Moments of Truth: The benefit of self-empowerment through ownership

Chris Godenir, GM, The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel

A genuine hospitality experience can only be realised when employees are not only effective, but also motivated to contribute towards a guest’s ultimate experience. This requires employees to live up to a higher purpose beyond their job description and rather aim at achieving a life goal.

As a forward-thinking hotel that operates within a rapidly changing business environment, The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel understands that real disruption and innovation do not only lie in constructing great spaces, but also within the service and the people delivering it.

The greatest service comes from employees who feel empowered in the workplace and who have staked their claim in the entire enterprise.

Moments of Truth: the empowerment process

The Peninsula’s Moments of Truth initiative, aims to achieve high levels of team spirit, self-confidence, innovation and independent thinking, and can in big part be attributed to the revenue increase of 56% since its inception in June 2016. It is teamwork such as this that won the Peninsula’s team a 2016 RCI Award.

Moments of Truth is an empowerment process that sees employees wanting to do something over and above what is expected of them. It is about finding that “blind spot”, that area one walks past every day but don’t see anymore. When you find it, take ownership of it, fix it, and follow up on it.

Taking ownership of something establishes a desire to live up to a higher purpose beyond a salary and results in self-growth, self-satisfaction and ultimately in dreaming of moving up in the world and seeing a better future.

Seeing the positive change in employees at the Peninsula, it has become apparent that self-growth is something to be shared. Employees started seeing their workplace as a home away from home with a warm family with which special moments can be shared.