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ON TOPIC
This involves being mindful of
employees’ individuality and
different cultural backgrounds
(“here, we have 40 different
nationalities under one roof”) and
providing opportunities for growth
and development.
“We work as a team; people feel
rewarded and recognised for the
work they do,” explains Alvarez,
describing a transparent, open-
door culture, where people are
encouraged to share their ideas and
experiences across different
platforms (including an open forum,
accessible to guests and the public).
Staff retention is high, she reports.
“In times of uncertainty, we make
an even greater effort to ensure that
people stay because they want to
stay; and they want to because they
feel a sense of belonging.”
Marriott’s wider societal goals
revolve around its Serve360
programme which aims “to do good
in every direction”. Its initiatives
support communities, promote
peace and cultural understanding
and address issues related to
unemployment and climate change.
Last August, Marriott announced
that it would stop using plastic
mini-toiletry bottles in its hotels by
December 2020.
Individual properties interpret the
programme at a local level within
their local communities — which is
a core motivator for staff. “We are
all very highly engaged around this,”
says Alvarez. “We do things internally
with our associates, but also
externally, forging connections and
partnerships with schools, as well
as tapping into the different talent
pools within local communities.”
sustainability have always gone
hand in hand.
“We’ve been around for some
180 years now and we’re a very
long-term business, looking after
people’s pensions and investments,”
says John Godfrey, corporate affairs
director at Legal & General.
“We tend to take a view that
equates to 40 years or longer. When
you’re operating long-term
business, there’s no point going
Longer relationships
For hotel chains, maintaining strong
guest relationships over the long
term is essential to success. The
same is increasingly true of
organisations across sectors and
industries, as customer interactions
become less transitory and
transactional (and boundaries blur
between customers and staff).
Longer customer relationships
are another driver of ethical,
purposeful business. For some
companies, success and
26 // Future Talent
The purpose
is the thing
that connects
people to
your vision
hell-for-leather to make as much
money as you can in the shortest
time possible, while cutting corners;
you have to be relevant and around
for a long period of time.”
For other firms, this trend is a
more recent evolution. Multinational
company Sage Group provides
business-critical software to SMEs,
with a purpose “to transform the
way people work and think so they
can thrive”. Its overarching value is
the morally robust “we always do
the right thing”.
“We used to sell CD-ROMs to
customers: ‘here’s your software
and here’s a support number if you
have any questions’,” explains Jorge
Aisa Drey fus, executive vice
president, talent, capability &
culture, at Sage . “Now, we're a
‘software-as-a-service’ subscription
business, which means we have an
o n g o i n g re l a t i o n s h i p w i t h
customers. We need to think about
relationships in a different way.”
In addition, “we live in a more
transparent world”, he continues.