Special RepoRt : Leadership entrenched in everything we do , being told that the internal marketing is just as important here , is phenomenal ,” she says .
So , instead of having an employee handbook , Knowles created “ The Book of Love ” because , not surprisingly , her theme evolves around care and fun . “ I make the employees make hearts at me all the time . You can be playful within limits , of course , and make it more fun . It ’ s a tone of voice .”
Not to be Pollyanna-ish and knowing that staff make mistakes , another Knowles original is called the BAREIT Session , which stands for “ be actively ready to exchange information and thoughts .” “ We just sit down and say , ‘ Hey , what are we doing right ? What are we doing wrong ? What should we know that we don ’ t ?’ The employees give us the feedback and we try to act on it ,” she says .
As the Virgin Hotels brand grows , Knowles is hiring directors of people at each property and giving them the autonomy to work with their GM to do whatever they need to succeed . “ It ’ s not enough to just say , ‘ you ’ re the culture leader . Go make it happen .’ The whole management team has to truly believe in it and has to live it for it to permeate down .”
In fact , the Virgin Hotels cultural philosophy was created collaboratively . Knowles says the executive team sat in a room for a couple of days and talked about what they ’ re passionate about , and the brand ’ s belief statement came out of that . “ We all really love what we ’ re doing here , and we ’ re having fun doing it ,” she says . “ So it just made sense that would be part of our belief statement , because if you don ’ t love it and you ’ re not having fun you shouldn ’ t be doing it .” Just as if Sir Richard said it himself .
“ Being told that the internal marketing is just as important here is phenomenal .”
– Clio Knowles www . hotelsmag . com April 2015 HOTELS 33