Marriott checks in ten places highe

Marriott checks in ten places higher up our list this year thanks to its five-star treatment of staff. Employees award the family-run hospitality business the highest positive score in our survey – 76% – for loving their work here.
It may not be the biggest payer (three-quarters of workers get a basic salary of £11,500 or less), but staff have fun (83%), think the job is good for their personal growth (77%) and are happy with the balance between work and home life (66%).
Employees also feel they can make a difference in the organization (73%), make a valuable contribution to its success (76%) and are excited about where the company is going (69%).
The worldwide group, which employs more than 11,000 staff, ranks second out of all 20 organisations on questions about what staff think of the company and their colleagues and third for their positive views of managers.
There is a culture of respect and recognition, and there is training specifically on teamwork, a quality prized by the company. Marriott even uses psychosometric testing to assess how well managers align to its nine core organisational competencies. Staff say that senior managers truly live the values of the organisation (71%), help them fulfil their potential and motivate them to give their best every day (71% and 70%, both top scores). They say the managers are excellent role models and regularly show appreciation, winning positive scores of 69% and 75% respectively, results bettered in both cases by only one other firm.

The company, where the average length of service for general managers is 17 years, likes to promote from within. Its performance review process creates a development plan for every member of staff and identifies their training needs. On-the-job training is a key feature of development, and there are NVQ programmes for accredited qualifications, with staff saying this training is of great benefit to them (72%).
Rewards for outstanding contribution and long service, plus an annual staff appreciation week and quarterly social activities, reinforce the value Marriott places on its people. In the year to August 2008, the firm spent £355,000 on fun events for employees, who go out of their way to help each other (76%). Staff have free use of the hotel leisure clubs and access to a confidential helpline if they have any personal worries. All this helps promote a strong sense of wellbeing. Stress isn’t a problem (76%); workers say they are not under so much pressure they can’t concentrate (72%) or that they can’t perform well (70%, the second-highest score).
Benefits include between 20 and 25 days’ basic holiday, two weeks’ paternity leave on 90% of pay, childcare vouchers, dental insurance, critical illness cover, life assurance and a contributory pension. Employees say Marriott is run on strong principles (75%) by an inspirational boss (71%), and that they are proud to work for it (79%).

from The Sunday Times, copyright The Times, 2009, www.nisyndication.com