Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 23) INTERVIEW By Lori Becker S tephanie Sonnabend, 55, CEO and president of Sonesta Collection—27 hotels and resorts, and five Nile cruise ships—makes it a point to relate to her people on a personal level, not just on a business one. This is no easy feat, as she manages 3,500 employees worldwide—more than 1,000 of whom are in Egypt, with the others scattered all over the world. But she accomplishes it by listening and observing. “I try to find out about who each employee is as an individual. I have found that commitment is increased when one feels they have a personal relationship with their leader.” Sonnabend as well as her managers seek input from their team and are sure to listen to what is said. “Each member of the team feels their contribution matters and they understand how their job contributes to the bigger picture,” says Sonnabend. She makes it a point to acknowledge each and every employee and to give awards along the way when established milestones are the team. Some seek independence, others seek recognition and still others look for titles or awards,” she says. Sonesta provides extensive training programs for its employees as well as excellent benefits, feedback systems, state-of-theart technology and a culture that encourages empowerment, personal interaction, relationship building and good old-fashioned fun, she says. Sonesta offers flextime, vacation time and holidays as well as a sabbatical program offered company-wide that entitles managers to take six weeks off in a row to use as they wish. Sonesta’s corporate team also has work-from-home options and job sharing. The most important aspect of the work environment for employees is culture, and at Sonesta, it’s called a “Culture of Caring.” This philosophy stems from Sonesta’s core “It is really a function of finding what motivates the individual members of the team.” reached. “I award and applaud the milestone, and then give them another milestone to reach,” she explains. That’s how to keep employees constantly challenged, according to Sonnabend. It is also important to remember that each employee is not motivated exactly the same way. “It is really a function of finding what motivates the individual members of value of contributing to the lives of employees and respecting them as individuals. “We assure that every employee has the tools and skills to do their job. The longevity of our team speaks to that success. Sonesta has retention rates of two to three times that of the industry as a whole,” says Sonnabend. Sonesta hosts annual incentive meetings by division. Sales and marketing, general managers, controllers and other segments each have a counterpart meeting where they have professional development and guest speakers and share case studies and best practices. “These events have a high degree of fun built in. They are usually hosted at one of our properties, and the attendees are wined and dined as VIPs during their visit.” Awards are given to members of the sales and marketing team, to managers, propertylevel sales and hotel employees. “These awards allow us to recognize teams or members of the team for innovation and results,” she says. It has taken a lot more than being born into the hotel business for her to make it on top. Her key to success has been putting in extra effort. She attended Harvard University, graduating in 1975. She then got her feet wet in the business working in conference services and purchasing. She went back to school, earning her MBA in 1979 at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She rejoined Sonesta, the first of the third generation of Sonnabends to get into the family business, and has been at it ever since. From the computer center to the front desk to purchasing, Sonnabend’s rise to the top has been a very gradual process. “I wanted to learn as many different aspects of the business as possible,” she explains. “I wanted to get a real handle on the bigger picture.” I Send comments to incentivemagazine@nielsen.com incentivemag.com | April 2008 | Incentive | 23 http://incentivemag.com
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