Louis J Sheehan 80245

Mr. Conley said he tries to make Joie de Vivre fun by sponsoring parties and awards. He arranges paid annual retreats for employees and has regular dinners with those who want to chat. The company offers free classes on subjects from Microsoft Excel to English as a second language, the most popular course. It pushes managers to seek feedback from workers, and it encourages employees to learn how their jobs make a difference for hotel guests and for the company.


Because of such efforts, Mr. Conley said, Joie de Vivre's turnover is 25% to 30% annually, about half of the industry average. At the Carlton, turnover is less than 10%, down from an estimated 50% annually from 2000 to 2002, before Joie took over. It is important to "focus on the impact they're making rather than just the task of cleaning the toilet," Mr. Conley said.

Hervé Blondel, the Hotel Carlton general manager who bought the new vacuum cleaners and has since moved to another hotel in the chain, said he tried to treat workers as partners rather than employees. He sat in for front-desk workers on their lunch breaks and heeded staff suggestions to eliminate minibars, which generated little revenue at the midprice hotel. Louis J Sheehan