Every five years the Guest Services Executive team meets for an in-depth discussion on the future of the organization. These influential meetings often see the early conceptualization of some of our most significant achievements, which is why we are pleased to exclusively detail, for the very first time, this past meeting to all team members through an exclusive interview with Jeff Marquis, Guest Services, Inc. President, as well as a discussion of its highlights.
“We have a very strong understanding of the business opportunities we want to pursue; this strategic meeting was more about improving the team member experience and doing it in a way that attracts the best team members and trains existing ones to perform at their highest level,” said Jeff.
In this article, you will find actual, specific talking points from the Strategic Planning Meeting, which we hope will give you a greater understanding of where company-wide improvements are imminent.
“One of the questions we asked when creating the plan was, ‘if you could look five years down the road, what would you want people to say about Guest Services?’ We determined that our team members should be able to easily list robust evidence that Guest Services cares about them as a person and as a member of our team. It should be incredibly clear.”
Communication – We need to continue developing our communication channels so as to foster a stronger and healthier culture that transcends the substantial physical distances between our properties and the corporate office. Kat Summers, Corporate Digital Marketing Lead, Quinn Pochekailo, Content Marketing Manager, and the Corporate Marketing Team constantly work with Guest Services executives and companywide division heads to uncover the most insightful happenings from around the country to share with all team members via The Insider. This is the latest major communication initiative focused on keeping everyone in our organization informed, united, connected, and up-to-date.
Recruiting – We need to continually optimize our recruiting methods and enhance them with the most modern techniques and by learning from other industry best practices. Stephanie Tschohl, our new Talent Acquisition Specialist, and Jenna Hall, our Talent Acquisition Coordinator, have already made great strides for our company in this area. In their partnership with Danielle Verderosa, Vice President of Human Resources, and Allison Pepin, Director of Human Resources & Talent Development, we are confident our HR Department will lead the way forward in full cycle recruiting, sourcing, and interviewing.
“We genuinely want to be the number one place to work in our industry. Through analysis of other organization’s best practices as well as both external and internal team member experience studies, we aim to fully understand the most valued aspects of the work-life balance in order to concentrate our efforts there.”
Culture – We need to better articulate the culture of our very special and unique organization through meaningful value statements that explicitly define what we stand for and who we are. While company culture is communicated from the top down, it is built from the bottom up. We want all team members to know that regardless of their position in the organization, it is everyone’s responsibility to own their very important role within the fabric of our culture, to build upon it, and to be a part of the solution.
Team Member Recognition – We must foster an environment that encourages frequent recognition for outstanding performance and provides a system that inspires exceptional work. In the near future, we will announce a new company-wide initiative that is in the process of being finalized titled Pineapple Nation. This is an all-encompassing, culture fortifying, team member empowering program designed to build a more singular, cohesive national group of team members by supporting already in place practices and adding new ones such as an internal redeemable currency.
“Training is something we can offer our employees that not only helps them if they work here for the rest of their careers, but it’s also something they can carry with them wherever they go. We want to give them as many opportunities as possible.”
Training – We need to maintain the value that our only true asset is our people by optimizing the Guest Services culture to ensure the best possible well-being of team members and offer the latest in superior systematic training. Katie Gianturco, our Training & Development Manager, has excelled at reinventing the Training Department and spearheaded the creation of new training opportunities such as Activate, StarPath, and Diamond Dining. Luke Shaw, our Video Producer, and Ryan Jervis, our Instructional Designer, have also done an excellent job creating content for our Training & Development programs.
We look forward to doing everything we can to provide you the Guest Services team member experience we know you deserve. Thank you for your loyalty, hard work, and commitment to excellence.