Marriott plugs into world web
HOW DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE EMPLOYEES?
As Marriott International continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to diversify our talent strategies to explore the potential benefits of social media. For example, in China, hospitality and service professions are not yet popular, so we need to educate potential employees about career opportunities with our hotel. In India, hospitality is a better understood sector. But people are often so impressed by our hotels they are too intimidated to go inside and apply for a role.
We knew we needed to introduce our brand and our opportunities in a unique way – including via social media – not only to break down the barriers, but also to show that running a hotel is a business which is not just about serving dishes or cleaning rooms.
Another reason social media is crucial is that across the world, the next generation of workers spends a great deal of time online. We need to join hands with these communities to find top talent and speak to the network of contacts from this generation.
Strategies
We launched our social media strategy in mid-2011, including a global Facebook page and the first module of the My Marriott Hotel™ game on Facebook, for prospective employees to get a taste of what it’s like to work with us.
On Facebook, we share career tips and company news, post recruiting events, hold chats with recruiting teams and human-resources leaders, and have an “Ask A Leader” series – question-and-answer sessions with Marriott executives. We also engage with our almost 20,000 “fans” and answer their questions.
We kicked off the page with a video contest for our employees, asking them to submit a video that answered the question: “How Did You Find Your World At Marriott?”
In just a few weeks, we received 200 video entries from employees around the world, and visitors to our new Facebook page voted on the winners.
The first module of the My Marriott Hotel™ game is a kitchen challenge, which allows players to manage a virtual kitchen. They have to buy and sell ingredients, prepare dishes and hire and train staff – all the while trying to make a profit. We now have players from 124 c