THE TAJ'S PEOPLE PHILOSOPHY AND STAR SYSTEM
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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.
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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. |
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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 and conviction, among others. Suggestions by employees that benefited
the organization fetched them significant points (Refer Exhibit III). 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.
Employees could also earn points through appreciation by customers,
'compliment-a-colleague' forums[1] and various suggestion schemes. Employees could
also get 'default points' if the review committee did not give feedback to the
employee within two days of his/her offering a suggestion for the betterment of
the organization. In such cases, the employee concerned was awarded '20 default
points.' Hence, in an indirect manner, the system compelled judges of the review
committee to give feedback to employees as early as possible. STARS helped employees work together as a team and
appreciate fellow employees for their acts of kindness and excellence. It
enhanced their motivation levels and led to increased customer satisfaction.
In one case, a bellboy in one of the group's hotel who received an American
customer went out of his way to care for the customer. Noticing that the
customer, who had arrived late at night, was suffering from cold, he offered
to bring him a doctor. However, the customer refused the boy's offer. The
bellboy then, on his own, offered a glass of warm water mixed with ginger
and honey, a traditional Indian home remedy for cough and cold. The customer
felt surprised and also happy at the bellboy's gesture. He left a note of
appreciation for him, which added to his existing points.
According to the number of points accumulated, employees would receive a star,
which could be pinned on to their coat. When a certain number of points were
collected, employees received gift hampers, cash vouchers or a vacation in a Taj
Hotel of their choice in India. The winners of STARS were felicitated at a
function held in Taj, Mumbai. The winners' photographs were displayed on a big
screen at the function and they received awards given by the MD of the Taj
Group. This awards ceremony significantly boosted their morale.
The STARS program had generated lot of attention among the employees at the Taj
Group. During the initial phase, not every hotel seemed to be serious about
adopting STARS, but after the first awards ceremony was conducted, every hotel
in the group reportedly became very serious about the implementation of STARS.
Reportedly, customer satisfaction levels increased significantly after the
implementation of STARS. Commenting on the success of STARS, Martyris said,
"After the campaign was launched, a large number of employees have started
working together in the true spirit of teams and this helps us value our human
capital. There are stars all around us but very often we look only at stars
outside the system. Many employees do that extra bit and go that extra mile, out
of the way to dazzle the customer satisfaction with employee recognition.
Employee recognition is, hence, directly linked to customer satisfaction. It is
recognition for the people, of the people and by the people." STARS was also
used by the group as an appraisal system, in addition to its regular appraisal
system.
[1]
The program encourages the employees to work together and compliment each other.
THE FUTURE PLANS
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