Page 118 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 2: EMPOWER THROUGH TRUST
research results, which means that employees can shift focus
beyond a guest’s sense of well-being to the other three guest en-
gagement drivers as well.
Ritz-Carlton leadership strengthens trust by making its
business objectives transparent to frontline workers and encour-
aging all individuals in the organization to give input on how
they can drive business success. Further, leadership aligns those
key objectives with the core values of the business and exercises
discipline to introduce only those initiatives consistent with
those publicly discussed targets.

STRIKING GOLD

D Have you defined a short list of annual key success factors
for your business, to help staff trust that you will demon-
strate discipline in the initiatives you pursue?
D Do you communicate the salient drivers of success to your
frontline employees and solicit their input on how they can
affect these factors?
D Are the new initiatives you roll out each year aligned both
with your key success factors and your core corporate values?

C Explicit Promises D

It is generally agreed that trust emerges from saying what you do
and doing what you say. While the Motto of Ritz-Carlton—“We
are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”—says
that leaders will respect all Ladies and Gentlemen of the com-
pany, it does not drill down on what staff members can reason-
ably expect in the context of that respectful relationship. As
such, Ritz-Carlton leadership believes that even greater trust can
be fostered through a formal and explicit set of promises made
on behalf of the employees. Sue Stephenson, former senior vice
president of human resources and current vice president of the

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