Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton PMOLink - New Orleans ...
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton PMOLink - New Orleans ...
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton PMOLink - New Orleans ...
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Photo by Frank Aymami<br />
Mixing some fun into their work day, Hilton <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> Riverside employees jump on one of the hotel room beds. From left: Laundry worker Yolanda Cardriche, Desantos Manning of guest services,<br />
executive Christian Hernandez, culinary worker Pamela Jackson and front office employee Tangelique Riley.<br />
F O U R - T I M E H O N O R E E<br />
Hilton <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
Riverside<br />
Mardi Gras is a massive exercise in abandon<br />
for visitors and locals. But for <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
hotel staffs, it can be an extraordinary logistical<br />
challenge. Just ask Vickie Christen.<br />
“Whenever we have a big event like that, the<br />
excitement level could not be higher. And we<br />
suddenly find ourselves almost working in a<br />
frenzy,” said Christen, executive assistant to<br />
the area director of human resources at the<br />
Hilton <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> Riverside.<br />
“Everyone in the hotel during those times<br />
works particularly hard,” Christen said. “But<br />
for our department, it means hiring many<br />
new employees, quite a few new people coming<br />
in all at once needing ID cards and lockers.<br />
Just a bunch of things going on all at the<br />
same time.”<br />
While not everyone might appreciate such<br />
frenzy, Christen said she enjoys the energy and<br />
excitement of the annual blowout. It makes her<br />
appreciate where she works.<br />
“It really tests us when it comes to our mission<br />
of providing the best service that we can<br />
for our guests. And I like that.”<br />
Christen, who started at the Hilton<br />
Riverside in the late 1980s, said the staff’s<br />
devotion to customer service still inspires her<br />
after all these years.<br />
“There is just a general feeling that we are all<br />
working together and trying to make our guests<br />
have as good a stay here as possible,” she said.<br />
“We even, on a regular basis, go out on the floor<br />
and mingle with the guests, making sure they<br />
are happy. And when they are, I feel good about<br />
what we’re doing.”<br />
Reginald Smith, a shipping and receiving<br />
clerk for the hotel, likes the sense of camaraderie<br />
inspired at the Hilton from the top<br />
down.<br />
“This is a very busy part of the hotel,” Smith<br />
said. “We always have all kinds of food and<br />
alcohol deliveries coming in, as well as our<br />
guest packages, all the different truck lines<br />
coming through here. But no matter how busy<br />
Nature of business: hotel/hospitality<br />
Where based: <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
Employees: 722<br />
Average starting salary: $22,880 for hourly employees,<br />
$35,000 for salaried workers<br />
Median salary: $26,000 for hourly employees, $40,000 for<br />
salaried workers<br />
Average employment time: 10 years<br />
Benefits: health care with 70 percent coverage, dental, vision<br />
and prescription plans, unmarried partner benefits, 401(k) with<br />
5 percent match, continuing education program, relocation<br />
assistance, telecommuting, flexible hours, employee recognition<br />
program, subsidized meals<br />
Wait time for benefits: none<br />
Paid days off: 28<br />
Web site: www.hilton.com<br />
it gets, the people who work with you here are<br />
respectful, everyone is on a first-name basis.<br />
And that makes a difference.”<br />
Robert Reso, who has been with the Hilton<br />
for 21 years, credits the hotel for its policy of<br />
promoting people from within.<br />
“I’m a good example of that,” said Reso, who<br />
is assistant director of sales for the Hilton but<br />
previously worked as a bar back before holding<br />
a variety of positions in the food and beverage<br />
divisions as well as convention services.<br />
“You never feel that you are stuck at any one<br />
level,” Reso said. “And that’s something I have<br />
always enjoyed. If you want to move up, this is<br />
the place to do it.”•<br />
— Garry Boulard<br />
December 14, 2009 25