Marriott Urges Employees to Take Care

BETHESDA, MD—Marriott International is encouraging its associates—and guests—to take care of themselves. It’s just one way the global hotel brand is empowering people to live the Marriott culture and cultivate well-being. Taking this mission a step further, Marriott has launched TakeCare Level30, a custom app-based well-being challenge available for guests and associates globally.

“Our company’s success can be traced back to our ongoing commitment to deliver an associate experience that fulfills three fundamental human needs. Everyone wants opportunity to thrive and grow; a community of inclusive and caring relationships; and to be a part of an organization that provides a real sense of purpose in the world,” said Leah Evert, global director of associate well-being, Marriott International.

“Because these needs are relevant across race, ethnicity, gender, generations and all other points of difference, it brings us all together. It drives our business performance. From team activities, career advancement and community involvement, to financial well-being, mindfulness and healthy cafeterias, there are many ways we are elevating wellness and our company culture.”

TakeCare has sponsored a Global Well-being Challenge each year since 2010. According to Evert, associates enjoy the activities, and the competition aspect of each challenge engages our employees in healthy behaviors.

“Over the years, as TakeCare has become the culture and engagement movement that it is today, our challenges have subsequently evolved. TakeCare Level30 uses the pillars of TakeCare to engage associates in tasks that enhance one’s opportunity, community, and purpose. Players are asked to complete wellness activities, engage in community service, and connect with their co-workers,” said Evert. “We wanted to provide a program that embraced all these areas to provide players with a holistic approach to well-being, understanding that good behaviors often lead to other good behaviors.”

Evert noted that the brand is going to exceed its goal of over 100,000 Level30 players this year, which includes both the employees and the general public.

“We’ve really embraced the understanding that well-being behaviors can be contagious among our co-workers, family members, friends, and guests,” she said. “Well-being is at the heart of the business. Founder J. Willard Marriott set the standard by proclaiming that if we take care of our people, they will take care of our guests, and the business will take care of itself.”

With a track record of being a “people-first” company, Marriott is squarely focused on providing an environment of well-being for the associates and guests alike because it’s good for business and because it’s the right thing to do.

Wellness is trending, but Marriott has combined this trend with something most travelers can’t live without—their cellphones. The TakeCare Level30 app prompts users to take actionable steps toward a healthy lifestyle.

“We realize that healthy behaviors typically occur away from screens—from drinking more water to engaging in meaningful conversation with friends. However, to create accountability, we wanted to use technology so that players can keep track of their behaviors each day,” she said. “By providing technology as the accountability device in this campaign, our associates, friends, family and customers can keep up with their well-being in a convenient and accessible way.”

For people who use the app, there are fun internal competitions available like other tracking devices. Marriott associates are competing in 30-day Level30 challenges at each property, where the top performing hotels across the globe will be reward. In addition, there’s a live leaderboard to make it interesting and fun.

“Our properties can craft competition wherever they see fit—between hotel brands, local markets, as well as within departments at hotels. The healthy competition aspect of the challenge is truly what keeps our participants engaged,” she said.

Evert shared a couple of TakeCare Level30 success stories:

“The TakeCare Level30 had a great impact on my personal perspective related to recycling. My husband and I were already focused on recycling. However, the challenge did prompt me to learn more about the various recycling symbols. With that small step, our perspective when making purchases has changed and we now take the extra time to look at the packing and when possible, buy items that can be recycled or find ways to not have to buy products that will need to be thrown out or even recycled. It was a great A-ha!” – Associate, Marriott International headquarters, U.S.

“Our intern in the kitchen and F&B department, cooked a food specialty from her country: South Africa. One of the TakeCare Level 30 challenges is to discover and taste a new culture. So, we decided to ask Kammy to cook something for our associates to discover her country. – Associate, Paris

“As part of the Level30 Challenge we organized an event at our local bike co-op La Bikery. A group of associates and some of their families spent a couple of hours fixing bikes that will be donated into the community.” – Associate, Montcon, CA

“We have really enjoyed the Level 30 app and the timing was perfect as we have recently onboarded five new members of our team. It has worked well to help people get to know each other and understand the values of this company.” –Associate, HQ, US

The TakeCare Level30 app is available to users now. It can be downloaded via the Apple Store or Google Play.

“Marriott’s people-first culture is at the core of who we are and how we operate,” she said. “The Level30 app seeks to provide some fun and structure around tasks that aid in bringing our culture to life. Marriott will continue to provide innovative, inclusive campaigns that bring opportunity, community, and purpose to all.”