February 26, 2018 – Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North, a UniFocus partner with 521 freshly redesigned guestrooms and 210 employees (termed “artists” within the company), was honored by The Chicago Tribune for being the #1 Top Workplace in Chicago among small employers. By incorporating the insight and feedback from UniFocus’ survey and action planning solution, STAFFScope, the hotel developed effective employee engagement strategies and teambuilding initiatives to earn them the top spot with a remarkable 90.6 engagement index score.
“We were thrilled to receive the recognition,” said Tina Beverly, director of human resources for the hotel. “At Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North, we strive to create a workplace environment where our artists are emotionally committed, connected and aligned to company mission and core beliefs. It is important for us to be consistent in taking the information and insight from our surveys with UniFocus, and turning them into actionable goals for constant improvement.”
Christine Andrews serves as vice president people & culture for the hotel’s management company, Hostmark Hospitality Group. She and Hostmark place a strong value on engagement, and worked with Tina Beverly and the rest of the on-site team to incorporate the UniFocus Survey and action planning solution, STAFFScope. These initiatives support Hostmark’s “Art of Service” culture.
Studies show that employee engagement has a direct impact on bottom-line results – especially in the service industry. STAFFScope measures employee perceptions and attitudes, which enables management to act on specified, critical factors that lead to increased engagement, motivation and overall satisfaction. It also provides a precise engagement index score that is calculated from responses to key behavioral and attitudinal questions.
“Before developing a plan to better enable team members to contribute their best, it is absolutely vital that organizations invest in a solution that determines the company-specific factors that drive engagement,” said Mark Heymann, co-founder and CEO of UniFocus. “With our years of experience, we tailor the right set of questions that gives managers powerful insight into their workforce.”
Tina Beverly has developed and implemented a number of tried-and-true HR strategies at Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza River North to further improve engagement. Among these is executing Hostmark’s Promise Program, which encourages its artists to engage with the community, create memorable guest experiences, and reduce environmental impact through “green” initiatives. Another is developing a GM roundtable, which provides a forum for the hotel’s artists to communicate ideas and recommendations directly to senior management.
“We take the valuable action plan recommendations from UniFocus, and build out measurable goals and strategies from top management to each department, assuring that everyone is aligned with business objectives,” said Tina Beverly. “We review key indicators regularly to make sure we’re consistent, and that everyone’s on-track.”
About UniFocus
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