Challenge
Sustaining a strong employee experience in a dynamic industry
In an industry known for low engagement and high turnover, The Breakers has consistently defied the odds by cultivating a strong people-first culture. A key part of that success is leadership’s commitment to listening — especially through ongoing employee feedback provided via the Trust Index Survey.
While The Breakers has excelled in most areas within the Trust Index Survey, comments revealed early on that there were compensation inconsistencies related to pay structure, specifically paid time off. Over time, the policies had fallen behind for a small segment of the employee population in terms of vacation time and time spent on community service.
The results prompted leadership to take immediate action and address this challenge, knowing a substantial financial investment would be required — something many organizations might hesitate to approve, especially when overall employee sentiment remains high.
Solution
Data, insights and action
At The Breakers, employee surveys aren’t a one-time initiative — they’re part of an ongoing cycle of listening, learning, and executing. The Trust Index Survey provides clear, actionable data for leadership, while also serving as a communication bridge between the C-suite and the team.
Executives have leveraged open-ended survey comments to uncover opportunities, while customizable statements allow The Breakers to assess broader dimensions of employee well-being through tailored questions.
After each survey, the employee opinion survey (EOS) insights analytics team — comprising business analysts, the CHRO, and the CFO — conducts a deep dive into the data to identify progress and pinpoint opportunities. Managers then get access to review their team’s results and develop plans using a stop-start-continue method. These strategies are submitted for review to ensure holistic alignment.
To further emphasize and reinforce that employee voices drive change, The Breakers uses an “EOS stamp” on any initiative born from team feedback — clearly signaling to staff that their input matters.
The impact of these changes is evaluated through subsequent surveys, creating a continuous loop of feedback and improvement.
Outcome
C-suite buy-in for employee experience
Securing executive support and financial investment for employee experience initiatives is often one of HR’s biggest challenges.
In contrast, The Breakers benefits from strong alignment — fueled by clear insights from the Trust Index Survey and a close, ongoing partnership between HR and finance.
Through the continuous feedback loop, the CFO and CHRO regularly review employee comments — whether they highlight a missing benefit or raise concerns about compensation — and jointly prioritize actions based on both impact and cost.
This collaborative, data-driven approach has led to meaningful, organization-wide improvements that reflect what matters most to the team.
A decade of progress: Elevating pay through employee feedback
One of the most transformative outcomes of The Breakers’ long-term commitment to employee experience has been compensation.
Following their 2013 Trust Index Survey results, which revealed inconsistencies related to pay structure, specifically paid time off, the company launched a living wage program. Ten years later, in 2023, that commitment paid off — literally — with the average hourly wage rising to nearly triple the federal minimum and 67% above Florida’s state rate.
For teams aiming to secure C-suite support, the key is to start with the outcome and work backward. When you frame your case in terms that executives better understand — data, benchmarks, and business impact — you speak their language. This approach not only builds credibility, but it also strengthens the case for meaningful investment in employee experience.
