www.calodging.com September/October 2022 5 sitting on the couch for 30 minutes. But that created a real connection with the people who were there.” That connection turned out to be more important than they first recognized. When the pandemic eased enough for the hotel to re-open and the informal sessions gave way to the busy life of the hotel, the team realized they missed the time they spent with each other and hearing each other out. So they formalized the process, and now spend 30 minutes every Friday as a management team on relationship building. Those meetings are one part of an overall program the hotel developed for its team, many of whom were hired just before or just after the pandemic. A new manager is invited to start a conversation with their supervisor about what motivates them about the work, how they feel about their career, what would help them create a work/life balance that works for them. The conversations are considered a “safe space” where the supervisor’s job is to listen and try to understand what truly motivates the individual and how to help them best use their talents on the job. The program seeks to connect with each person as an individual, to discover what gives them the sense of purpose that is a hallmark expectation of this generation of workers. “We knew we would be looking at hiring a very diverse set of people, from different backgrounds, experiences, ages, who identify differently, disabilities, LGBTQIA+,” said Jackie Dacanay, Director of Culture & Belonging at Fairmont San Francisco. “It’s very complex. So, the big question became, how do you build a cohesive team, recognize and build talents, help them identify their purpose, and keep them connected?” It became clear that the answers were different for everyone. Some people wanted to continue to work remotely; others wanted to spend more time on site. Some people wanted greater flexibility in working hours—being able to leave work during the day to go to the gym or tend to family issues, for example, and to make the decision themselves about when to do it. So, the Fairmont instituted flexible schedules for colleagues, encouraging them to take advantage of the policy without feeling guilty about it. “The hotel industry has a reputation for unruly schedules, for people staying late, looking for the boss’ car parked in the garage or the lights on in their office, trying to prove how hard they worked,” said Paul Tormey, Fairmont’s regional vice president. “Those were success metrics, but those days are over. I want to wipe that stuff out.” In the past, the company might have tried to deal with an unhappy employee or keep them from jumping to a competitor with a raise, that’s no longer enough. Hotels are competing for talent not just with one another, but with tech companies and employers in other industries where flexibility and work/ life balance are well-established and attractive to employees. “Collectively we’re being courageous and going to people who have come up in this industry where face time was the measure of your success and not taking vacation was a badge of honor and we’re having conversations with these same people about changing all that,” said Jose Zarate, Regional Director, Talent and Culture, Claremont Club & Spa and Northern California Region One of Fairmont San Francisco’s most visible commitments to evolving its workplace culture occurred in July when it named Dacanay to be its first Director of Culture and “We knew we would be looking at hiring a very diverse set of people, from different backgrounds, experiences, ages, who identify differently, disabilities, LGBTQIA+,” said Jackie Dacanay, Director of Culture & Belonging at Fairmont San Francisco. “It’s very complex. So, the big question became, how do you build a cohesive team, recognize and build talents, help them identify their purpose, and keep them connected?” continues
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