TRENDING
NEW ASSOCIATES ARE REQUESTING CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND THEN FLEXIBILITY . THAT FLEXIBILITY PIECE USED TO BE MUCH FARTHER DOWN ON THE LIST , BUT IT ’ S IN THE TOP THREE NOW . SO , WE ’ RE CHALLENGING OURSELVES TO LOOK AT HOW WORK GETS DONE DIFFERENTLY .
– TY BRELAND down on the list , but it ’ s in the top three now . So , we ’ re challenging ourselves to look at how work gets done differently .”
Marriott is also trying to engender a lot more flexibility on shifts at the property level . “ Yes , it ’ s a little bit more challenging to schedule more part-time . But we ’ re seeing this open pool of talent coming to us that we couldn ’ t touch before ,” Breland added .
FACILITATING WORK , CULTURE Breland said Marriott designed the new headquarters to facilitate work and career development rather than as a “ place you came to work .”
“ We think about the new office as a living , breathing organism that ’ s a part of the solution coupled with people and technology all coming together to produce this new way of working ,” Breland added . “ When people are here , and they have purpose for why they ’ re here , we ’ re able to better connect with our properties and our associates around the globe . So , it feels more fluid .”
In fact , Breland said the new corporate headquarters has some of the look and feel of a hotel , especially when associates enter the lobby of the building and how F & B is programmed .
The biggest change the design team made to the plan as it managed through the pandemic was backing out about 25 % of traditional workstations and creating more soft seating areas for teams to huddle for , perhaps , a pop-up meeting . There are also little pods and areas to work away from desks . “ I ’ m really glad we did that and probably could have done a little bit more ,” Breland said , adding that about 50 % of meetings are still taking place in traditional board rooms and meeting rooms , while another 50 % are occurring in the “ avenues ” that connect the “ neighborhoods ” of each floor .
“ We are seeing a lot more one-to-one meetings happening along the windows and the avenues ,” he added . “ We ’ re also seeing larger group meetings with four or five people exploring a new way of doing something and trying to innovate on a process or technique . In the past , they would have piled in and huddled in a small conference room without any natural light and tried to do that same work . So , we ’ re seeing our associates a bit more energized by having that flexibility when they ’ re here .”
Marriott also dedicated the 21st floor , the top of the building , to its associates , as a growth center . While those development meetings would have taken place at various company hotels , now emerging leaders from around the world have an opportunity to come to headquarters to better immerse in the culture and , so far , it has been a huge success , according to Breland .
Marriott has also tried to take some of life ’ s friction out of the workday by housing a start-of-the-art gym and locker facilities , a childcare facility that holds up to 90 children and a food service offering focused on wellness and healthy offerings . Marriott is also
12 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2023