Page 104 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 2: EMPOWER THROUGH TRUST
full-blown operation to make sure everything is ready for our
guests.”
Roberto adds, “To train a predominantly new group of Ritz-
Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen to prepare a hotel for opening,
we choose our service champions from around the world. For
example, I think we had four or five executive chefs here for our
opening. So it’s all of our leaders, and they have to be certified;
they have to have the global reputation with their technical skills
and, most important, with embracing the philosophy. General
managers support one another by accommodating the request to
have their best people travel and work hard through the 10-day
countdown. We start at 6:00 in the morning with the trainers’
lineup, and we finish business about 8:00 in the evening. At
night, we have what we call ‘fun and games.’ Those evenings in-
volve all of the trainers, my staff, and me putting things in their
right place, stocking minibars, making beds, and doing what-
ever it takes to make the hotel ready for the next day’s staff train-
ing and ready for the upcoming needs of guests.”
The training and launch efforts at the Dallas hotel earned
Roberto and his team official recognition as the best employer
in Dallas before the hotel even opened.
Ritz-Carlton has effectively developed structured approaches
to help staff members understand and embrace the company’s
culture during both new hotel openings and the new-hire on-
boarding process. In each case, the transfer of corporate knowl-
edge is highly valued both in terms of certifiable operational
standards and cultural identity and history.
Bob Kharazmi, senior vice president of international opera-
tions, notes that cultural imprinting is essential to the success of
Ritz-Carlton hotels internationally. “Our president of interna-
tional operations, Hervé Humler, and I go to every international
hotel opening. We spend 7 to 10 days with our managers. Hervé
and I lead the team. No matter what we have going on at our
corporate headquarters, we drop everything to make sure the ho-
tel is launched from a solid cultural and operational foundation.

84