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Hello and welcome to another episode of At Scale The tnAchieves podcast. I'm excited today to be joined. Um, is kind of becoming, uh, becoming a recurring theme with my colleague Ben Sterling. Um, to have another great conversation. And today's guest is one that I'm really excited for. It's a guest that I've had the opportunity to build a partnership now over three or four years of mentor recruitment, job shadowing, um, and is with an organization that has really stood as like a great partner. Um, and an outstanding example of, I would say what buy in for students looks like and what a commitment to student success looks like. So I couldn't be more excited about the conversation. Ben. Yeah, I agree. We launched in Memphis to give it away a little bit back in twenty eleven. And this is one of the partners that came to the table originally. Um, and so this is a, well, actually one of probably one of the oldest tnAchieves partners that's been around and been in our corner for a long time. So I'm excited to welcome Hilton, uh, to the podcast. Tyler. I'll let you do the formal introduction. Yeah. We've got, uh, hope Thomas, who is a human resources consulting lead at Hilton, has stood as, like I said, a partner who has made job shadowing happen now for the better part of three years, I'll say this. And this is this is an honest brag on on Hilton the hope and the team at Hilton. They have been a part of this work since twenty eleven in some capacity, but Tennessee has changed over those fifteen years and we've gone through a pandemic. And so through those changes, through that pandemic, they keep coming back to the table and keep investing in students. And so really grateful to have Hope Thomas, on today to share a little bit about Hilton, their priorities and her experience, and hope we couldn't be more excited to have you. Well thank you. I'm glad to be here. So I'll kind of get us kicked off with a really basic question. Um, you know, Hilton just had your job shadow day this past Wednesday. Um, and this is an event that you guys have bought into now for, for several years, um, multiple times a year. And I guess I'm curious, um, why is that an event? Why is that something you continue to pour resources energy in? And why do you continue to open those doors to students at Hilton and bring them in? You know, at Hilton, we really believe that students are our future workforce, our future leaders, and our future innovators. Um, we don't just want to hire talent someday. We want to develop it today. So by opening our doors with tnAchieves, as we've been doing through mentorships, internships, we're giving students a clearer picture of what's possible while helping them build that confidence. So it benefits us in so many ways. It keeps us connected to the community. It keeps us connected to the next generation. And students bring fresh ideas, right? They have different perspectives. They have a new way of thinking. So it kind of keeps us on our toes and helps challenge us to kind of remain curious and to continue evolving as a hospitality company, I love that. And for those who are maybe new to tnAchieves, if you've stumbled on this episode, job Shadow Days are, um, events that we host with our corporate partners across the state where students will go on to their campus and the day is fully facilitated by the employer. So it can look, it can take a lot of different, um, uh, structures depending on how the employer wants to host that. Um, for example, we had one at West Tennessee Healthcare yesterday, and I'm pretty sure students went into an actual surgery, um, and saw that yesterday. So it can be a really cool experience for students, um, to gain a ton of, uh, career exposure, which we know is so valuable. Um, and so hope. I was just curious, I wasn't there at the Hilton job shadow day yesterday. So what, what did the students do? Uh, we had a fantastic time. So of course we kicked it off with breakfast, right? Because gotta eat everyone focused and bellies full. Um, so we started out with a great breakfast. Um, and we had some dynamic speakers. I spoke as far as HR talking about the industry and what human resources really is, kind of the nuts and bolts of it. We had technology, so we had an IT developer come and talk and share a little bit about AI and how that industry is changing. We had a representative from hospitality and development, so he talked a lot about architecture. He talked a lot about marketing and brands and really behind the scenes of how you experience some of our phenomenal brands today. That's so good. I think for especially an employer like Hilton, um, I have never been on your campus and seen the headquarters, but I, I went to a job shadow day several years ago. Um, discovery channel is based in Knoxville and I think, um, when students would sign up for the Discovery Channel job shadow day, they thought they were going to go in there and it was going to be like Steve Irwin inside the building. They didn't realize that it was going to be so many different types of careers and opportunities that can that we know exist in these larger businesses. So, um, that's just super impressive. And I think for students, uh, in Memphis to be able to see, they, they maybe know that Hilton's there, but they don't know actually what it looks like to work there. And that that opportunity to me is so valuable and bringing that information to them. Well, and I'll add there too, you know, I think one thing that Hilton has done, and your team has done particularly well over the years with this event, is a recognition that, you know, the students attending these job shadow events are eighteen and nineteen years old. And so what that means is they are coming to these events wanting to build professional skills, build professional perspective. But, you know, in many cases, they do not know exactly what they want to do as their career. They may think they know, but, you know, they don't quite know yet. And so what I love about what you just described and what you do at Hilton is you bring in everybody, you bring in it, you bring in human resources. You bring in development, and you let students hear from them and identify what area of expertise they connect most with. Because, you know, that's not a trend unique to Hilton. That's across the state where employers have all sorts of things you can do under one roof. And I love that you've always prioritized, um, hearing from a ton of members of the team at the event. One question to that I'd love to, or one thing I'd love to highlight and kind of talk a little bit about. I remember so vividly being at your Hilton event a year ago and you had, um, someone from the development team come in and they talked about how they had traveled the country opening Hampton Inns across the country. But what stuck out to me so much, and I'd love to have you talk a little bit about is that individual went person to person, introduced themselves, shake their hands, and had like a personal connection with each student. Can you talk about how this is more than an event just to, um, you know, expose students to careers, but it's also to build their professional skills and their professional network to some degree. Yeah. And just to that point, I wanted to add, you know, I think one of the biggest misconceptions about hospitality is that people only think about hotels, right? Mhm. But in reality, hospitality has careers across almost every business function that you can think of. So whether that's business finance, accounting, I.T., data analytics, um, it all works together, even engineering. So there's likely a place for you at Hilton or in the hospitality industry. Um, but to your point, it's definitely professional development. Um, we need those professionals. You know, we talk a lot about AI. We talk a lot about innovation, but it's that character that's going to take you to the next level. So at Hilton, we really doubled down on not only being sharp technical wise, but also those professional skills, such as being aware of who you are, you know, being a worker with integrity, leading with excellence, staying curious, you know, getting a mentor. Those are the things that really set you apart and is going to be a differentiator between you and the next candidate. Yeah, that that is so big. And one of the things that I think the job shadow experience is so, um, it brings to the students the concept of soft skills in a lot of ways. Um, durable skills, I think is what we call them now. But those skills that when they're entering the workforce, the things that they may not be learning in class, uh, and they get to see that, that kind of in practice. Um, I know that Hilton has internships as well. Um, and it's been a priority for you guys for some time. Talk a little bit about the internship program because that's kind of taken the job shadow model, but making it much more in depth. Yeah. So our internship program that we have, uh, we have it across all functions. Um, that opens up in August and it's simply a ten week experience just based off of where you are. But it's that same concept of taking that job shadow day and then applying it in that internship level. So we do a lot of leadership development. We have a lot of executives that come in and do lunch and learns. Um, we do hotel immersion, so we're able to actually take you to a property to kind of see behind the scenes, a day in the life of what goes on as a business or franchise owner. So it's, it's definitely packed with that real world experience, that technical experience, and really that one on one relationship building that you need, as you know, being new in the workforce. Yeah. For sure. Who, who is that geared towards that college students second later in the years in college? Yes. So it's geared towards college students. And then we also have another early talent program That's called launch and that's geared towards those that have graduated. So that would be their first job. So really their first entry level job into the workforce. Yeah. That's great. I think that's something we could definitely be, um, advertising and, and telling our coaches about. So they're working with, um, tnAchieves students in Memphis that this is a great opportunity to speak a little more to that launch program. I think that's fascinating. So students are graduating essentially, and this kind of serves as that, that transition role into what could be a full time role at Hilton. Yeah, absolutely. So they come on with a year commitment to kind of do a rotation, if you will, and some have the opportunity to travel, um, globally, some are able to relocate and work at different hotels and that capacity. And at the end of that program, you know, our goal is to embed you into an entry level position at Hilton. That's amazing. That's so cool. Yeah. How many students participate in that? Uh, well, we're starting small, so launch just kicked off a few years ago. So the classes cohorts are typically around seven to ten. Okay. Um, we try to keep it in that small nature just for the experience purposes, mostly students from Memphis. Uh, yeah. Well, our surrounding areas as well. So we also have, um, an office in Dallas and then our global headquarters is in McLean, Virginia. Okay. Yeah. Coming to that sort of idea that Hilton is, you know, you've got headquarters in Virginia, teams in Dallas and Memphis. Um, speak a little bit to, you know, I think I think of Hilton is an organization that's like deeply committed to Memphis, right. I think you've done a lot of great work for students there, a lot of great work in the community. Um, and it's evident through the job shadow participation. But one thing we haven't touched on yet is Hilton is always been a really strong supporter and advocate for volunteerism with tnAchieves as well. Speak a little bit to why it's important, both from your perspective, but also an organization, corporate perspective, to invest in the community and spend this time and resources to, you know, commit to Memphis. Yeah, sure. From my perspective, you know, the organizations and the places in which we live, you know, we have a duty to give back. And, you know, you are what you put into things. A lot of things that I tell, you know, my mentees. So being an organization such as Hilton being the number one best workplace in the world, you know, having that honor to give back and really help mirror and shape the future generation, the future generation is what's going to continue to make us a success. Other businesses success and Memphis overall. Yeah, we, um, about a year ago changed our slogan. So our slogan was, Um, changing lives and transforming communities, which we hope we are still doing, but we made it more specific and it's now building Tennessee's future workforce. That's what we see our mission as. Um, and I think obviously students first always that's in our mind, but also one of the things that we are able to do is we have relationships with business partners, large employers like Hilton, we have relationships with all the post-secondary institutions in Tennessee, and we have relationships with all the K-12 districts in Tennessee as well. So we have this unique opportunity to kind of bring people to the table. And we had a, a, a podcast guest on, uh, earlier might have been last year, I guess it was, um, from the Harvard project on the workforce. And one of the things that we learned from this discussion is that oftentimes business is too late to the conversation. And that's not business fault. That's our fault is that we're in the education side and having all of these discussions about what we think the workforce should be, and then we bring the business in and it's like, well, we've known that for five years, right? We should have had this conversation a long time ago. Um, and so that's why we're so excited about doing podcasts with businesses, because we want to know as we're constantly thinking about what students should be doing in college and what careers are going to await them once they're finished. What you're seeing as the future careers, um, for that future workforce. So in your mind, specifically in the hospitality industry, we've talked a little bit about what you can do, but, um, what should students be doing now to be better prepared to enter that, that workforce? I would say definitely being open and flexible. Um, there are so many facets of, I will give, for example, HR, even though we are, you know, people embedded with the business, there's a huge push for human resources to drive transformation, right? And so how do you do that through initiatives? So project management has become one of those upskilling, uh, arenas that we've had to kind of jump into. So, you know, no longer that administration, but really just being strategic, coming and being able to drive impact drive initiatives and kind of execute at that level of excellence. So I would tell students, you know, to just be open to things, um, to be flexible. The new technology, of course, AI is going to, you know, take over and help us get there faster, faster, faster and better than we ever have before. So just having those new challenges require a different mindset. So just being curious, being resilient. And those aren't skills that you develop overnight, but it's kind of like a muscle that you build over time. Yeah. We had the director of the Oak Ridge National Lab on too, and he talked about how the Oak Ridge National Lab sort of its own city, and they have so many different jobs that exist there. He said, really, all he's looking for in a person that he wants to hire is somebody that's willing to learn because it's so hard right now to even say, well, yeah, you're going to have this type of job in five years. Who knows what jobs Hilton will even have. We don't even at tnAchieves. We have new jobs kind of coming around the corner every three years. So it's like, to your point, I think this being curious and kind of broadening their horizons probably is the most valuable thing they can do, as opposed to being extremely specific about something. Yes. And, you know, everything is about seasons. So you may start your career, you know, in one foot, in one function and be an expert there. And then who knows, that may lead you to a whole different function. So to your point, you know, just being coachable, being humble, having great communication and that strong work ethic is going to take you a long way. You mentioned upskilling, and I think that's such an interesting part of, you know, upskilling has been a part of the workforce for, you know, forever, I think, in some capacity. But I think it's it's particularly brought up nowadays because technology changes so often, right? Right. Um, as a human resources team, how are you keeping an eye to what your teams need to upskill in how they need to, you know, um, learn new skills, build new technical skills, and how often do you see that changing? Because I would imagine it's a little more rapid in twenty twenty six than perhaps it was ten or fifteen years ago. Oh yeah. It's very rapid. I would say Hilton, we lead with data, so we're always doing surveys in regards to interests of our team members, you know, getting our ear to the ground to understand what their areas of opportunities are, what they're interested in. Um, for example, now we've just published our learning team, um, AI tracks for every function. So whether that's if you're in the hotel, if you're in the finance part of the business or even HR, you're able to go in and at your pace, um, you know, upskill in that way as it comes to AI. So we definitely lead with data. Um, getting that information surveying. And then we use that to, to get fast to our learning team so that we can develop and continue to meet them where they are. So you have an in-house learning team too, that can kind of help develop this stuff and get it out. Yes, yes, we have an in-house learning team and we have a lot of benefits at Hilton, um, such as other mentor resources and programs. We have a whole leadership catalog. Um, we do a lot of better, better of coaching opportunities. Um, so we're fully engaged and fully passionate about, you know, as I said earlier, not just hiring the talent, but really keeping you throughout that life cycle. And what does that look like? And what is it going to take? I mean, Hilton always does jump out to me as one of those employers who when I when I visited campus and I've been lucky to do it several times now, most of the people I've talked to are saying, I've been here five years, ten years, fifteen years. You know, they've got a longer history with the company, and I think that speaks volumes to the continuing education opportunities and kind of that full package that you offer to employees to your point. I'd love to talk a little bit about that, too, because I think this is something that, again, Hilton does well with students at your job shadow event. So often we see students come to these events and come to the workforce with the idea that the two things they need to be thinking about is how much am I going to get paid and how much time off do I get? And hey, listen, when I was eighteen or nineteen, that was also probably the first question on my mind. But talk a little bit about how that full suite of, you know, health care, other professional development opportunities, technical expertise, opportunities can really be a game changer for someone new into their career to help to level up and to help to build a really solid, stable path to economic prosperity. Yeah. And a lot of our speakers from when we had our job shadow event. They spoke on that very thing of. Even though compensation might be a driver, being able to kind of step back at. That three zero zero zero view and think holistically about purpose and just impact is, you know. A different lens. So understanding healthcare, understanding that right now, you know. You may not be married with children, but in the future you might be. So, you know. What does that look like? How does the organization give back to the communities that we serve? You know, what does that look like in an organization? Company culture is everything. You know, culture is, you know, I would say the number one driver in people leaving organizations. Um, so taking a look at that, you know, how is the organization treating people with time off? Um, are you able to take that work life balance? So a lot of the speakers really spoke from that standpoint of when you're making a decision of joining the workforce, there are other levers besides compensation. Totally agree with that. And we're going through a little bit of a hiring phase right now. So we've been talking a lot about culture and, um, what workplace, what kind of workplace we want to be and how we want people to experience tnAchieves not just externally, but internally as well. Talk about Hilton's culture. How does it, what does it look like? Um, I know you probably the culture keeper, so I'd love to just hear about what your priorities are. How do you what's your values? Um, how, how is how is that structured? I'm sure you love to talk about that. Yeah. So, you know, again, I mentioned earlier, we are the number one best workplace in the world. Um, and I just believe that we really, truly live the values that Conrad Hilton, you know, when he started the brand, you know, we believe in our leaders dreaming big. We believe in the values of leading with light, warmth and hospitality. And that's a part of our onboarding. That's a part of our training with our leaders and our continuing education. Um, just being there for each other, being that community. You know, I don't like to use the word family because we know family looks different for everyone. So I just love the community aspect that we have, um, that we're always just jumping in helping others, you know, seeing a need filling that. And that truly is the culture and not just in our Memphis office, but if you were to travel to McLean or, you know, to our offices in the UK and Watford and London, you'll have that same experience no matter where you go. And that's one thing that I love and happy to represent about Hilton. I can speak to that too. You know, we were planning the first event after Covid. This was probably three years ago. And I think when we were getting it back into action there, there were team members from Memphis. Um, on the email chain, there was someone from McLean. And I think at one point there was someone from London also on the email chain supporting the project. So that actually may be the first one that we took across the pond to some degree, a little bit too. But I mean, it really does feel like a collaborative community based culture in that sense. So, you know, one thing I'd love to we haven't asked you many questions about you, about your experience, but I'd love to know, how did you get into this work? What has your journey been like to where you're at today at Hilton, and what continues to bring you back and kind of light your fire for human resources and supporting the team? Yeah, well, it's a unique story. I, again, I'm a Memphis native, born and raised. I graduated from UT Martin, but, you know, wanted to run as fast as I can back home to Memphis to again, you know, contribute to the great community and city that I love. Um, but the aspirations was to be a psychologist, you know, so I wanted to be a problem solver. I'm a people person. So in a way, I still kind of achieved that dream. Mhm. I always say, yeah, I'd say so. Yeah. Yeah. So I actually had the seed planted in me about human resources from someone else that was working in the field. Um, they knew that I was very curious about people, how people work, how they learn, how they socialize. And that passion kind of catapulted my career. You know, I started as a generalist and I kind of never looked back. So I did a little work in organization development. I've done training, um, executive coaching, leadership development, um, just anything that helps drives transformation for the business with people. Yeah. That one of the things that really stands out to me specifically about Memphis is there's so many people that are in leadership in the businesses in Memphis that are from Memphis. I think if you go to Nashville, it's not common to see that people are from all around the country and the world living there. But Memphis definitely grows its own, which I love so much about the city. What's your favorite thing about Memphis? I would just say the culture, definitely the culture, the music, the barbecue, of course. Um, it's the best. But even when you are to watch the Grammys or any kind of award show or even movies and TV, you know, it's always interesting that there are roots that lead back to Memphis. So whether if it was, you know, their grandparents or some sort of lineage, or maybe they were inspired by Elvis or inspired by, um, rhythm and blues, you know, we always have a seed somewhere in that industry. So I just love that about us that we're, you know, the foundation of that, the culture keeper of that, I would say it's so much has started and continues to just bubble up out of Memphis. It just influences so much of the culture that we experience today. I love it too. The the Just the people that are from Memphis love Memphis so much. And if every city had that much devotion to its in the identity of their city, we would be a better place. Um, because it just means so much to, uh, to protect and empower and grow, um, their city. And it's just to me, I, I love that I've just had the opportunity this year to really experience a lot of Memphis and, um, I just have been so just kind of overwhelmed with it over the last year or so. I was just in Memphis yesterday. And actually it's just occurring to me. It's the first time I've been in Memphis probably in five years that I didn't get barbecue. So that was probably a mistake. That's a miss on your part. Yeah, it is definitely a miss on your part. You have to go back soon. Oh well. Hope, is there anything about Hilton that we haven't asked anything that comes to mind that, um, you know, I always like to ask on these podcast episodes, is there anything you want to brag on that We haven't touched on yet. That's going on at Hilton that's going on in Memphis even. Uh, one thing I brag on with Hilton, I think that we are continuing to push the mark. Um, we have about twenty three. I can't even keep up twenty three, twenty four brands now. Um, that really meets the need of any customer, any experience that you can think of. Um, I definitely would say just stay tuned in because we are continuing to, you know, try things to move in different arenas, um, to try different experiences as it comes to being a guest in a hotel, you know, home away from home and really paying attention to what our customers are telling us and what they would like to see in those experiences. I can say my experience is always good at a Hampton Inn. I stay one all the time and it's always good. I've never had a bad one, so it sounds like it's all all the culture is definitely bleeding out, which is great, And it's always to you know, the thing that always stands out to me is so deeply rooted in the student human experience, working to provide these opportunities for individuals. But then you've got really innovative and kind of incredible work happening at the macro level with, to your point, some of these new brands. I was just saying in the car the other day, I feel like there's a new Hilton brand every, you know, six months. But the stories and the perspective that goes into building those is really incredible. So I'm glad you touched on that hope. I think it's a great point. Yes. Well, Hope, thank you so much for joining us on today's episode of At Scale. We really appreciate your partnership. We appreciate everything that Hilton has done, and we're excited for another job, shadow day, hopefully sooner rather than later, but we really appreciate your time and thanks for joining us. Thank you so much. You know, we love tnAchieves. We love to help and always just here to help as you all continue to succeed in the community. Thanks, Hope. Thank you, thank you.