Leading the Charge for Inclusive and Sustainable Hospitality

At Hyatt, everything we do is grounded in listening and data, and is fueled by care.

The HR Digest: Hyatt was featured in the “People’s Companies that Care” list for the fourth consecutive year. What were the difficulties you faced during your journey?

Malaika Myers: Our industry has evolved and experienced rapid change over the last few years and I’m incredibly proud of the way Hyatt has successfully adapted to this dynamic environment. The hospitality industry is resilient and offers dynamic opportunities for growth and innovation, but what sets Hyatt apart is our colleagues and our purpose – to care for people so they can be their best. Every business decision is made through the lens of our purpose, and it informs how we have and will continue to support each other as members of the Hyatt family.

Our commitment to care and to our colleagues makes our feature on PEOPLE’s “100 Companies that Care” incredibly heartwarming. This list, which recognizes companies that demonstrate tremendous respect, care and concern for their employees, communities and the environment, celebrates our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and supplier diversity efforts – specifically, progress against our Change Starts Here commitments with tangible goals around who we employ, develop and advance; who we support; and who we buy from and work with. We’ve also witnessed Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) grow as a priority to the audiences relevant to Hyatt – guests, colleagues, owners and investors – and have evolved how we communicate Hyatt’s 65 years of ESG-related initiatives into one unified platform. Introduced in 2021, World of Care embodies our efforts to care for the planet, people and responsible business as well as communicates progress toward our Change Starts Here goals. While Hyatt is still on a journey, our mindset of caring for people, creating new opportunities and establishing inclusive environments has driven me to push beyond difficulties and find solutions to make change happen.

Can you tell HR Digest readers more about Hyatt’s Diversity Business Resource Groups?

Our Diversity Business Resource Groups (DBRGs) were created to support workforce diversity and foster inclusive environments. At Hyatt, we are passionate about building a holistically diverse workforce while providing the necessary infrastructure to ensure that our colleagues are set up for success. Specifically, our DBRGs are led by colleagues, and we currently have eight groups with chapters around the globe:  MENA (Middle East, North Africa), HyPride, B.L.A.C.K, Latino, Women@Hyatt, Asian-Pacific Islander, disABILITIES, and Veterans. The groups represent diverse cultures, backgrounds and viewpoints, and function to educate and influence inclusion for our colleagues, guests, customers and communities.

In addition to fostering these groups, our colleagues are supported by a Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, which we introduced in 2018 and is chaired by our CEO Mark Hoplamazian and SVP of Global DE&I Tyronne Stoudemire to ensure that the importance of creating a diverse workforce is championed by Hyatt leadership. All of our DBRGs are sponsored by one or more of our executive leaders, for example, I co-sponsor the Latinos@Hyatt DBRG, which allows me to welcome, enable and grow our Latino colleagues to be their best.

What was the most challenging yet rewarding decision you had to take in your career?

I have held many Human Resources roles across industries at global companies. I find the decisions that are most challenging, and rewarding are when we know what we want to achieve but we don’t know how to achieve it.  Our decision to create and share our Change Starts Here initiative is an example of this as is the creation of RiseHY, a commitment by Hyatt and Hyatt hotels to hire 10,000 Opportunity Youth (youth ages 16-24 not in school and not employed). 

In both cases we set very ambitious goals for ourselves and in both cases that has pushed our thinking and challenged us to experiment to create pathways to success. It’s challenging, and a bit scary, to set an ambition when you don’t know how you will achieve it, but the learning you get by experimenting to find a path to success is incredibly rewarding, and can be source of breakthrough innovations.

Analytic or intuitive —what approach do you use to make decisions for the betterment of the company?

Both. At Hyatt, everything we do is grounded in listening and data, and is fueled by care. We hold a promise to care for the personal and professional wellbeing of our colleagues, guests, customers, and owners, and the challenges witnessed as a result of the pandemic over the past two years solidified this even further – I listened to the changing priorities of our people in order to make decisions and meet them where they are. But as we look at measuring the betterment of the company, data – tracking progress against tangible goals is equally important. As I mentioned before, our Change Starts Here commitments describe efforts across three key areas of who we employ, support and work with and formalizes our aspirations – from doubling representation for women and people of color by 2025 in key leadership roles to making financial contributions in support of strengthening Black communities.

So, when it comes to decision-making, I look at the data and I listen to ensure we are acting consistent with our purpose.  

What skills do the global HR managers of the future need to acquire?

Global HR managers of the future—and all leaders for that matter—should prioritize refining their soft skills like curiosity, experimentation, coaching, empathy, and communication, and, they must be technology savvy.  You’ve heard the phrase ‘every company is a technology company’, soon we will be saying ‘every leader needs to be a technology leader’. But technology know how is not enough. 

The best leaders in HR and elsewhere will be able to marry tech skills with the soft skills to ensure everyone on the team is heard, connections are built, and colleagues feel supported. This leads to a culture that truly embodies purpose and values, less turn-over, more innovation, and of course, greater business performance.

Malaika Myers,

Chief Human Resources Officer, Hyatt

Malaika Myers was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer at Hyatt in 2017, where she is responsible for implementing the company’s global HR strategy worldwide. Myers has held senior HR roles at several other companies, including Jarden Corporation, Arysta LifeScience, Diageo PLC, and PepsiCo. Prior to her career in HR, she worked in various HR roles at FMC Corporation.

Photo: Hyatt    

This profile was published in the January 2023 issue of The HR Digest.

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