"“We see the return on the investment in the form of really low turnover,” he told me. Hospitality turnover can hover around 70%; at Montage, it's closer to 25%, he said. He also credits the unique offering as a successful recruiting strategy."
"Of course, no one ping-pong tournament is keeping employees from leaving. But the Montage is betting on visible, shared experiences as part of a broader culture strategy, one aimed at making employees feel connected to the company."
"The idea of hosting a recurring ping-pong tournament took some cajoling before the CFO was on board, Herthel admits. He first pitched the idea eight years ago after noticing employees who typically wouldn't interact playing ping pong at the corporate office. His fellow executives were “groaning and rolling their eyes” at his idea initially, he said."
"His breakthrough was tying the tournament to a budget line item Montage already had: its annual leadership summit. Rather than spend on nightly entertainment, the company could fold the tournament into the summit, building culture at roughly the same cost."
Nearly 300 Montage International employees gathered at a Deer Valley, Utah hotel for the biennial Compass Cup ping-pong tournament, following months of competition across 15 properties. Employees played through local brackets, and top players were flown to the finals, with former Olympians serving as referees. The event is positioned as a morale and culture investment during a period of benefit cuts and layoffs. Montage credits the tournament with producing low turnover, around 25% compared with hospitality turnover near 70%, and with improving recruiting. The tournament became feasible by tying it to an existing annual leadership summit budget line, avoiding additional entertainment spending while creating shared, visible experiences.
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