Core values in hotel businesses
Ever wonder what actually happens inside a hotel that has no core values? What one usually sees is negative or unhappy behaviour, low productivity and high staff turnover among other toxic issues.
The notion of company values or organizational core values was first formally introduced in 1994 in the book “Built to Last” by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. The book made the case that many of the best companies adhered to a set of principles called core values. Soon, every company rushed to get on the core values bandwagon.
Over the past decades what eventually resulted is that a majority of companies began to use the generic corporate list of values by default; displaying PR- crafted vision and mission statements and one-liners on the office walls, or flaunting values such as We are 'innovative', 'ethical', ‘customer-focused', ‘collaborative’, ‘open’ and ‘accountable’ in marketing campaigns - just ‘for show’, with no real intention to support these intentions or walk the talk. There’s always a delta between what the value statement says and how the organization actually is.
As David Eisen, Editor-in-Chief of Hotels puts it “Hotels aren’t in the transaction business; they are in the people business. Sure, hotels are in the business of providing shelter, a bed, food, relaxation, but those are only features. Caring for the whole person is a hotel’s biggest responsibility…”
Saying ‘We care’ and showing ‘We care’ are entirely different propositions. A good example of this is where a hotel leader constantly talks about the importance of customers but dismisses any opportunity to lessen customer complaints because of the cost involved.
In medical terms, the spinal cord carries nerve signals from the brain to other parts of the body (importantly the muscles we use to move). Along with its role in relaying motor and sensory signals between the brain and periphery, the spinal cord also provides separate neural circuits for many of our reflexes. In business terms, the organizational spinal cord is the nervous system responsible for stimulating and directing critical actions across the entire “body” of an organization.
Core values mirror beliefs and company culture that reflects attitudes and behaviors—together they represent the “heart” and “soul” of an organization. The heart of a hospitality-related business is its people-centric purpose, while its soul is the promise that purpose makes to customers - both external and internal. But without the organisational spinal cord there is no way that the company can actually implement its purpose and deliver the promise in a positive manner.
In the words of Patrick Lencioni in 'Make Your Values Mean Something' in Harvard Business Review: “Most values statements are bland, toothless, or just plain dishonest. And far from being harmless, as some executives assume, they’re often highly destructive. Empty values statements create cynical and dispirited employees, alienate customers, and undermine managerial credibility…”
Yes, value statements matter. Without written values there’s no reference point with which to identify dysfunctional culture. But values are only useful if we appreciate them as a diagnostic tool, not a magic bullet that will rectify culture problems simply by having employees merely memorize them.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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