I’ve been a little concerned lately with the turnover of people in our new company. We’ve experienced a number of people starting with us and within a few weeks – or even days! – a resignation lands in my inbox. Being highly tuned to my people is important, so the latest emigration of staff enticed me to probe. The glaring question: is there something wrong with our culture or working environment?
Turns out, I’m a bit of a worry wart, because what emerged is that there is in fact a certain culture developing, an unbelievable team of excited, dedicated and highly motivated bunch of go-getters. And those that don’t fit in can take the next exit. In fact, in light of our recent discussions, I’ve discovered that I have a few staff itching to have their say, so I’ve invited our Group Revenue Manager, Jeanne Brand, to be our guest blogger this week. Over to you Jeanne….
I’ve never worked so hard in my life, and I’ve never had so much fun doing it. I’m in my third month at BON Hotels, and for the first time in my life I love Mondays. My place of work is a vibrant, motivating, exciting place to be. Although I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed and it seems as if I have much to learn, I am often reminded by this team that they all were once where I am: a sort of industry clone. You know the signs – cut and paste from years and years of old fashioned corporate culture, a place where you are taught not to step out of your box but to rather just get on with that which you were assigned to do.
I am excited to repost this news flash: at BON Hotels, it’s a case of…what box? Everyone is prepared to do what it takes to get the job done, from Guy himself, to each and every senior manager. I feel a real sense of team work, not a false façade that lingers temporarily for a few days after the annual conference. Look, we may sometimes be burning the candle at both ends, but we are in a very exciting phase of a new company, and I feel that what we accomplish now will usher in booming success and a bright future reputation for BON Hotels. Of course, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but there’s an urgency to make certain that today we are going to be the very best we can be.
In order to survive in these walls, I think you need to be an entrepreneur yourself. You have to get your hands dirty, generate with new ideas, implement fresh ways of doing things, and speak out with suggestions backed with research and investigations into the industry. To be flexible is paramount: there’s no room for moods or sensitivity. I’ve had to learn how to be thrifty too; being a small company in the hospitality industry, we don’t have the huge budgets that the international and global companies have, so I’ve needed to find cost-effective solutions to bypass costly revenue programmes and compare apples with pears.
I have learnt so much in the last three months, completely by necessity of jumping in and helping out…and boy, have I had fun doing it!
