The Taj's People Philosophy and Star System

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The group also took strong measures to weed out under-performers. The group adopted the 360-degree feedback system to evaluate the performance of all top officials, from the Managing Director to departmental managers, in which they were evaluated by their immediate subordinates. The 360-degree feedback was followed by personal interviews of individuals to counsel them to overcome their deficiencies. The Taj Group also established Centers of Excellence for its 14,000 employees at five locations in India including Jaipur, Bangalore, Ernakulam, Chennai and Hyderabad. At these centers, departmental heads in each functional area were trained. These departmental heads later trained their own staff. The training included foundation modules and accreditation programs that familiarized the employees with Taj standards. Apart from adopting stringent measures to improve performance, Taj also recognized and rewarded its best employees across all levels of the organization. For this purpose, Taj created a unique employee loyalty and reward program known as STARS. Describing the program, Martyris said, "It's an HR initiative aimed at creating an association 'between our star performers and our brand, the Taj."

The Star System

The STAR system (STARS) was the brainchild of Martyris. The system was developed in accordance with Taj's core philosophy that 'happy employees lead to happy customers.' STARS, operative throughout the year (from April to March), was open to all employees across the organization, at all hierarchical levels. It aimed to identify, recognize and reward those employees who excelled in their work. STARS was actively promoted across the group's 62 chain of hotels and among its 18,000 employees globally, out of which 15,000 were from India. STARS had five different levels. Though employees did not receive any cash awards, they gained recognition by the levels they attained through the points they accumulated for their acts of kindness or hospitality. 'Level 1' was known as the 'Silver Grade'. To reach this level, employees had to accumulate 120 points in three months. To attain 'Level 2' known as the 'Gold Grade,' employees had to accumulate 130 points within three months of attaining the silver grade. To reach 'Level 3', called the 'Platinum Grade', employees had to accumulate 250 points within six months of attaining the gold grade. To attain 'Level 4', employees had to accumulate 510 or more points, but below 760 points, to be a part of the Chief Operating Officer's club. 'Level 5' which was the highest level in STARS, enabled employees to be a part of the MD’s club, if they accumulated 760 or more points.

Points were granted to employees on the basis of parameters like integrity, honesty, kindness, respect for customers, environmental awareness, teamwork, coordination, cooperation, excellence in work, new initiatives, trustworthiness, courage, conviction, among others. Suggestions by employees that benefited the organization fetched them significant points. Such suggestions in each hotel of the Taj Group were examined by the General Manager, HR Manager and training manager of the hotel the employee worked in. The suggestions could also be posted on the web, which were constantly monitored.

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