How Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Focused on Workforce Wellbeing

A close partner of Grokker, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, resorts, and residences. With a robust international workforce across 33 hotels and seven residences in 23 countries and territories, MOHG has always championed colleague and guest wellbeing.

“The wellbeing of our guests and colleagues is of paramount importance at all times. We are committed to ensuring that each and every colleague has the finest resources available to ensure optimum wellness and success - professionally and personally. Success is only ever a team effort,” explained Will Mayor, Head of Learning and Development at MOHG.

Yet while initiatives centered on workforce wellbeing have always been an integral part of this luxury brand’s mantra, the emergence of COVID-19 set in motion an entirely new set of challenges that Mayor had to hit head-on.

Pivoting to a platform-based solution to zero in on wellbeing hotspots

MOHG’s relationship with Grokker began in mid-2019, so having a platform-based wellbeing solution in place early that could quickly scale with the emerging needs of his colleagues was auspicious. Mayor needed to deliver wellness content companywide at the pace that individual needs were evolving. 

“This has certainly not been an easy period of time and everyone’s lives have been impacted by this pandemic, but the resilience and commitment our team has shown is testament to our team’s unwavering belief in our brand’s guiding principles and commitment to excellence across the Group. We have been delighted by the service provided from the Grokker team,” Mayor said.

Mayor admits that employee engagement amidst a backdrop of such uncertainty can be challenging, but that’s why his team prioritized communicating early and often with employees. Each site contacted employees personally every week. Mayor would then send the right wellbeing support at the right time to every MOHG colleague — assuring them that they were valued and listened to. What’s more, local wellness committees were put in place to launch Grokker’s targeted, holistic wellbeing content via videoconferencing, their branded social platform, and other digital channels.

Flexibility, instant delivery key to evolving wellbeing initiatives, building resiliency

In September 2020, MOHG launched a “Colleague Wellness Week” initiative that included a wellness challenge, daily group classes, and other activities powered by Grokker. The hotels delivered over 60 live events, maximizing global coverage while still giving each site the freedom to choose what activities suited the specific needs of their colleagues. Mayor asserts that flexibility in programming is key — a one-size-fits-all approach to company wellness is the exact opposite of what he knows his colleagues need right now. “It’s about launching impactful initiatives for the hotels and letting them tailor these to the individual needs of their teams” he says.

To support employees moving forward, MOHG is leveraging a comprehensive wellbeing calendar developed with Grokker, complete with monthly themes, activities to increase engagement, monthly challenges, and ideas to involve leadership. Themes include a self-care campaign titled “Inner and Outer Strength” — one that Mayor champions wholeheartedly amidst continued colleague concerns for health, safety, and general wellbeing.

“Challenges continue but we will ensure that our colleagues have the tools to deal with this ever-evolving situation. Our continued collaboration with Grokker will be integral part of the solutions,” Mayor explained.