The Importance of an Orderly Hiring People and being a Good Support to Employees

On November 26, 2008 where the chairman and CEO of Hindustan Unilever hosted a
party at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai to bid farewell to the CEO, Patrick Cescau and
welcoming Paul Polman the new elected CEO. There are 34 Taj’s employees led by Mallika
Jagad were assigned to manage the banquet in the second floor. And around 9:30 they heard
what they think fireworks but it a gunshot from a terrorist. The staff quickly realized there is
something wrong so asked everyone to lie and refrain from using cellphone. They stayed there
all night while hearing the gunshots and grenades. Throughout the night staff kept calm and
even served them water and food according to the guest. They make sure the guest was safe
when they escape. The staff even form a human barricade to protect guests in evacuation
attempt which has saved between 1,200 to 1,500 guest. After knowing this it gives me some
new whole meaning on what is really a customer-centric is all about.

According to Frankenfield (2021), a “customer centric is a strategy in doing business

where they focus on creating the best experience for the customer.” In what the staff did on the
terrorist where they prioritize their customer’s life over their own is kind of customer centric too
but it is much more than that, as if they treated their guest as a deity. There isn’t a manual for
Taj’s staff on how they will act when there is a terrorist but they seem really trained. This can be
trace on how Taj Mahal Palace Hotel hire and train their people. According to the news article,
the Taj’s Mahal Palace Hotel doesn’t hire those from metropolitan place but instead they hire
those on those smaller cities and urban cities. The labor pool is much higher than in
metropolitan and they can reduce the salary cost but they focus more on the values of the
people. According to them, they hire in these places because the traditional Indian values like
respect for elders and honesty is still observable. And they don’t hire anyone but young people
who just graduated. They will go to different schools and ask about potential employees which
have these values which can develop a customer centric system. Before they become
employees they would train them for 18 months and they can stay in no-rent company
dormitories, have free food and allowance that they can send them to their families. The
employees especially the manager gets is trained on a classroom set-up and hands on in their
restaurant which gives them experience. And as they become employees, their efforts are not
wasted because the company recognizes it by giving awards, gift cards, and etc.

This shows that having a customer centric business doesn’t just stop on hiring
employees who has potential but also good values. They need to also have an orderly and good
management on the way they hire people. And most importantly, employees also need to feel
that the company supports them so that the customer may also feel their dedication. And
support their decisions in giving the customers an excellent experience from buying product or
service.