DNA
EXECUTIVE
Summary
Need for Corporate Culture Management
The Need for
corporate
CULTUREManagement
Kempinski is a leading brand in today’s global luxury
hospitality market. Kempinski’s appeal is based on a long
and impressive history of excellent hospitality. While our
tradition is deeply rooted in European hotelier culture, today
it also lives and prospers in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Around the globe, various cultures and historical backgrounds
add new interpretations to our European heritage every day.
Today, Kempinski unites many cultures and backgrounds;
never before has Kempinski been able to profit from such a
rich and diverse pool of talent.
And in the past decade, Kempinski has grown faster than
ever. Almost every day, new faces join the team, enriching us
in many ways by writing their part of Kempinski’s story. This
growth and multi-culturalism is a great opportunity - yet it is
also a challenge.
With every hotel opening and entry into a new cultural
region, capturing and framing the essence of the Kempinski
experience gets harder, but also more important. Given
the median 18% of global staff turnover and the number
of new staff recruited every day, your role to pass on our
cultural DNA to the next generation and to newcomers is
crucial. This is particularly important when we undertake
mass recruitment for new properties, when often only the
General Manager and Heads of Department will come
from Kempinski. And consider the costs of turnover; the
replacement of an employee will be equivalent to 30% of their
annual salary; this rises to 50% when we need to replace a
manager.
Our Culture is Unique
Our employees need to understand whom they work for
and have a consistent experience of Kempinski. We need to
promote internal branding of Kempinski, as ‘how’ we work,
our corporate culture, is very closely tied to ‘what’ we deliver,
our external brand promise and the guest experience.
Only if we agree on clearly defined common values and
a sustainable philosophy, can we preserve the Kempinski
essence and deliver a consistent brand now and in the future.
Employees who identify with Kempinski’s culture, vision and
brand will have a greater understanding of and commitment
to Kempinski’s signature services or our superior service
standards. And higher standards of service quality are linked
to a positive business benefit.
At the same time, it is crucial to keep in mind that Kempinski
is also driven by the individuality and entrepreneurial spirit
of its hotels and its employees. And you have the unique
capacity to share Kempinski’s cultural DNA with all staff,
both existing and new.
So what is it that makes our hotel group, and your hotel,
special? What distinguishes the Kempinski experience from
any other hotel experience?
Kempinski’s Approach to CULTURE Management
In 2008, Kempinski
initiated an innovative and
comprehensive analysis of
its core values in order to
identify our cultural DNA.
Since our employees are the
ambassadors of our brand,
who better to base our
analysis on than Kempinski
team members themselves?
We conducted numerous
interviews among our
management and employees
in order to understand how
you feel about the essence of
our company. We were able
to identify five DNA values
that proved to be universal
throughout all regions and
hotels, describing a unique
Kempinski identity: Creating
Traditions, Entrepreneurial Performance, People-Oriented,
Straightforward, and Passion for European Luxury.
Implementing DNA
Of course, identifying and understanding Kempinski’s
cultural DNA can only be a first step. The full potential
of a common culture can only be realised if everyone fully
understands our DNA values and commits to these values. A
participative and story-driven approach – engaging employees
in dialogue about their personal experience and exploring
how they are already living our DNA values - is particularly
appropriate to Kempinski’s way of doing things.
Sharing our own, real-life experiences with our DNA
values helps make our culture tangible and personal. How
a floor butler in China creates traditions, how a chef shows
entrepreneurial performance, how we assist our guests in a
straightforward manner, how we are people-oriented even
with our smallest guests and why even those just joining
Kempinski have a passion for European Luxury – these are all
essential to making our company unique and successful.
the power of
Storytelling
Memorable stories provide vital links between global
messages and the individual context each of us works in.
Stories allow a deeper understanding to emerge, as employees
and managers interweave group-wide values with their dayto-day activities.
The DNA project will realise this story-driven approach
though a cascading communication process, starting at the
very top of the company.
You, as our General Managers or Heads of Department, need
to lead by example and fully commit to the DNA values first,
in order to inspire others to follow your lead. You are the
most powerful ambassadors for our culture when it comes to
passing on DNA values to employees all around the globe. It
is your stories that will inspire and empower others to share
their experiences and actively work on implementing the
DNA values in their everyday work.
Your commitment supported by specifically designed
targeted trainings, recruitment techniques, new initiatives,
new employee orientation and internal communications,
will help implement the DNA project effectively throughout
Kempinski.
With the DNA projects we create awareness for Kempinski’s
cultural DNA. By engaging our employees in the
implementation process, we empower them to pass our
culture on to new employees. In this way, we can continue
to harness the decentralised strength of our employee’s
entrepreneurial spirit and individuality. Kempinski will
continue to respect the regional and local autonomy that is
so crucial to the Kempinski experience, while also ensuring a
high level of consistency.
It is clear that we need to implement a framework for Culture
Management and that we need to preserve our DNA for the
generations to come.
The BOTTOM Line
A shared culture will provide a range of benefits to
the employees involved. Their understanding of and
identification with Kempinski will be strengthened. Transfers
and exchanges within the group will be facilitated, and
certainly improved on versus the 1% currently transferring
within the company today. By engaging and inspiring our
employees, we will bolster their motivation, reliability and
ambition. And this means staff will be encouraged to remain
with Kempinski long-term, reducing turnover rates.
An explicit DNA will also support recruiting processes. The
Kempinski values and the stories illustrating each value will
inspire guidelines for recruitment, making it easier to find the
right candidates for an opening or better identify the talents
needed to excel in a specific position.
A shared culture and understanding of how to ‘be’ Kempinski
will help staff succeed in delivering superior service quality
and signature Kempinski services to our guests. This in turn
will bring the company real business benefits of customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
We will be able to measure not only whether our DNA is
understood but whether it is being implemented, through
the Employee Satisfaction Survey. We will also be measuring
Turnover rates as an indicator of the impact our culture
has on staff retention and how well we’ve adapted our
recruitment processes.
The Kempinski DNA:
Is championed from the top;
Is “chased” from the bottom;
Has a connection to daily business;
Touches everyone;
Delivers consistency;
Delivers relevant information;
Works both on a hotel and on a group level
Is monitored and measured.
All team members need to understand how they can be part
of creating a living Kempinski tradition. A common culture
will help employees to focus their energy on what makes
Kempinski great!
The EMPLOYEE Experience
Attract
great new
Talent
The framework for Culture Management, a positive employee experience can be achieved
through efficient management.
From a potential employee’s first impression about
Kempinski as an employer to the moment an employee leaves
Kempinski, we can create long-lasting good will. Each step
of the employee experience cycle has a significant impact on
the overall employee experience. And you are a vital part
of creating a consistent and positive employee experience.
How you behave as a manager and as a representative of
Kempinski directly impacts how an employee will perceive
their interactions with the company.
Throughout the lifecycle of an employee, there will be several
major ‘touch-points’ when they will have an experience and
an impression of the company, as well as the many daily
interactions with colleagues and management. So what can
you do, as a manager and representative of the company?
Your role is crucial; you will need to take ownership and
manage these specific touch-points in a positive way.
Select the
best Talent
Resignation
Task Force
The Employee Experience Cycle
Attract great new Talent
Empower
through
Training
Transformation
Promotion
We need to attract great Talent and more potential employees who already buy in to Kempinski’s internal culture. Potential
employees need to be kept interested in Kempinski and motivated to continue through the application process, which is the
first contact they will have with Kempinski. Everyone they come into contact with will be seen as representing Kempinski
– your role is to be the best possible ambassadors for Kempinski and our culture.
Select the best Talent
Both potential and existing employees will undergo a selection process for a new role. Their feelings towards the company will
be strongly influenced by how you and your team manage the interview process (from the invitation, to the interview itself, as
well as follow up) up to and including either a job offer or a rejection. Each of these moments is key to a positive experience of
Kempinski and how you treat potential recruits influences this experience.
Let’s not forget
the every day
Retirement
Dismissal /
Lay off
Take the
Time to Talk
Together
Empower through Training
Whether through orientation, skills-specific training or on-the-job training, you can help staff make the most of their abilities.
Training provides staff with the tools they need, plus the confidence that they are doing their jobs well. As managers, your
commitment to life-long learning for your staff will help Kempinski to have skilled, professional employees who understand
our brand promise and are capable of anticipating and fulfilling our guests’ wishes.
Take the Time to Talk Together
It’s no coincidence that we’ve called evaluations at Kempinski ‘Time To Talk Together.’ When you evaluate an employee’s
performance as well as decide together with them on their next career steps, your capacity to listen and to engage in open
dialogue will make your employee feel respected and of value to the company. Whatever the outcome, a well-conducted
evaluation can contribute to a positive employment environment.
What’s the next step?
After evaluation, possible outcomes you might agree on are promotions, transfers, participating in a task force, continuing in
the existing position, or even departure. Each of these outcomes should be handled with as much grace, honesty and efficiency
as possible. Even if the employee leaves Kempinski, whether they resign, retire or are laid off, your role is to ensure this is done
elegantly. This is particularly important as it shows your respect for your staff, especially those who have served the company
for many years. In addition, handling the exit process well will also allow us to begin focusing on alumni relations as a way of
re-recruiting good staff.
Let’s not forget the every day
The Employee Experience cycle described here focuses on the major touch-points during an employee’s working life at
Kempinski. Yet our daily interactions need to be just as positively managed as these specific touch-points, as this is what will
really reinforce your message that you are committed to your staff and creating a great working environment.
Throughout the employee experience cycle, our company will be represented by you, our General Managers and Heads
of Department This is why it’s crucial that you give importance to each stage or touch-point of the employee experience.
Each moment contributes directly to the employee’s levels of satisfaction and indirectly to what they will contribute to the
company. Higher employee satisfaction levels are linked with higher service standards, greater customer satisfaction and
loyalty. Expectations of what Kempinski can offer employees and what employees can offer Kempinski need to be well defined
to better fulfil potential and increase satisfaction.
The Employee Experience touch-points will be the starting point for a new understanding of how employees experience
Kempinski. New leadership training will focus on our core values and how managers can lead and inspire staff, respecting
different managerial styles and the multi-cultural environment we do business in.
dna
PROJECTTeam
The DNA Implementation project is once more being supported by St. Gallen University,
who will also be available to moderate the pilot workshops held for General Managers, Regional
Staff and Corporate Staff.
The inter-disciplinary project team at Kempinski is made up of
Henrike Gosemann – VP Talent & Education,
Katherine de Fontaine – VP Training,
Anne-Marie Bettex – Director of Organisational Research & Planning,
and led by Mia Norcaro – Director of Internal Communications.
Regional DNA Champions are a vital part of bringing the programme to each region
China: Simon Lloyd - Regional Strategic Planning Manager
Eastern Europe: Balazs Csidei - Regional Director People Management
Western Europe: Maren Krützfeldt - Regional Director of Training
Middle East & Africa: Karen Thorburn - Regional Director of Training
For more information contact: [email protected]
“It’s all about People”
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