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Christabelle Noronha
The Taj Group
of Hotels is rewarding its own through a points-and-levels
programme that gives the company’s finest employees the
chance to show their spurs — and get the keys to the
MD’s kingdom
Bernard Martyris is seeing stars,
but if the senior vice-president (human resources) of the Taj
Group of Hotels is reeling it’s because he’s giddy
about the organisation’s innovative new campaign to reward
standout employees for doing the best they can at the workplace.
Large, striking posters greet visitors
to Martyris’s cabin. The posters are advertising the
Taj’s Special Thanks and Recognition System (Star) programme,
a HR initiative aimed at rewarding achievers across all levels
of the organisation. "The purpose of this internal campaign
is to create an association between our star performers and
our brand, the Taj," says Martyris.
The Taj is actively promoting the campaign
across each of its 62 properties and among its 18,000 employees
worldwide, 15,000 of whom are based in India. As Martyris
says: "It was time to recognise and reward our own stars."
These stars are not the statesmen or tinseltown glitterati
who grace the distinguished environs of the group’s hotels,
but to the organisation they are just as important.
The Star campaign offers no cash awards
or prizes. Recognition comes in the form of levels. Points
can be picked up by employees for integrity, respect and regard
for others, teamwork, environmental awareness, reliability,
outstanding work, courage of conviction and initiative. Practical
and useful suggestions that are beneficial to the company
can also earn an employee points.
Level 1 is the silver stage and it
requires an employee to earn 120 points in three months. Level
2 is the gold grade and can be achieved by gathering 130 points
within three months of reaching the silver level. Level 3
is top of the pops, the platinum standard. To reach this mountain
an employee has to accumulate 250 points within six months
of reaching the gold level.
At 510 points and beyond an employee
can be part of the chief operating officer’s club. Total
760 points or more and he or she can breathe the rarefied
air of high achievers and move into the supreme grade at the
corporate level, the managing director’s club.
An interesting facet of this web-based
initiative is that while it helps employees earn merit points
for acts of excellence, it puts pressure on the review committee
— comprising the general manager, the training manager
and the heads of different departments — to respond within
48 hours of a suggestion being made. If the committee fails
to get back in time the employee earns 20 ‘default’
merit points.
Employees can earn merit points through
guest compliments, compliment-a-colleague forums and suggestion
schemes. The programme encourages them to work together and
compliment each other. Important as the initiative is, it
hasn’t been linked in any way to the regular performance
appraisal system for employees.
The programme has picked up momentum
and is expected to raise motivation levels in the company,
not to mention the obvious spin-off, enhanced customer satisfaction.
"We have noticed [since the campaign was launched] that
a large number of employees have started working together
in the true spirit of teams," says a satisfied Martyris.
"There are stars all around us
and this will eventually help us value our human capital.
Many employees go that extra mile to dazzle the customer.
The Star program is linked to customer delight; it is based
on the premise that happy employees lead to happy customers.
Employee recognition is, hence, directly linked to customer
satisfaction. It is a recognition for the people, of the people
and by the people." Now get out that red carpet.
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