Many companies have nice sounding company values they proudly post on the walls of the organization, website, etc. But often it stops there. We used to be one of those companies, but now we reinforce, measure and recognize these values through channels like our internal annual climate surveys, performance reviews, hiring assessments, orientation, internal meetings, etc. so they are constantly reinforced and measured in the organization. Organizational values are not only the responsibility of our people, but also the organization itself, which is why we illustrate the company’s commitment to each of these values.

The following is our company values along with commitments from our people and leadership team in upholding them:

1. We believe that people who are passionate about the hospitality industry and make a positive impact will find a lifelong career of opportunities at HVS.

Organizationally

  • We provide professional development opportunities to assist our people in making a positive impact in their role.
  • We encourage our people to transfer to other offices, services, or roles if they feel their roles are getting stale.
  • We encourage our people to take additional responsibilities and specialize as they grow professionally.
  • We provide partnership opportunities for those who are very high impact.

Skills & Behaviors

  • You amaze our clients with the business value we deliver and the positive experience working with you.
  • You consistently demonstrate strong performance; thus, colleagues can rely upon you.
  • You exhibit a bias to action and avoid analysis paralysis.
  • You have a clear understanding of the contribution you make to HVS’s strategy.
  • You motivate the team to ensure total client satisfaction.
  • You provide your client, internal or external, with a transparent deliverable that strengthens our credibility.
  • You don’t make compromises to the integrity of the findings to make the client happy.
  • You actively volunteer and contribute to company initiatives outside of project work.

2. We believe in building relationships through empathy - seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Organizationally

  • We have annual regional gatherings for our people where everyone is invited so people can build relationships with their peers.
  • We don’t tolerate brilliant jerks (arrogancy).

Skills & Behaviors

  • You actively work to build strong and lasting relationships with team members, clients, and anyone who interfaces with HVS.
  • You speak and act with integrity and honest intentions.
  • You are dependable, cooperative, and patient with others.
  • You maintain calm poise in stressful situations.
  • You treat people with respect independent of their status or disagreement with you.
  • You listen well, instead of reacting fast, so you can better understand.
  • You are quick to admit mistakes.
  • You only say things about people that you will say to their face.
  • You are flexible and open to new ideas and listen to diverse points of view.
  • You are conscious of team morale and actively work to improve it.

3. We believe in knowledge development and sharing among our people and the industry.

Organizationally

  • We give our people variety in their assignment work.
  • We encourage relevant professional development and designations for everyone.
  • We have built the most robust hospitality knowledge and data platform in the industry so we can retain and share information across the globe.
  • We provide many opportunities for our people to publish articles and speak at conferences, hotel schools, industry associations, etc.

Skills & Behaviors

  • You learn rapidly and eagerly.
  • You have a general understanding of the areas in which you wish to grow and take initiative to acquire new skills.
  • You understand skills and limitations in relation to the breadth and depth of your discipline.
  • You demonstrate the appropriate skill level for your role.
  • You actively leverage and contribute to HVS knowledge centers.
  • You are available to help colleagues.
  • You share information openly and proactively.
  • You create maximum value for our clients and company by ensuring our knowledge and expertise is second to none.

4. We believe in efficiency.

Organizationally

  • We invest significant resources in our models, boilers, and business applications to streamline our processes.
  • We have a flat organizational structure with little red tape; thus, decisions can be made quickly.
  • We don’t believe in micromanagement.
  • We are geographically dispersed so we can efficiently cover markets around the world.

Skills & Behaviors

  • You actively leverage company models, boilers, business applications, and other resources that contribute to increased productivity for yourself and others.
  • You are concise and articulate in speech and writing.
  • You constantly are looking for ways to streamline internal processes.
  • You think about how easily it will be for a less knowledgeable client to understand your talking points.
  • You respect other peoples time.

In addition, we believe the above organizational values are further enhanced by:

A flexible and flat organizational design.

  • We have very little red tape, so decisions never go above two layers; we repel bureaucracy.
  • We don’t believe in micromanagement; thus, you need to be a self-starter and know when to ask for help.
  • We provide almost immediate personal responsibility, which includes client interaction and exposure to industry.
  • We provide flexible working conditions like occasionally working from home, flexible hours, etc.
  • We have a universal open-door culture.
  • We believe family priorities come before work.

Investments in a proprietary data and technology platform.

  • We invest significant resources in our models, boilers, and business applications to streamline our processes.
  • We have built the most robust hospitality knowledge and data platform in the industry so we can retain and share information across the globe.
  • We have a robust CRM platform to manage our client relationships.
  • We have an internal software development team that builds and maintains our business applications; we are rarely dependent on third-party solutions.