compensation. Economic context.
Marriott has broken their organization’s timeline into four sections. From the beginning in 1927-1956 are the Early Years, 1957-1985 are the Growth Years, 1886-2011 are the Modern Years and from 2012-…are the years Looking Ahead. Marriott is on a mission to shape the future of travel stating the “Success is Never Final” (Marriott Timeline, 2014).
With success never being final, Marriott is situating their organization to rigorously drive global growth in their four continental regions. These regions are the Americas (including the Caribbean and Latin America), Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (which saw major growth in 2012). With 18 lodging brands, their portfolio power allows them to meet the development strategies of individual owners and franchisees and propel distribution and growth. Consolidated Statements of Income: Fourth Quarter Year-to-Date 2013 and 2012 | | 92 Days Ended | 112 Days Ended | Percent Better/ (Worse) | | 12/31/2013 | 12/28/2012 | | REVENUES | | | | Base management fees | $ 621 | $ 581 | 7 | Franchise fees | 666 | 607 | 10 | Incentive management fees | 256 | 232 | 10 | Owned, leased, corporate housing & other revenue | 950 | 989 | -4 | Cost reimbursements | 10,291 | 9,405 | 9 | Total Revenues | 12,784 | 11,814 | 8 | | | | | OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES | | | | Owned, leased and corporate housing - direct | 779 | 824 | 5 | Reimbursed costs | 10,291 | 9,405 | -9 | General, administrative and other | 726 | 645 | -13 | Total Expenses | 11,796 | 10,874 | -8 | | | | | OPERATING INCOME | 988 | 940 | 5 | Gains and other income | 11 | 42 | -74 | Interest expense | -120 | -137 | 12 | Interest income | 23 | 17 | 35 | Equity in losses | -5 | -13 | 62 | | | | | INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES | 897 | 849 | 6 | Provision for income taxes | -271 | -278 | 3 | | | | | NET INCOME | $ 626 | $ 571 | 10 | | | | | EARNINGS PER SHARE - Basic | | | | Earnings per share | $ 2.05 | $ 1.77 | 16 | EARNINGS PER SHARE - Diluted | | | | Earnings per share | $ 2.00 | $ 1.72 | 16 | | | | | Basic Shares | 305 | 322.6 | | Diluted Shares | 313 | 332.9 | |

Political or regulatory contexts.
Not only is Marriott bound by the IRS and U.S. government regulations for corporations, Marriott is responsible to international laws in the countries they conduct business. With Marriott being incorporated in the United States, Marriott abides by U.S. economic sanctions and anti-boycott laws in every country they do business.
A continued interest of Marriott’s is the U.S. visa and entry system reform; which they continuously advocate for through the U.S. Travel Association and engagement with The U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. They support the Jobs Originated Through Launching Travel (“JOLT”) Act, designed to reduce wait times for visa interviews at consular offices worldwide, increasing inbound international travel to the U.S.
Marriott also supports the Travel Promotion Act was signed into law in 2010, resulting in the creation of “Brand USA,” the first-ever public-private partnership charged with marketing the U.S. as an international travel destination. In 2012, Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and CEO, was named to Brand USA’s Board of Directors. Also in 2012, Brand USA launched its first campaigns to further upward trends in visitation from the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. Marriott continues to renew their commitment to support Brand USA’s campaigns. Competitor analysis. FORTUNE lists Marriott as one of the “Best Places to Work” and ranked as the World’s Most Admired Lodging Company (Marriott News, 2014). Carl Berquist, Marriott executive vice president and CFO said, “Being named to this list is a direct result of our company's core values and our associates who are dedicated to demonstrating these values every day in our hotels around the world. We are honored to be recognized for our best-in-class brands, business model, strong leadership team and our corporate citizenship" (Marriott News, 2014).
Operations infrastructure.
Marriott is based in Bethesda, Maryland and has more than 3,900 properties in 72 countries and territories. In order to manage their infrastructure, Marriott’s current operating environment evolved as part of their strategic planning process which began in the late 1990s.
Marriott’s business and technology leaders realized that to be competitive and lead the future lodging market, they had to upgrade their Marriott Automated Reservation System for Hotel Accommodations (MARSHA) with state-of-the-art technologies, including open systems architecture and networking, high-performance storage management and business continuity capabilities. To fully utilize these capabilities, Marriott integrated MARSHA with all of the company’s key business applications and made its entire inventory available as a single image in real-time across all channels. This seamless multi-brand, multi-channel integration enables Marriott to offer its Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee – the lodging industry’s only truly worldwide rate guarantee – stating that Marriott guests will always get the lowest available rate when booking through any Marriott channel.
Organizational Perspective
Key Performance Indicators and Analysis. “Despite widespread descriptions of hospitality and tourism work as “low skills” there is little doubt that there is room for talent and its development within the sector” (Baum, 2008). Baum (2008) concludes in his hospitality talent management research the following four items: adoption of innovative talent management approaches, view talent workforce inclusively, training and development are key foundations, and an enhanced work environment can assist in recruitment and retention.
Core Values.
By placing high priority on their core values Marriott shows their stakeholders how important they are. Marriott enhances their associates work environment by putting them first; take care of associates and they will take care of the customers. By placing the associate first, Marriott lets them know they are important to the organization. This in turn makes the associates dedicated to the customer by giving excellent service and taking notice to how the business they do supports the importance of the business. Associates know that in order to maintain a service of excellence Marriott must also change to incorporate the needs of their current and future consumers; success is never final. Most importantly, Marriott gives all their associates time to serve their community and organizations that support their community.
This type of management is total quality management (TQM). TQM as defined by Noe et al (2013) is the “companywide effort to continuously improve the ways people, machines and systems accomplish work.” Marriott has accomplished TQM by consistently being innovative with their organization. This does not stop with upper level management, but filters down to line-level management through their unique talent management program to their creative technological advances bringing everyone in the organization together; proving Marriott associates are a “family”. Marriott uses measurements to gage the success of their vision and mission: loyalty, profitability, growth and the Balanced Scorecard.
Measurement.
Loyalty is measured by repeat customers through the Marriott Rewards program which provides the foundation for the organization’s customer relationship strategy. As of 2007, Marriott Rewards program had more than 28 million members. Their rewards program provides information that allows them to determine customer value, targeted marketing, and enables them to predict future travel behavior and business potential. Marriott Rewards presently has the largest frequent business travelers of any other industry loyalty program that provides cost effective, revenue-building mechanism to reach the most profitable consumers. Marriott Rewards members have contributed to 50% of Marriott’s total paid lodging room nights. Profitability is measured not only by the bottom line, but through Marriott’s MARSA system. In 2007, MARSHA handled over 76 million reservations that produced 47.5% sales conversion rate; a 21 year high. This equaled more than 700,000 room nights per day. In cross-sales amongst Marriott’s brands in MARSHA was $250 million. Marriott also introduced their One Yield revenue management system and related processes that incorporates all aspects of hotel inventory, including rooms, meeting space and catering opportunities. These systems have resulted in a 20% lift in transient business revenue. Growth is measured by increase in sales, reservations, newly acquired businesses and the opening of newly built Marriott brands. The Balanced Scorecard assists in reaching Marriott’s vision. The Balance Scorecard provides the feedback on current performance and sets targets for future performance. While the Balance Scorecard measures performance results, it also incorporates the value of intangible assets, such as Marriott’s high-quality services, motivated and skilled associates, satisfied clients and partners, and cost-effective, efficient, standardized processes.
Cultural Perspective
Cultural Categories and Analysis. While organizational culture is defined in many ways, most definitions accentuate shared values and assumptions that are communicated verbally and nonverbally. An organization’s culture is usually defined by their upper management through core values and codes of ethics. These in turn influence the behavior of managers and employees throughout the organization. Culture is also reflected by the organizations artifacts, ceremonies, stories and rituals (Hinkin & Tracey, 2010).
People First. One of Marriott’s greatest cultural values is how they treat their associates from top level to line-level; take care of associates and they will take care of the customers. Taking care of the associates and they will take care of the customers is Marriott’s founder’s philosophy. It has made Marriott a wonderful place to work for over 80 years. Their people first culture consistently earns Marriott awards and recognition around the world. This philosophy is said to be part of Marriott’s DNA.
Each person is treated with respect they deserve. “We really try to make it a family environment, and it helps that Marriott as a company has a great retention program…If I leave tomorrow, the property probably won’t feel it, but if three housekeepers leave tomorrow, then the property will be hurting; they are much more important than I am” said Matthew Saperstein, Atlanta Marriott Century Center Director of Human Resources (Frabotta, 2000).
Pursue Excellence. Marriott has a reputation for superior customer service dating back to J. Willard Marriott’s original business goal of good food and good service at a good price. Marriott takes pride in their destinations’ daily details worldwide. They show this pride not only through the abilities they give their associates to better themselves and the organization.
Marriott accomplishes associate personal growth through training and development programs, recognition program and giving them growth opportunities within their current field and other fields within the Marriott organization. With an associate self-improving, they are in turn improving Marriott. This is done through the knowledge the associates learns, the skills and abilities they gain by attending Marriott sponsored training and development programs, hands-on training and school.
HR as Strategic Partner Through researching Marriott, two talent management best practices have been identified to assist in the HR strategic planning as Marriott’s organization moves into the future. These best practices are (Wellins, Smith & Erker, 2009): * Talent management is all about putting people in the right jobs. * The talent pipeline is only as strong as its weakest link.
These best practices will assist Marriott as they update and improve their talent management program for future growth and development of their associates. As Marriott states, “Success is never final.”
Talent management is all about putting people in the right jobs.
Marriott is not only good but great at developing their employees through the Voyages recruitment program and their personal training and development programs. The hospitality industry though has a high-turnover rate. This often causes associates to be placed into a position and then taught skills that in many cases should already be known. Having this knowledge, HR can develop strategies that the organization and stakeholders can understand.
Action Plan
Achievement criteria: giving a knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) test as a part of the application process will enable HR to choose the person with the best KSA’s to fulfill the available position.
Action steps: The planning of the test should be done by the HR director of recruitment. The test should be administered during the application process via Marriott’s online application system.
Resource requirement: The infrastructure needed to complete the KSA test would be the same infrastructure Marriott currently utilizes with their applicants. There would be minimal costs to update the application program. Training and development program costs should decrease with the establishment of the exam, as potential associates would be hired for the position that best suits their KSA’s.
Achievement dates: What are the objective achievement date(s)/timeframe? The KSA test would be administered over a test period of six months, as a pilot program with randomly computer selected applicants receiving this extra application portion. Review criteria: review of all (names and other confidential information removed) initial performance reviews (90-days post-employment) should be completed by HR. This process will take an additional five months to ensure all reviews are received and data compiled. Once information is gathered and those applicants flagged as the KSA applicants, their performance reviews can be compared to those that were not tested and hired. Once the results are compared, the HR department should report results to the organization using Marriott’s MARSHA program.
The talent pipeline is only as strong as its weakest link.
Organizations often equate succession management with senior leadership. Marriott is no different. They has a university program assisting with recruiting upper-level managers and their Voyages program that allows approximately 500 employees to take virtual training working towards potential managerial promotion. Achievement criteria: giving all employees the ability to utilize Voyages; virtual training program.
Action steps: Change the availability criteria for the Voyages training program.
Resource requirement: Marriott would not incur any financial burden by pushing out the Voyages training program to all their associates during the virtual training process. There would be minimal cost to HR for the evaluation of the training program.
Achievement dates: The implementation of the program would be ongoing. Therefore there would be no end date. Review criteria: HR can do a quarterly achievement review. The review would consist of utilizing the measures (loyalty, profitability, growth and Balance Scorecard) to gage the success of organization wide implementation. HR representation on a board of directors is not to direct and force the vision of strategies; it is to review and consider the processes and cultures that are already in place within the organization, and to offer considerations for both legal and financial responsibilities in regard to the stakeholders within the organization.

References
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