Developing, Developing Leaders, Training & Development
With its “Elevate” program, Marriott International is investing in frontline workers, driving higher levels of retention and reducing the cost of filling roles.
Start with the challenge of any hiring manager: You have to fill a role — fast.
What if you could fill that role with someone who has already graduated from an internal training program?
“The speed and confidence that you’re able to move to get that added person into your team translates into real business results,” says Jessica Lee, global officer, talent acquisition and associate development at Marriott International.
The ROI of developing frontline associates
Marriott launched its “Elevate” program two years ago to help the 80% of its workforce in frontline roles grow into leadership.
“It’s one of the hardest career leaps that people make: ‘I’m an individual contributor and then all of a sudden, tomorrow I’m going to manage a budget. I’m going to manage a department. I’m going to manage people,’” Lee says.
Elevate helps make that possible.
Over 2,600 associates globally have participated in the six-month program. Early results show success:
- 2.5x higher retention compared to non-Elevate participants
- 2x more likely to make a job change within the organization
- 5.5x more likely to be promoted
Anyone at Marriott can explore new management opportunities through parts of the program, while others are formally nominated to go on a structured learning journey with coaching along the way.
Meeting frontline workers where they are
Frontline associates are often misunderstood. Leaders might assume they’re unwilling or uninterested in growth.
That’s a mistake, Lee says.
“What’s really important is that the conditions around them have to be there in order for them to be successful,” she shares. “Is their manager aware of their aspirations? Is their manager supportive of them? Are they being given the time and space to invest in themselves?”
Frontline roles can be demanding. Serving customers or solving problems across a property doesn’t leave time for sitting through a webinar at a computer.
After surveying frontline associates about their needs, Marriott added individual coaching to Elevate.
“In most organizations, when you think about the idea of having an external coach … it’s a real investment,” Lee says. “Not everyone has access to something like that. It’s a signal to [people in the program] that we believe in you, we invest in you, and that we’re willing to introduce other ways to help grow and evolve your career.”
Tips for coaching the frontline
When trying to bring career coaching to a deskless workforce, employers need a different approach. Marriott learned a couple of key lessons:
1. On-demand coaching becomes crucial
Frontline associates don’t always have typical hours and need to be able to access a coach on their schedule, Lee says.
2. Make communication with a coach easy
It helps to offer coaching through multiple channels, including mobile devices, Lee says. “You need to be able to text a coach or do something more digital in nature, versus get on a phone call, do it over coffee type of situation.”
3. Don’t revoke access to the coach when your program ends
“Coaching needs to extend because their ability to pursue a management job might not happen exactly when they wrap up the program,” Lee advises.
4. Make sure your coaches can speak to the experiences of your frontline
For the coaching relationship to succeed, it is important for coaches to match the lived experience of the people in the program.
Storytelling is also an important part of helping associates imagine a different career for themselves, Lee says.
“We felt it was so important to give them access to stories and examples of a diversity of people who work in the company already in our hotels to really help paint the picture of what is possible,” Lee says.
AI as the next frontier
As Marriott grows its Elevate program, the team is testing how AI can scale the program.
“We’re actually piloting something right now where I, as an individual, have the opportunity to interact with an agent, a bot, to coach me through situations that I’m trying to work through as a leader,” Lee shares.
The AI agent can workshop responses and let someone practice having a productive conversation. While the team doesn’t anticipate replacing human coaches with AI, the technology offers new potential to support employees across thousands of hotels.
Embracing frontline associates as leaders
To succeed in upskilling frontline employees, Lee warns that leaders must shift their mindset around how they view frontline roles.
“The most important thing for us was to really think about our frontline population as leaders already,” she says. “A leader is someone who simply exhibits the behavior leads through influence, and people follow them. Doesn’t matter if you have people reporting to you today, it’s really this idea of leading where you are.”
Programs like Elevate succeed when people at every level feel ownership. And that starts with listening, Lee says.
“How do we listen to the voices of the frontline?” she asks. “You can't assume you know everything about the end user. And so, listening and really getting at the points of friction — and building from there — is so critical.”
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