adult children or just grandchildren.
Family travel is still the bread and
butter of many destinations, but the
demographics are broadening.”
American families are learning
about the slave trade, Japanese internment camps, the civil-rights
struggle, Ellis Island and Angel
Island Immigration Station Barracks
and black cowboys. Even the National Park Service, which hosted
277 million visitors in 2005, has
opened an office of Diversity and
Special Projects.
changing customer base. But attracting and retaining these workers will take some doing. Among
the reasons is language issues. The
average hotel has 5. 2 nationalities
represented in its work force.
Nearly one-quarter of them speak
English as a second language and
6. 3 percent do not speak English at
all. Some hotel companies are
Lodging Industry
Line-Level Supervisors (2004)
By Race
41.0%
10.5%
By Gender
32.0%
68.0%
Female
Male
20.3%
Serving Multicultural Customers
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) projects that by
2010 the lodging industry will need
at least 700,000 more employees
at all levels, and AH&LA experts say
diverse workers best serve today’s
White
Latino
Black
Other
28.2%
Source: The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation
“There’s a big drive to increase minority and women ownership
in hospitality. Holistically, that’s an admirable goal.”
—Faye Hall Jackson,Ph.D.,Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute
Diversity Spices Up Business at Brinker International
With a portfolio of brands that includes Chili’s
Grill & Bar, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On The
Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Maggiano’s
Little Italy restaurants, Dallas-based Brinker
International knows variety is the spice of life.
“But as a diverse and growing restaurant company, maybe it’s better to say it another way, ”
says Mark King, Senior Manager of Diversity &
Inclusion for Brinker. “In a world of different
Mark King
tastes, it’s nice to know there’s a place where
we can all sit at the same table.”
This philosophy is seen throughout Brinker International
and is evident in its diversity mission statement: “At Brinker,
we believe in celebrating the differences that make a good
company great, and in leveraging individual strengths to
create an innovative, inclusive and unified team.”
Support From the Top: According to Doug Brooks, Chairman, CEO and President of Brinker International, “Our
core values of Growth, Diversity, Family, Integrity, Passion
and Balance guide us in the way we serve our guests, the
way we work with each other and in the way we serve our
communities. From the variety of dining experiences we
offer through our four restaurant brands, to the 100,000
team members worldwide who each contribute something unique, celebrating diversity
and leveraging unique talents is something we
strive to do every day. A good company becomes a great company with dedication, respect, leadership and inclusiveness. At Brinker
International, this is our commitment.”
Brinker’s corporate value of diversity is manifested in a wide range of programs that involve
the entire organization. Along with the Office
of Diversity & Inclusion, a steering committee consisting
of senior company leadership champions the message of
inclusion and manages these programs. Each restaurant
brand also has a Diversity task force charged with positioning the company as an employer of choice.
Brinker believes diversity should include all employees
throughout its organization. “Without a doubt, our greatest strength is the passion and support our employees,
affectionately called ‘Brinkerheads,’ have for Diversity &
Inclusion, ” says King. “To successfully integrate diversity
into your company’s culture, you must achieve the highest
level of employee involvement and ownership, and we’re
well on our way.”
