Human Resources plays a key role in the success of large organizations. People expenses are most companies’ biggest expense. The challenge is to get the biggest return on the money that’s being spent. HR has the potential to have a major impact on organizational effectiveness. The keys to human performance – training, compensation, recognition, discipline, involvement, accountability, communication, career development – are all within HR’s influence. It’s up to HR to use these tools to make a difference for the organization.
Dave Newton’s focus has been on HR Strategy and Human Performance. He was Vice President of Human Resources at the Venetian two years prior to its opening and then for the first four years of its operation. As a start-up property that was not part of an existing chain, all policies, procedures, and processes had to be defined at the Venetian. In addition, the property was the primary target of the Culinary union in Las Vegas, and Culinary worked hard to try to organize the property. Another challenge was finding good people, because the property opened at a time when the labor market was extremely tight, due to the openings of Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood) at around the same time. Dave played an important role in creating a high performance, high quality service culture in which employees were highly valued. During his time at the Venetian the company won two first place awards for Workplace Excellence.
Many HR professionals received most of their training on the legal and administrative side of HR. These functions are still important, but the strongest organizations expect more from their HR team. They expect expertise and help in creating a high-performing organization.
If you are interested in increasing the performance level of your leaders and employees (they are always linked), Dave can help you and your HR team evaluate and improve your HR processes and policies, especially in the areas of hiring, training, performance management and discipline.
For more information on Human Resource Consulting, please contact davenewton@hospitalityresources.us.com.