The goal of this WSJ article is to help employers retain their most talented employees. To keep the best performers happy, employers have to fulfill their staff’s needs for experience that can further their careers and make them more attractive on the job market.
However, I don’t think the logic is counterintuitive. In fact, NOT giving employees the tools and opportunities to improve themselves makes the organization stagnant. Marriott is cited in the article as “exceptionally skilled at retaining managerial talent.” One reason why is that they have a cross-training program that exposes staff to other areas of the hotel to prepare them for general management roles. This is how the best rise up and stay within Marriott.
What the article does not address is how important the cross-training and other suggestions in the article can be for the guest experience. How many times have you asked a front desk agent about the ballroom setup or the room service server how to operate the thermostat, only to get deferred to another department? By exposing staff to all areas of the operation, they can better deal with guests and provide stronger service recoveries.
Read the WSJ article here.
