Page 253 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

240B RE-ENGAGE

committee meetings, the CEO asks who wants to give recognition
to an employee. Of the 18 people on the committee, at least 3 or 4
of them always seem to have a story to tell about an employee who
has given extraordinary service. Recently, one of our executive chefs
wanted a particular kind of turkey to be available at one of our high-
end resorts. She knew she would have to get the turkeys there over-
night and that there was no other way to do it except to drive them
there herself. So she put 10 of them in the trunk of her car, and that
evening she drove them down to our resort in Big Sur. That dem-
onstrated incredible dedication. So, we sent her an e-mail expressing
how much she cared and how much we appreciated her dedication
to giving above-and-beyond service. She sent us an e-mail back the
next day, saying, “Wow—you have no idea how well-timed that
was.... I was having a really bad day.” We have also started tell-
ing those kinds of stories at the end of our departmental meetings as
well.

Q: What impact has your approach to employee recognition had
on your ability to attract and retain employees?
Howard: The word has gotten out about us over the years. We con-
tinue to attract great people and it’s because we are known as very
fair, very culture-oriented, and as a company that cares about its
employees. Our tagline is “People Matter Here.” Since we hire great
people, they are often sought out by our competitors and other employ-
ers. Sometimes one of our people will leave to accept an attractive
offer elsewhere, but they often come back when they realize something
important was missing in the new company. Eight months ago our
current president, who was then vice president of operations, left to
take a real estate job. After being there a while, she said it just wasn’t
the same, that the new company just didn’t think of people, didn’t
value them, in the same way as we do. People don’t often leave us and
go to competitors. Usually, it’s the other way around.

Q: Besides recognition, what else do you do to engage and retain
employees?