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Turning Words Into Action
Succeeding in the hospitality industry requires a unique level of innovation, especially when operating on a national scale in a hyper-competitive landscape. Guest Services’ operations are constantly being evaluated, adjusted, and optimized by executive leadership, strong management, and third-party consultation. Implementing corporate initiatives is one of our most crucial methods for upholding the values we were founded on and ensuring the needs of our clients, employees, guests, communities, and planet are addressed. Below are some of our most successful programs to date.
Attraction & Retention of Talent
- Our partnership with CareerBuilder includes a comprehensive service that posts our job openings on the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that focuses on women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, seniors, and people with disabilities.
- We have expanded targeted recruiting at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and HSIs (Hispanic Serving Institutions).
- We participate in specialized job fairs that specifically support diversity and inclusion, job seekers who are 40+ years of age, and local communities
- Vocational Development Specialist Partnerships – We help foster the D.C. Department of Human Services’ Family First programs to identify candidates of color in the greater mid-Atlantic area.
- We conduct an audit of all job descriptions to ensure job experience and education requirements are appropriate and not exclusionary.
- Our Talent Acquisition Manager remains committed to HR development.
- We maintain and ensure a diverse panel for conducting job interviews.
OurPeople Council
On a quarterly basis, OurPeople Council brings together a diverse group of talented minds from within our organization and across the country to discuss prevalent social issues, create action plans, and elevate successes. It’s a proactive measure taken to improve upon our foundation where all are welcome, appreciated, and given a fair chance to succeed.
Employee-Empowerment. Employee-Support. Employee-Led.
The executive management team fully supports and endorses Guest Services’ ERGs and is completely open-minded to the creation of new groups by any team members. All are welcome and encouraged to join the groups, whether you personally identify as a member of a respective group or as an ally. Our groups exist to achieve the following:
- Support and enhance the work experience for all individuals
- Assist with the personal and career development of employees
- Establish a safe and secure space for employees to bring their whole selves to the table
- Identify potential leaders
- Provide the opportunity for mentorship across properties
- Act as a springboard for innovative solutions to company-wide issues
- Launch communications channels between corporate leadership and boots on the ground teams
- Decrease the likelihood that a marginalized voice is going unheard
Providing the Tools to Thrive
Guest Services is committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity throughout our workplace where all team members, guests, and clients feel valued, heard, and respected. We understand that inclusive workplaces are not created by chance but by intentionality.
Our differences shouldn’t just be accepted; they should be embraced and celebrated.
We ensure that our team members are provided with the most up-to-date education on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion topics. We train them to identify situations in which they can apply this education, and we give them the tools to deliver exceptional service to all communities of people, both internally and externally.
As part of our annual compliance training curriculum, all team members are required to complete Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training that covers topics including unconscious bias, micro-inequities, how to respond to challenges, and the role every team member plays in creating a welcoming and inclusive work environment.
To effectively train team members at our properties across the country, our training modules are offered in various modalities and in multiple languages.