From hospitality work to hospitable working: a hotel case study on increasing productivity and decreasing staff turnover

This paper presents the case study of the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, a New Zealand hotel that has reduced staff turnover through focusing on two particular drivers of productivity - Creating a Productive Workplace Culture and Measuring What Matters. The theoretical foundations of employee turnover and productivity in hospitality are discussed in the literature review. Particular focus is placed on the importance of congruence between individuals' specific job wants and organisational climate to retain employees. Interviews with a range of the hotel's managers were conducted in 2007, to develop a single site case study. In an industry described as having a 'culture of turnover', learning from a hotel that has successfully reduced staff turnover and created an organisational culture which encourages and rewards productivity is of crucial importance