The 2011 agenda is currently being planned. In the mean time, check out the variety of informative sessions offered in 2010 by viewing the agenda by
date or by track.
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Plenary Session
How Loews Employees Create Customers for Life
Jonathan M. Tisch, Chairman & CEO, Loews Hotels, New York City
Monday, February 22: 8 – 9:15 a.m.
The titles of Jonathan Tisch’s books, The Power of We: Succeeding Through Partnerships and Chocolates on the Pillow Aren’t Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience, tell you that Loews Hotels is a collaborative organization whose strategy is focused on creating exceptional guest experiences. Always informative and entertaining, Mr. Tisch will share his insights on how Loews’ HR team and corporate culture empower employees to turn customer transactions into memorable experiences – and customers into lifelong guests.
Plenary Session
Top Cases and Legal Trends Impacting Hospitality HR Practitioners
Ilene Berman, Esq., Partner, Taylor English Duma LLP, Atlanta
Gregg A. Gilman, Partner & Co-Chair, Labor & Employment Practices, Davis &
Gilbert, LLP, New York City
Carolyn D. Richmond, Partner & National Co-Chair, Hospitality Practice,
Fox
Rothschild LLP, New York City
Paul Wagner, Shareholder, Stokes Roberts & Wagner, ALC and Adjunct Professor of
Law, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Ithaca, N.Y.
Moderator: David Sherwyn, Associate Professor of Law, School of Hotel
Administration,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Monday, February 22: 1 – 2 p.m.
Leading legal academics, in-house counsel and private-practice attorneys will highlight the most important cases, essential law-to-practice issues, and critical and complex employment laws affecting the hospitality sector in 2010. You'll leave this session with a thorough understanding of the most important compliance issues related to your employment policies and practices, giving you the tools to minimize your exposure to employment-related legal action.
Roundtable Discussions
Monday, February, 22: 4 – 5 p.m.
These discussion groups, added at the request of 2009 attendees, are a great way to end the conference’s first day before retiring to the Expo Hall for a sumptuous reception featuring the best offerings from the Wynn Las Vegas. Join the conference faculty for discussions of crucial topics in hospitality HR, including:
- Preparing for Economic Recovery
- Leadership Development
- Fun Without Funds
- Wellness That Works
- Employment Disputes
- Meritocracies in Union Environments
- Living With Your Union
- New Media Solutions to recruiting & Assessing Candidates
Plenary Session
For Better or Worse: How Social Media Is Impacting the Hospitality Industry
Jeff Clarke, CEO & President, Travelport, New York City
Tuesday, February 23: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Already, some social media are prevalent in the hospitality workplace – blogs and podcasts have become as common as bulletin boards and faxes were a few decades ago. And other social media, especially the virtual communities and affinity groups, are gaining traction. Savvy HR teams use social media to project their employment brands and recruit in the marketplace. Sales and marketing units are using social media to connect with customers in informal, efficient and effective ways. There’s no doubt that social media are changing the boundaries of the organization, and quite possibly the definition of an organization itself. Jeff Clarke will explain what social media entail, explore the key trends, discuss the pros and cons, and show you how to use social media to your advantage.
Plenary Session
A Conversation Among Leaders: The Cornell University HR Executive Roundtable
(Developed and sponsored by Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research)
Previously invitation-only! Open to all HR in Hospitality™ Conference attendees this year.
Tuesday, February 23: 1 – 3 p.m.
During this prestigious event, hospitality’s most influential HR thought leaders and senior executives will address two of the hottest topics not addressed in the conference’s other Plenary Sessions — and you get to watch it all!
Responding to Impending Changes in Labor and Employment Law (1 – 2 pm)
Moderator: David Sherwyn, Associate Professor of Law, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
You have heard the lawyers discuss the new laws. In this session, HR executives will focus on how companies are preparing to deal with them. Some organizations are waiting to see what emerges in the final legislation before making any changes to their HR policies and practices. Others are acting more pro-actively to prepare their organizations for some or all of these changes. In this segment, the roundtable will explore the pros and cons of each approach.
Balancing Costs and Brand: Strategic and Operational Implications for
HR (2 – 3 pm)
Moderator: J. Bruce Tracey, Associate Professor of HR Management, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
There has been a growing concern among HR executives regarding the impact and value of HR programs and policies on organizational growth and employment brand. The roundtable will discuss the challenges associated with balancing costs against the firm’s employment brand, and the key contingencies that must be considered to create buy-in and lead the process will be discussed. This topic will close with an examination of new initiatives to reinforce and enhance hospitality organizations’ overall HR agendas in light of a highly cost-constrained environment.
Current List of Roundtable Participants
Ilene Berman, Member of the Employment, Labor & Immigration Group,
Taylor English Duma LLP
Robert Bernstein, Partner, Laner, Muchin et al.
William Blouin, Vice President, Human Resources, Senior Lifestyle Corporation
Debbie Brown, VP HR The Americas, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Abigail Charpentier, ARAMARK
Carolyn Clark, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
Chuck Conine, President, HOSPITALITY HR SOLUTIONS
Zev Eigan, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University School of Law
Gregg Gilman, Partner/Co-Chair Labor & Employment, Davis & Gilbert LLP
Tim Hinkin, Professor, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
Deanne Johnson-Anderson, VP of HR, Crestline Hotels & Resorts
Harry Katz, Dean, Cornell ILR School
Keith Kefgen, President, HVS Executive Search
JoAnne Kruse, Hcpartners
Michael Lebowich, Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP
Glen Lipkin, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
John Longstreet, President, Hospitality Leaders Group, LLC
Robert Mellwig, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Lowe Enterprises I
Destination Hotels & Resorts
Alan Momeyer, Vice President of Human Resources, Loews Corporation
Arte Nathan, President & COO, Strategic Development Worldwide
Doug Patrick, Sr. VP HR, Hyatt
Carolyn Richmond, Partner, Fox Rothschild, LLP
Michele Sarkisian, Senior Vice President, Maritz
David Sherwyn, Associate Professor of Law, Academic Director, Cornell School of
Hotel Administration
Bruce Tracey, Associate Professor of Human Resources Management, Cornell School
of Hotel Administration
Diane Turek Pire, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Wyndham Worldwide
Paul Wagner, Shareholder, Shea Stokes Roberts & Wagner
The Conversation Continues:
A Dialogue Between Attendees and Cornell Roundtable Participants
Tuesday, February 23: 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Upon conclusion of the Cornell University HR Executive Roundtable, prominent HR thought leaders will facilitate small group discussions. This is your opportunity to ask follow-up questions on issues from the Roundtable, add your thoughts, and interact with the best and brightest in the hospitality industry.
Responding to Impending Changes in Labor and Employment Law
- Labor Law/EFCA/NLRB
Michael J. Lebowich , Esq., Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York City
Paul Wagner, Shareholder, Stokes Roberts & Wagner, LLC and Adjunct
Professor of Law, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Ithaca, N.Y.
- FLSA/FMLA/Ledbetter
Carolyn D. Richmond, Partner & National Co-Chair, Hospitality Practice,
Fox Rothschild LLP, New York City
Robert T. Bernstein, Partner, Laner Muchin Dombrow Becker Levin
Tominberg, Ltd., Chicago
- Retaliation
Gregg A. Gilman, Partner & Co-Chair, Labor & Employment Practices,
Davis & Gilbert, LLP, New York City
Ilene Berman, Esq., Partner, Taylor English Duma LLP, Atlanta
- AFA/ Other Employment Law
Zev J. Eigen, Esq., Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern University School
of Law, Evanston, Ill.
David Sherwyn, Associate Professor of Law, School of Hotel Administration,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Balancing Costs and Brand: Strategic and Operational Implications for HR
- Employment Brand Building
Alan Momeyer, VP-HR, Loews Corporation, New York City
Arte Nathan, President & COO, Strategic Development Worldwide, San Diego, Calif.
Michelle Sarkisian, Senior Vice President, Maritz, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
- Branding Costs/Benefits Analysis
JoAnne Kruse, Founder, HCpartners, Chester, N.J.
Glen Lipkin, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Parsippany, N.J
Robert Mellwig, SVP-HR, Loews Enterprises
Diane Turek Pire. SVP-HR, Wyndham Hotel Group, Parsippany, N.J.
- Talent Acquisition/Retention
Carolyn Clark, SVP-HR, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Chuck Conine, Founder & President, Hospitality HR Solutions, Palm Springs, Calif.
Keith Kefgen, President, HVS Executive Search, Minneola, NY
Doug Patrick, SVP-HR, Hyatt Hotels, Chicago
- Staff/Management Development
Debbie Brown, VP-HR, The Americas, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Seattle
Abigail Spencer-Charpentier, VP-HR, ARAMARK Harrison Lodging, Philadelphia
Plenary Session
The 365-Day Organizing Campaign
Harry C. Katz, The Kenneth F. Kahn Dean/Jack Sheinkman Professor,
School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Michael J. Lebowich , Esq., Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York City
Arte Nathan, President & COO, Strategic Development Worldwide, San Diego, Calif.
Moderator: Marlene Colucci, EVP-Public Policy, AH&LA, Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, February 24: 9 – 10 a.m.
While employers argue that unions have lost relevance and thus are no longer attractive to employees, unions complain that they have been “laboring” under an unfair disadvantage in employee organizing campaigns. But this may be changing, and soon. A newly reconstructed NLRB is the most sympathetic to labor that it has been in the last 30 years. And with UNITE-HERE’s internal power struggle between Bruce Raynor and John Wilhelm finally over, both have indicated that they intend to turn their energies toward organizing employees in the hospitality industry. Finally, if enacted, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will make organizing campaigns much easier for unions. Our distinguished panel will examine the impact these developments will have on unions, employers, employees and labor relations in the hospitality industry.
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ST1: How to Live the Vision: Linking HR & Hospitality Business Strategies
Kimberly Banks, Corporate Director-People Services, Joie de Vivre Hotels,
San Francisco
Joleen Goronkin, President, People & Performance Strategies, Dallas
Monday, February 22: 9:45 – 11 a.m.
Building on the opening Plenary Session, this interactive breakout will demonstrate how to connect your company’s vision, mission and objectives with its human capital. You'll practice techniques (SWOT analysis) and develop tools (execution plans) that align HR initiatives with the company’s business objectives. To ground these lessons in business reality, you'll also see how Joie de Vivre Hotels turned a vision of an organization based on the principles of Abraham Maslow into a profitable company. You’ll leave this session with tools, templates and plenty of insights to help you develop a better HR strategy for your company.
ST2: Protecting Your Employment Brand, Customers and Investors
While Cutting Costs
Leo Campbell, Director of HR, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia
Alan Momeyer, VP-HR, Loews Corporation, New York City
Monday, February 22: 9:45 – 11 a.m.
When times are tough and non-core programs need to be cut, senior leaders don’t always agree on which programs are considered core and which are not. Loews Hotels faced this challenge not long ago. Come hear about the criteria they developed, the discussions they held and the resolutions they reached that enabled them to cut costs while protecting their five-star employment brand, their customer experience and their bottom line. You're sure to leave with several new cost-saving ideas that you can easily adapt into your HR strategy while maintaining or even increasing your company's reputation.
ST3: The Cold War for Talent: How to Keep Your “Stars” From Defecting During Tough Times
JoAnne Kruse, Founder, HCpartners, Chester, N.J.
J.
Bruce Tracey, Associate Professor of HR Management, School of Hotel Administration,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Monday, February 22: 9:45 - 11 a.m.
Bad news: If your company isn't growing in this economy, your top performers may decide that their career paths lead nowhere. Worse news: Forward-thinking competitors are actively soliciting your top performers and cherry picking others who have critical, tough-to-find skills. In a time of declining returns on financial assets, your competition's staffing strategy is to enhance and deepen their firms' human assets so they will be ready when the economy rebounds. Shouldn't this be your strategy too? In this session, you’ll learn proven, cost-effective strategies to reward, motivate and develop your stars and future leaders when promotion and growth opportunities are limited ... because talented people are hard to retain, but they’re even harder to replace. |
EL1: A Closer Look: Emerging Standards and Hot Cases in Employment Law
Gregg A. Gilman, Partner & Co-Chair, Labor & Employment Practices,
Davis & Gilbert, LLP, New York City
David Sherwyn, Associate Professor of Law, School of Hotel Administration,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Monday, February 22: 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
The bar has been raised, and plaintiffs’ attorneys are hoping to catch you unaware and unprepared. This session, designed for those wanting deeper legal analysis beyond the overview provided in the Plenary Session, will give you the knowledge and tools you need to make sure you don't get caught in legal hot water. Mr. Gilman and Professor Sherwyn will drill deeper into the past year’s hottest cases (Ledbetter, Penn Plaza and Gross) and newest standards (strict liability in state anti-harassment laws). What's more, they'll examine back pay liability issues, mandatory arbitration of discrimination cases, liability for legal costs and fees in “mixed motive cases,” and other cutting-edge issues that have yet to emerge.
EL2: Major Trends in FLSA and Workplace Privacy Litigation
Zev J. Eigen, Esq., Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern University
School of Law, Evanston, Ill.
Janet A. Hoffmann, President, Hoffmann & Associates, New York City
Carolyn D. Richmond, Partner & National Co-Chair, Hospitality Practice,
Fox Rothschild LLP, New York City
Monday, February 22: 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Defending FLSA complaints costs hospitality employers more time and money than all other employment law compliance issues combined. Also, employees are bringing more workplace privacy complaints to the judicial system. With the Department of Labor gearing up for tightened enforcement, this session will prepare you to address the individual and class-action complaints you're likely to see in 2010, including such timely and important FLSA issues as tip pools, service charges, hours and overtime. What's more, critical workplace privacy concerns, including employee monitoring, customer privacy and on-line/electronic privacy will be discussed.
EL3: Avoiding the High Costs of Harassment & Retaliation in the Workplace
Ilene Berman, Esq., Partner, Taylor English Duma LLP, Atlanta
Paul Wagner, Shareholder, Stokes Roberts & Wagner, ALC and Adjunct Professor of
Law, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Ithaca, N.Y.
Monday, February 22: 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Your HR policies and procedures have been checked and rechecked to ensure that they are non-discriminatory. You test every possible employment-related action against them before acting. You train employees and supervisors on their responsibilities under the law. But all this hard work can go right down the tubes if retaliation comes into play. Learn firsthand from Ms. Berman and Professor Wagner which types of employee actions are protected and which employer responses are prohibited – before you learn the hard way by facing legal action. |
OP1: How Recognition Improves Employee Engagement at Marriott
Bob Nelson, Ph.D., President, Nelson Motivation, Inc., San Diego, Calif.
Terry Weisz, VP-Internal Communications, Marriott International, Inc., Bethesda, Md.
Tuesday, February 23: 10 – 11:15 a.m.
Marriott has long been known as a company that treats its people right. This corporate philosophy springs from the belief that if employees are well taken care of, they’ll take care of the customer and the customer will come back. During these times of change, when customers have been scarce and management has been asking employees to do more with less, employees report feeling less valued and more stressed than ever before. Marriott has responded by asking its managers to provide more recognition to the employees. Ms. Weisz and Mr. Nelson, best-selling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, will expand your thinking about what recognition means and how you can better and more frequently recognize those you work with – even with little time, resources or budget – to maintain a positive work environment and a competitive people advantage for your organization.
OP2: What Gets Measured Gets Done:
How B.F. Saul Hotel Division Manages Performance
Camye Mackey, AVP-Corporate Director of HR, B.F. Saul Company, Hotel Division,
Bethesda, Md.
David Makarsky, VP-Operations, B.F. Saul Company, Hotel Division, Bethesda, Md.
Tuesday, February 23: 10 – 11:15 a.m.
For B.F. Saul Company, performance starts with establishing an organizational culture that fosters continuous improvement: one corporate mission, shared vision and values, and stretched performance goals. From there, the challenge is for leaders to agree on the things that matter most and then focus the organization on them, with HR as the catalyst. You’ll see the performance management tools that have helped B.F. Saul Company execute better, including guest satisfaction scorecards, expense management systems, team member retention instruments and worker compensation experience reports. More importantly, you'll learn how to focus your company on the things that matter through effective performance management and incentive compensation.
OP3: How to Effectively Manage Social Networking in the Hospitality Workplace
JoAnne Kruse, Founder, HCpartners, Chester, N.J.
Carolyn D. Richmond, Partner & National Co-Chair, Hospitality Practice,
Fox Rothschild LLP, New York City
Tuesday, February 23: 10 – 11:15 a.m.
Social networking, properly managed, can greatly expand the connections between an organization and its stakeholders. Such systems, improperly managed, can create an entirely new set of business and (surprise!) legal problems for HR leaders and their companies. What’s the distinction between personal and business use of social media? Who responds to comments made about your organization? How do you protect your brand, your image as an employer and your copyrights? What platforms can you get active on, and how can you do it? How do you balance marketing in the social media world with HR and EEO concerns of the real world? This session expands on Thursday morning's Plenary Session by examining best and worst governance practices, with special emphasis on employment, HR and related legal issues. You’ll leave this session with a much better understanding of how to operate in ways that minimize the organizational risks of social networking.
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LR1: The Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship: Trust Trumps All
Arte Nathan, President & COO, Strategic Development Worldwide, San Diego, Calif.
Wednesday, February 24: 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Arte Nathan’s employers have enjoyed lower employee turnover, fewer employee complaints and better business performance than their competitors, including those non-union. He doesn’t believe in going “by the book” when it comes to managing people. The foundation of his success is fairness, not consistency, because fairness builds trust. And if employees trust the people with whom they work, great things can happen. Come learn how Arte engineered relationships of trust throughout his organizations and, as a result, built great organizations.
LR2: The Battle Over EFCA: What’s at Stake for Hospitality Industry Employers
Michael J. Lebowich, Esq., Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York City
David Sherwyn, Associate Professor of Law, School of Hotel Administration,
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Wednesday, February 24: 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has the potential to be the greatest game changer in U.S. labor-management relations since the Taft-Hartley Act. Getting Congress to pass EFCA is the highest legislative priority for organized labor. And defeating it is the highest legislative priority for business. At this time, the bill is still in committee. So although the battle line has been drawn, the outcome is far from certain. Come learn the latest about EFCA — how it will affect your job, your company and labor relations in the hospitality industry.
LR3: The Impact of UNITE-HERE’s Split
Harry C. Katz, The Kenneth F. Kahn Dean/Jack Sheinkman Professor,
School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Paul Wagner, Shareholder, Stokes Roberts & Wagner, ALC and Adjunct Professor of
Law, Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, Ithaca, N.Y.
Wednesday, February 24: 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
After the May 2009 resignation of Bruce Raynor ended a bitter and protracted power struggle between its two principle founders, UNITE-HERE is now firmly in the hands of John Wilhelm and his supporters. But Raynor isn't gone. He and his loyalists have formed a new SEIU affiliate, Workers United. How will these "new" entities impact organizing and labor relations in the hospitality industry? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their opportunities and threats? Come learn the answers to these and other questions from two of the hospitality industry’s keenest observers.
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