Tax cuts announced yesterday was real good news for many sectors and companies. But there is also the fact that a number of companies in Turkey can keep carrying on whereas other firms are in constant need of government help. Here’s an example:
For the last 25 years, I stay at the same holiday resort in Fethiye on Republic Day. I was there on the day when the resort welcomed its first guests and I have always been there each year on the last day of the season. Not just me, but my children too practically grew up there. We made a lot real friends from Turkey as well as other countries. The reason why I call them real friends is because in this resort everyone stays stripped from any sort title s/he is given in the outer world. From former bureaucrats to top executives, great athletes to artists, business people to opinion leaders, this resort has been home each and every one of them for the summer. There is no competition between them. Neither their income level nor any other criteria… Everyone is equal. People wait in line together to get lunch or dinner, exercises together, make good conversation, and look after other guests’ kids as if they were their own.
This is what makes our bond tighter and more sincere. Sometimes employers come across by chance their employees vacationing in the resort and find the chance to have a friendly conversation, an opportunity they can’t possibly find in the workplace. They can even watch a sports game side by side. Managers of the resort are trying to make the place more comfortable each year without turning it into a luxury den. But first they ways invest in people, especially their employees.
“You want feel good or privileged?”
Interestingly, people who would normally feel quite “special” in another holiday resort, they prefer to be like sugar that melts in a hot cup of tea whenever they stay here, for the following reasons: Managers believe hey should wait at least ten year before they go for a staff change, including the newest employees. Each year, guests can find to chance to interact with the same old resort personnel for whom they developed a sense of connection over the years. Staff, on the other hand, remembers who is who as well every detail about the preferences or likes of each guest. Also, resort reservation office books to their guest the same or adjacent rooms they are used to stay each holiday. Although not quite luxurious, the rooms are going through a process of digital transformation and capable of meeting guests’ every need.
Twice a week, managers gather with all staff, including housekeepers, gardeners, entertainment team, cooks and waiters, and introduce each and every one of them to the guests. They make their employees feel special. Here’s a more interesting detail: They are not organized hierarchically. They rather prefer the Network style, which means every employee becomes more valuable as long as they do their jobs right. They are reviewed and evaluated by being given the freedom to take initiative. Accordingly, the responsibilities are not shared only among top managers but also with employees at every level. The important thing here is not person who does the job but the quality of the job that is being carried out. Sometimes problems arise like in everywhere else which is only natural. And the staff receive this feedback directly from the guests. To fix the problems, managers usually prefer making surveys, talking directly to guests or conducting small interviews with guests’ children.
All these efforts result in an international guests flow into the resort, creating a significant amount of foreign-currency earning activities with high added value. Although the resort does not use the “all inclusive” system, it can create added value without offering expensive products and services.
I thought to myself that there must be a very few companies in real sector that operates like this resort does. If we can manage to build 100 more companies like this, which is taught as a “success story” in Harvard University, I think Turkey would finally achieve the prosperity it deserves.
I would like to once again congratulate the owners and managers of such wonderful place and wish them every success in their future endeavours. I did not mention any names as I wanted the resort remain anonymous. But I can guess that some of you know perfectly well the place I am talking about. For those who have no idea, with a little research, you can find out this place and the persons who manage it so diligently. Discovery always wins, never fails.
