Ritz-Carlton's Human Resource Management Practices and Work Culture: The Foundation of an Exceptional Service Organization

Ongoing Training
After the first year, employees received an average of 100 hours of training every year. Equal importance was given to imparting technical skills and helping employees assimilate Ritz-Carlton's culture. The company conducted workshops and classes on a monthly or quarterly basis on subjects like 'Appreciating Individual Differences,' 'Planning and Running Team Meetings,' 'Assessing Your Co-worker's Performance,' etc...

Employee Empowerment
All employees of the company, regardless of position or rank, were empowered to spend up to $2,000 of the company's money to correct a problem or handle a complaint, without having to ask permission from a superior...

In mid-2006, Ritz-Carlton initiated what analysts called a 'cultural shift' to make the hotel and the customer experience it provided more contemporary. The initiative was reportedly prompted by the realization that Ritz-Carlton's customer profile had changed significantly over the years, and that the hotel's adherence to an extreme degree of formality was likely to put off the new breed of customers. (The average age of a Ritz-Carlton guest had come down from 59 years in the mid 1990s, to 47 years by the mid 2000s)...