Enlightened Hospitality

Archas commented on my last blog ("Service") that many people think of a service position as a menial or transitional job because of the conditions under which that job is performed (long hours, low pay, no benefits, etc...).  I could not agree more.  However, there are companies (usually small, owner-operator organizations) that strive to show care for their employees.  The means through which this care can be shown are varied.  The paradox of this lies in the fact that in my experience there is a break down wherein many of those on the 'front line', those with the most face time with the customer, do not feel that care, even when the company and owner-operator truly desire to show that care.  (As I have said before, one must feel care to give sincere care, and food hospitality is care through the giving of food.)  I believe that the break down in the care intended versus the care felt occurs first during the training process.  Those being trained are brought into the company through a narrative that gives the company an identity.  However that identity is usually predicated on a cult of personality, which enshrouds the primary owner of the company.  The message is clear:  "This person worked very hard to create this company.  Our product is one of integrity.  Therefore you must care for the customer so that he/she feels good about the owner and about the product."  The employee is taught that the only individual who counts, who is irreplaceable, is the primary owner.  The rest are expendable.

A second breakdown occurs at the intermediary management position located between the owner and those on the front line.  The individual who most often inhabits that position does not have an attitude of care towards those on the front line, usually because that individual has not been the recipient of training that teaches him/her to lead by trust rather than by inducing fear.  The order of priority this individual often maintains is company, self, customer, staff (though I also believe this person often has a significantly diminished sense of selfhood such that his/her assessment of his/her job description/performance and his/her definition of self are interchangeable).  The end result of such management technique is to frustrate both the manager and the front line staff.  As frustration grows the manager tries to hold on tighter and the most capable and caring of the staff usually move on.

This has struck me as a bit cocky wobble, though I could not quite articulate why.  So you can imagine how thrilled I am to have found Danny Meyer's text on enlightened hospitality.  His management model is one that supports and empowers the employee on the front lines so that that employee can give care through his/her service.  Meyer's order of priority is staff, customer, community, shareholder, and he maintains that a company that does not understand that its raison d’être for existing is community building will inevitably under perform.  


The primary community that must be built is the one amongst those on the front line.  Meyer's engages many techniques to assist in the building of this community, but the one I find most compelling is that of empowerment.  The theory is to train, trust and reward employees for treating the company as if it were their own.  This kind of empowerment can be seen as the antithesis of micro-management.  Meyer's then adds onto this equation his definition of hospitality as a dialogue, which involves an active, listening, and participatory encounter from the employees’ side -- an encounter, which falls flat if the employee is not invested.  Investment cannot occur without empowerment.

Instead of a company narrative built upon a cult of personality, Meyer's advocates a dynamic company narrative built upon the rich and varied individuals who bring that company alive for the customer.  It is a brave model Meyer's has built and one that requires that he trust himself enough to trust those he hires.

I believe that it is possible to put one's employees first and still have a healthy and robust bottom line.  Meyer's has made quite the case for just such a model, and I intend to follow in his lead.