Taj Case Q&A

Q1: "The Taj People Philosophy was developed to show the Taj Group's
commitment to and belief in employees." What did the philosophy entail and
what were its key components? Explain.

The “Taj People Philosophy” (TPP) was established in the year 2000, expressing
every aspect of career planning from the start up until the retirement of an
employee in the organization. TPP was beneficial for the Taj Group as it enhanced
the morale of the employees and improved service standards. The Taj Group has
always had a people-oriented culture, so it was important for it to show support and
boost in its employees’ capabilities with the ideas like the TPP.

The ultimate goal of The Taj Group was that all of its new employees should seek
a long-term career with them. For that, two-year intensive training programs were
introduced for the employees to be familiar with the work environment,
management practices, and the working of the cross-functional departments.
During this training, the employees are trained in various fields in order to develop
their skills.

Q2: The STARS program was created to reward employees to deliver their
best at the workplace. In what way did this program acknowledge the work of
its employees, and what were the various levels of recognition it offered to its
best employees? How did the program achieve its goal? Explain.

The ‘Special Thanks And Recognition System’ (STARS) was established in March
2001 in order to motivate the employees to create a fun environment at work.
According to Martyris, “It’s an HR initiative aimed at creating an association
between our star performers and our brand, the Taj.” In short, the purpose of
STARS was to spot out and reward the employees who have shown exceptional
performance in their work.

The STARS program included five levels. These are;

Level 1 (Silver Grade) – 120 points in three months
Level 2 (Gold Grade) – 130 points within three months of attaining the silver grade
Level 3 (Platinum Grade) – 250 points within six months of attaining the gold
grade
Level 4 (Chief Operating Officers’ Club) – between 510 and 760 points
Level 5 (MD’s Club) – more than 760 points
With the consideration of factors such as honesty, teamwork, coordination,
environmental awareness, and others, points were awarded to the employees.
Special points were given for employees who came up with new ideas for the
organization. The launch of STARS has enhanced teamwork in the organization
and with the increase in employee efforts there was an upturn in customer
satisfaction.

Q3: STARS was not only successful as an HR initiative, but it brought several
strategic benefits to the Taj Group. What were the various benefits brought
about by the STARS program to the employees and the group? How? Discuss.

Employees felt appreciated because of their work which raised the service
standards at all hotels of the Taj Group. As a result, customers became frequent
users of the service provided by the hotels of the Taj Group. The group won the
‘Hermes Award 2002’ because of their modifications of HR in the hospitality
industry, thanks to STARS. This commenced to predictions that Taj Group’s hotels
would be listed as one of the world’s best. According to Thomas J. Delong, a
professor of organizational behavior from Harvard Business School, organizational
transformation and cultural change was anticipated at the Taj Group. With the
employees being motivated to produce better outcomes in their work, the
Employee Retention Rate (ERR) was the highest in the hospitality industry which
was very beneficial aspect of the STARS for the Taj Group. The group is working
on maintaining a common work culture in the future. Plans are made for the future
which include more investment in training, development, career planning and
employee welfare.