At the Lilac Tree, and our sister hotel, the Chippewa, we view all of our employees like family. In Chippewa’s recent blog, we shared how many of dedicated people are from Jamaica and leave their families for 6 months to work here on Mackinac with us. But that’s just part of the story. Our employees are also from Michigan like East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and way out west like Colorado, Arizona and Utah to name a few. They also leave their home towns to work with us at their home away from home and we love having them here with us.
We’re very social and we live it out by staying in touch through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email. It’s a great way to stay in touch and stay connected just like you would do with your own families. We’re proud to say that we have a 95% return rate of employees and a 100% return rate of our managers. We love it when they all return for the season. They’re greeted by a family-reunion, Mackinac style with hugs, smiles, familiar faces, and loud cheers of “welcome back, we missed you!” And we mean it.
Brian Bailey, our General Manager at the Lilac Tree and Chippewa also visits his team around the USA to give a heart-felt “thanks” for their dedication, hard work and great service they all perform daily to make your vacation stay perfect when you visit us on Mackinac Island.
Brian just came back after another great visit to Colorado, Utah and Arizona and he sums it up best. “I surround myself with the best managers and employees. Without our employees, we’re nothing. If we have great employees working towards the same high customer service goals, we all win!”
– Brian Bailey, General Manager.
It’s obvious Brian truly cares about his team and the outstanding quality service with a smile that they do everyday. As we celebrate 11 continuous years of growth, it’s clear that Brian is right on the money and we owe it all to our great team of people. We respect our employees, listen to their ideas, needs, suggestions and have discovered that by empowering our team, they take ownership and responsibility. Proof that a happy work environment means happy service and that it encourages our employees to build a path to success. Theirs, ours, and ultimately yours! Did you know that all of our open positions were filled by employees referring their friends? Great people refer great people and we’re proud that they do.
To say “thanks”, we invest in our families by offering them housing so they really feel at home and also offer great incentives like employee discounts, cookouts, boat cruises- even fort and carriage tours! Just hearing that, makes you want to join our team. Maybe you will! Just like our Jamaican family, our extended family across the USA is getting ready to pack up and return to Mackinac for our 2015 season. Every Fall, we find it hard to say good-bye, but it’s great to welcome our family backin the Spring. It’s time to make your reservations for your next trip with us and we’ll be sure to welcome you back with a smile because you’reour extended family too. And you never know, maybe you’ll be a part of our team next year, and the year after that……..
We’re looking forward to seeing you again. Welcome back!
George Piliouras for The Lilac Voice
