Page 121 - The New Gold Standard

It’s a Matter of Trust
at developing strategies that engage our Ladies and Gentlemen
and attempt to protect the company from being vulnerable if
talent were to be lured away.” From the perspective of Marsha
Barns who works in the food and beverage department at The
Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., “Almost everyone in the hos-
pitality business knows the training we receive at Ritz-Carlton.
Because of that, we have many choices for our careers both within
and outside of the company.” While it is less than desirable to
train staff members who are then sought by your competitors,
most leaders would rather face that challenge than hold onto
less-developed talent.

C Promises Kept D

Given that recruitment can be a challenge for virtually every em-
ployer in a global economy, achieving a reputation for respect-
ing and empowering your people goes a long way toward
becoming an employer of choice within your industry. Accord-
ing to Ken Rehmann, executive vice president of operations, “At
the hotel opening in Dallas, there were over 8,000 applicants for
600 jobs. Despite concerns about the challenge of attracting and
retaining workers, I find the values that drive our business are
increasingly more relevant to a diverse group of workers, which
makes it all the more important for us to stand on a foundation
supported by our Employee Promise. That is a footing many
businesses don’t experience.”
Because leadership at Ritz-Carlton is committed to setting
the proper foundation for the business in all areas including the
treatment of their Ladies and Gentlemen, the attractiveness of
the brand is not limited to job seekers in the United States.
Ricco de Blank, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo,
notes, “In the case of Tokyo, we actually opened without having
to do a mass hire. We received 25,000 applications and hand-
picked each and every one of our employees well in advance of
opening. We are in the luxury business; luxury is translated to

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