1998 Annual Report - Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

focus at all levels, including corporate initiatives, guest comments, focus group feedback, andemployee input. It is also a function of our firm belief that being “good enough” is never enough.The Importance of “Culture”But it is above all else the direct result of our third major decision, which at the time was merelya theory—our overriding belief that if we were to succeed in the quest for the highest standardof service, the relationship between our customers and employees would need to become the mostmeaningful.Intuitive service, which is the hallmark of a Four Seasons experience, comes to life in theinteraction between the employee and guest, and can only be realized if employees are productiveand content. Accordingly, for Four Seasons our employees are our most important asset. And forus this requires more than lip-service. It must be a way of life: a commitment to an ethical codeof behaviour that obligates everyone at Four Seasons to treat everyone else—guests, businesspartners, suppliers, employees—as they themselves would want to be treated.From the beginning, Four Seasons has operated in accordance with certain understood principles.In 1982, our core values were first put into written form entitled “Our Goals, Our Beliefs,Our Principles,” which are reproduced at the front of this report. These ideas, which weredeveloped more than 30 years ago, have stood the test of time and continue to represent the mainelements of what we stand for.Building on these beliefs, our human resource strategy is relatively simple: hire motivatedpeople, train them to be the best they can be, and offer them an environment in which to achievetheir goals. Once they join Four Seasons, our staff encounters a management approach based uponrespect and leadership by example.We believe this has been the reason for our success in introducing the Four Seasons brand innew markets—and in replicating the Four Seasons experience, no matter where we operate in theworld. Exporting the Four Seasons work ethic does not depend on manuals. It depends on seedingnew markets with “culture carriers”, skilled at finding similar people in new places.A Fortune magazine survey of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” found that the bestpredictor of overall corporate excellence was “the ability to attract and hold on to talentedemployees.” We believe Four Seasons has the industry’s highest proportion of long-term,committed people. Moreover, Four Seasons employees are also among the most contented. In1998, employee ratings once again ranked Four Seasons as one of Fortune’s Best 100 Companies ToWork For in the US—making Four Seasons the only Canadian-based company to appear on thisprestigious list.3Four Seasons Hotels Inc.