In the hospitality industry, traditional metrics like revenue performance and guest satisfaction have long been the go-to indicators for assessing a hotel’s business health. The search and hunt for talented employees is a constant struggle and a constant concern which is investigated by HSMAI Foundation Special Report: The State of Hotel Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization Talent 2023-2024.
Employee engagement, often dubbed as a mission-critical metric, is now under the spotlight of senior leaders and boards of directors who recognize its pivotal role in driving shareholder and commercial value. Engaged employees (Gallup, 2023) contribute discretionary effort that can make all the difference in the fiercely competitive hospitality sector. Today, the pursuit of engaged employees is not merely a choice but a competitive advantage, and the means to achieve this engagement are evolving rapidly.
The Stafford Collection, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Improves Culture and Engages Employees through the Empowered Program
In this context, the introduction of programs like the Empowered Program is an example of a significant shift in how hotels can more effectively engage with their employees. This dynamic program developed specifically for the hospitality industry provides leading culture scores and metrics, including survey templates, employee communication tools to boost survey participation, communications to share actions taking from the employee recommendations, a virtual suggestion box, and clear dashboards for presenting the insights gleaned from the feedback process. Talent retention and employee engagement have risen to the forefront of concerns for hoteliers, reshaping the way they view their workforce.
At The Stafford Collection in London, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the Empowered Program achieved remarkable success, boasting an outstanding 93% participation rate among employees in survey activities. The positive outcomes were two-fold: improved employee retention and cost efficiencies that swiftly justified the program’s initial investment within just 90 days.
This robust engagement led to meaningful actions, including:
- Confidential Mental Health Support: The program identified the need for employee mental health support. In response, the Stafford Collection implemented a confidential mental health support line, demonstrating their commitment to employee well-being.
- Catering Solutions: To alleviate pressure on their chefs and improve employee satisfaction, the Stafford Hotel Group transitioned to an outsourced catering solution for their employee canteen.
- Streamlined Food Sourcing: Employee suggestions from the program highlighted opportunities to optimize food sourcing across their properties. The Stafford Hotel Group’s response streamlined the food purchasing process and enhanced cost-efficiency.
- Enhanced Communication and Collaboration: Employee feedback identified opportunities for improved communication and collaboration among various employee groups, fostering a more cohesive and collaborative team structure. The senior team at Stafford acted on this feedback and provided a more consultative and collaborative employee communication approach with more frequent meetings.
The Stafford Collection demonstrates how deployment of The Empowered Program reshaped the landscape of employee engagement in their hotel portfolio. As the hospitality sector evolves, innovative programs like Empowered are set to play a pivotal role in ensuring that employees are at the heart of positive change and continuous improvement within the hotel community. The impressive actions resulting from the implementation and embracing of the Empowered program by The Stafford Collection prompted Preferred Hotels & Resorts to adopt the program at a corporate level and to endorse it to all member hotels. 
