1. Why should a company spend money training lower level workers when they can easily be replaced?
2. What elements of the Human Resource process contribute to Marriott’s success?
3. What are the benefits to an organization for creating internal career paths for the organization's employees?
Please refer to below case.
Among Marriott’s over 124,000 employees in the United States, 61 percent are minorities and 55 percent are women. In all, these employees speak over 50 languages. The majority of Marriott employees work in entry-level jobs from housecleaning to laundry and food services. Given the changing demographics of today’s employees, Marriott’s managers must find a way to seek out and leverage an increasingly diverse workforce. However, for Marriott it is not enough to simply get warm bodies in the door to work. Because Marriott competes on its service reputation, managers need workers who will not just do their jobs but will do them in a way that makes customers feel great. In addition, because the company promotes from within (more than a third of its managers start out in entry-level positions), Marriott’s managers need to attract and retain the best of its entry-level employees. Among Marriott’s entry-level employees, many lack good work habits, have difficulty managing money, experience domestic abuse, or have inadequate child-care arrangements. In addition, many entry-level workers are immigrants who speak limited or no English or have limited education and skills. “It’s critical that we become more skilled at managing this workforce,” states Donna Klein, who directs Marriott’s “work-life” programs. To find out more about its unskilled workforce, Marriott managers conducted a study and learned that its workers faced various challenges. For example, it found that its existing child-care program barely scratched the surface of this group’s needs. The study also found that about one-quarter of the workers had literacy problems. In response, Marriott initiated an on-site English as a second language (ESL) program during work hours. Despite these efforts, managers were still busy offering advice about family conflicts and child-care solutions, and sometimes loaning money to employees for urgent bills. Instead of attending to the needs of its customers, notes Clifford J. Erlich, Marriott’s senior vice president for human resources, “Many managers spent 15 percent of their time doing social work [with employees].” As a result, Marriott managers changed their human resource program, adding such items as social services referrals, parenting classes, and child-care facilities to attract and motivate hourly workers—and keep turnover lower than that of competitors. After a number of changes were made to U.S. welfare programs, Marriott’s management instituted a program called “Pathways to Independence” to help welfare recipients become productive Marriott workers. As part of the program, participants learn business skills like work punctuality as well as life skills like money management. For a $5,500 per-person investment (half funded by government subsidies), more than 3,000 former welfare recipients now work for Marriott—a new labor pool that, importantly, has a below-average turnover rate. Critics say Marriott’s managers are too paternalistic. But the company’s success stories show how these alternative approaches have added value. For example, Thong Lee has worked for Marriott for 16 years. A bartender in the Seattle Marriott, Lee learned English through the hotel’s classes and used his Marriott stock and pay to buy rental properties. Lee also remembers when his boss shut down the hotel laundry for a day so the staff could attend the funeral of Lee’s mother. Responding to the changing composition of the U.S. workforce and needs of its entry-level employees has helped. sustain Marriott’s competitive position and its reputation for exceptional service. Moreover, the company’s continued growth has created even more opportunities for the personal and professional development of its employees—a fact that managers highlight to attract and retain workers. It also doesn’t hurt that Marriott is 1 of only 22 companies to consistently make Fortune’s “100 Best Places to Work” list—an accomplishment that further enhances managers’ ability to recruit and retain good employees.