July 19, 2013
CEO Newsletter
I recently read a disturbing article in the WSJ titled “Employed, But Not Engaged on the Job” which stated that 52% of the workforce is switched off and a further 18% are so disenfranchised that they are undermining colleagues’ accomplishments. Make sure this is not happening in your house. Think about it – 7 out of every 10 employees have checked out. This is a shocking statistic that should give us all pause for thought as this is the antithesis of what we are striving for at Centerplate. I hope that you have your team fired up and motivated to deliver on our vision as a company, of being the globe’s most respected event hospitality company. The good news for us, as a follow up from last week’s message is that we are being rated significantly higher by our employees. As of today, 84% of our employees would recommend working at Centerplate to a family member or friend. This is great news, but let’s work hard to close that 16% gap.
As Ronald Reagan was fond of saying “trust but verify” our performance in your venue or department. Make sure you are talking with your management personnel and that all of you are engaging with your employees. Talk to them about the business. Better yet talk to them about their goals and aspirations and go into these conversations knowing that you absolutely can make a difference in the lives of your employees. Ask probing questions and make sure you get out of these sessions what you really need to hear, not just what you want to hear. Encourage your team and front line supervisors to do the same. Caring, like everything else, can become infectious but communication is the first step.
Make sure that you are using the tools available to engage with our entire workforce. Are you and your team regularly communicating the latest news featured on our intranet site – Centerplate Spark? From the update Roy Arnold provided me almost 65% of our management have taken a personal development course or downloaded a book. This is a tremendous accomplishment but we need total participation. Remember, the best always do more.
I reflect on my earlier career in the UK when I received the Manager of the Year award for Pizza Hut. I was, and still am, very proud of that accomplishment but it pales in comparison to the team mates I had the pleasure of developing and seeing promoted to restaurant managers. To this today I still relish watching Simon, Peter, Cindy, Roger, Joy and James get the keys to their own restaurants in my first few years of management. A great way to be judged is not by what you make but who you help to succeed.
Here’s to developing the next level and line of leadership in our company. Talent development can not be seen as a secondary instrument of delivering our vision, it is a primary one. Let’s commit like never before.
E3 moments of the week…..
Our DC team pulled off a mega E3 this week at the Walter E. Convention Center. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrated their Centennial Celebration. We had the pleasure of hosting 40,000 attendees in a week-long celebration for one of the largest and most prestigious sororities in the world. On top of the scheduled events, our team was called upon to host a “pop-up” dinner for 5,500 people when a water main break downtown shut the original venue and forced the dinner to relocate to the convention center with less than 24 hours notice. We met that challenge, and still served the existing dinner for 13,000. Centerplate delivered event hospitality worthy of the world stage, and equally important is that our client is thrilled. Awesome job to everyone who helped contribute to the success of this spectacular event including:
DC Team:
Abdel Anane, Anthony Marks, Arthur McZier, Bobby Ahmed, Charles Burnett, Donald Mayo, Elise Aronson, Elsa Mahari, Garl Mezzello, Hesham Farrid, Ike, Ahmed, Jacinta Carter, Jamie Huges, Javon Morrison, Jon Dornbusch, John Monday, Jonathan Davis, Karla Suarez, Katie Randall, Keisha Moody, Kimberly Byrd, Lisa Kerr, Mariana Asselli, Mike Medor, Nigel Marshall, Graham Conner, Raja Najed, Rafael Rodriguez, Samuel Ross, Selbourne Morgan, Tahir Shedly, Tamra, Terrence Luther, Vince McPhail, Walter Perez, William Miller
Support Team:
Sean Kavanaugh, Orlando R Morales, Kayley Boyle, Julie Eslinger, Brian Zimmerman, Walter Perez, Brandon Liss, Mack McKenzie, Christopher Maez, Antonio Herrera, James Robinson, Steve Frato, Gary Leach, Steve Paret, Jin Lee, Edgar Steele, Oliver Henry, Douglas Delareza, Gregg Malsbay, Girmay Zekarias, Darryl, Mike Hanson, Mulubran Gebremeditin, Everton Dussard, Julio Cera, Thomas Ehrlich, Sal Ferrulo, David Winarski, Florence Chauvet, David Skorka, Jason Yarbrough, Scott Hauser, John Dooley, Nick Biello, Zoltan Kimble, Adam Martin, Wayne Duprey, Robert Dichiaro
Please read attached Press Release, and visit our Facebook album for some back-of-house highlights from the day.
In summary, the tectonic plates of our industry are finally shifting and allowing our differentiated offering to take hold, be visible, credible and necessary. We are finally achieving “escape velocity” from the gravitational pull of our competitors “buy it” mentality. Now more than ever we need a team that can help us scale and dominate.
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Debra Moss July 22, 2013 at 10:47 am
So proud of Centerplate for the work accomplished and the pulling together to make the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s event successful! Definitely a WOW factor! I stand at awe!
Des Hague July 21, 2013 at 10:28 am
Over 100 responses on Glassdoor. Awesome start. Let’s push to complete all this week. Onwards! Dh