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CHIP Hospitality. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, then how about Delta Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Radisson, Best Western, Holiday Inn and Ramada? CHIP is one of Canada’s leading hotel and resort management companies and those are a few of its properties.
“Given the nature of our company where we have so many different either branded properties or stand-alone properties—they’re right across the country, there’s different ethnic groups, we know we have four generations, of course, now working under one roof,” says Sharon Mackay, Senior Vice President, Culture. “We really try to get to know the individual.”
 This is no small feat when you consider CHIP has 5000 employees working in 32 hotels and resorts and 50 food and beverage operations, in nine provinces. To get to know the individuals—or ‘associates’ as CHIP calls them—Mackay has reduced the task in a way that’s easily understood in the hospitality industry.
“This is really our customer group. And I think the way that our culture is, we pay as much attention to our internal customers really as we do to our external. We really try to be conscious about making sure that we’re providing opportunities to everyone. We’re just after the right person,” she explains, though she admits that half the battle is finding them.
“I guess we’re probably not a lot different from other organizations. I mean, we believe in hiring the best talent we possibly can and utilizing them and making sure that it’s a great experience. We’re really big on matching someone’s values with what’s going on here at our organization.”
What’s going on at CHIP is creation of a culture of inclusion that includes everything from informal mentoring systems to relationships with local consulates. Currently under consideration are English as a Second Language programs.
“We’ve worked very hard at developing this culture. And we think it’s one of our competitive advantages,” Mackay says. “And although everyone’s now getting on the bandwagon, we’ve always understood that we’re only as good as our associates and our success as leaders is measured by how successful they are.”
Bold talk for a company that’s only been around a decade.
“Because of the nature of the work that we do, I think we’ve always been perhaps a little more tolerant than other industries,” Mackay explains. “And we really embrace and celebrate those different cultures because of the people that we’re serving and the people that we’re asking to join our team.”
A perfect example is the Prairie Provinces. The Saskatoon Inn works with the local intercultural association and provides 8-week placements for aboriginals. In Edmonton every June the Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre hosts an annual cleansing ceremony in recognition of National Aboriginal Day.
“We’re not doing this as a revenue maker. It’s not like we’re charging people as they walk through the door,” Caroline Thompson, regional director of sales and marketing stresses. “We really have just the best interest in our hearts—which is showing our appreciation, showing our partnership, showing our respect for the culture.”
Both these examples speak directly to the CHIP philosophy and their attitude toward the thousands of associates who work for them.
“Frankly we don’t think of them as ‘Oh, you’re an aboriginal’ or ‘I’m a white Caucasian’ or a female or anything like that,” says Mackay. “This is a member of our team, and a member of the CHIP family. We really try to make them feel as comfortable and as welcome as possible.”
And the same goes for the people who come and stay at CHIP properties across the country.
“You think about the clients that you’re dealing with, and if you have a place where they can come and are represented here and feel welcome, it’s just good business. Never mind, it’s a good thing to do morally. It makes sense to us anyway.” |
