I am a current associate with Marriott's Information Resources department based in Maryland. We were recently notified that 2 months after Mitt Romney rejoined the board that IR will be going through a "Transformation". This "transformation" will consist of Marriott "Sourcing" their IR labor with external vendors. In other words, there will be close to 1000 Maryland based IT jobs shipped overseas.
Obviously Mitt Romney has little to do with the day to day operations of Marriott but the bitter irony of his reunion with his mentor (Bill Marriott) and the news of our outsourcing is apparent. To not think that the board has an influence on the direction of the company is naive. Marriott has always prided itself on their motto "Take good care of your associates and your associates will take good care of your guests, and your guests will keep coming back again and again." It will not be long before there will be no more Associates to take care of the guests, they will all be vendors.
Marriott is adamantly anti-union, so we have little recourse for this action other than to pull a work action. This will be almost impossible to pull off in secret with 100% participation. They had to tell us of their plans early as you can not fire 1000 IR employees and replace them with vendors on the fly, there's too much knowledge transfer that needs to take place. So we do have some time but not much.
See below for the e-mail that I have sent out to all General Managers, Franchise owners, board members and as much media as I can think of. Any assistance or guidance would be appreciated.
If you feel so inclined feel free to email:
Arne.Sorenson@Marriott.com (President and CEO)
Bruce.Hofffmeister@marriott.com (Global CIO)
and let them know that you will be taking your business elsewhere as a result of this action
lrobbins@gazette.net (Lindsey Robbins,Business reporter,The Gazette)
and ask her to publish the story that she is working on about this news.
Feel free to follow along on twitter @Moutsourced
Thanks
Good Day,
I am writing to inform you that Marriott is in the process of outsourcing most if not all of the Information Resources Department. I am an employee of this department and as a Marriott Associate and stockholder, I am concerned about the effects that this will have. You may or may not have been made aware of this decision but I felt it was my duty to inform the major stakeholders of our services to my view of the effects of this decision. I could not sit idly by and watch this happen without speaking up. I write this anonymously as I am still employed and feel that there may be repercussions if I use my real name.
1. Marriott's Information Resources will no longer be majority staffed by Marriott Associates
Why does this matter?
Marriott Associates in Information Resources all have a vested interest in our success. Most of us are stock holders who want nothing more than to see the company succeed. Many of us have worked our way up through the ranks, coming from Marriott Hotels to Marriott Information Resources. We know what it is like to be a Front Desk person with 30 people checking in when your computers go down or you can no longer print or your network fails. A vendor will never have this understanding or knowledge. The new outsourced providers will be operating off of a "Knowledge Base" system. IE: "If this is broken do that....Did that fix your problem? Step 2." Marriott's Information Resources Associates have the history and experience to quickly diagnose problems, saving our customers valuable "Down Time".
2. Marriott is losing decades of valuable Marriott experience
Why does this matter?
We are being told that one of the reasons that this decision is being made is because we need faster speed to market for our services. Hotels and Marriott in particular are not a "Cookie Cutter" operation. The knowledge of Marriott's systems and history is imperative in moving this company forward. Adding new vendors and new layers to our department will defeat that purpose, not enhance it. We outsourced the development of CI and that took over a decade. We have outsourced the attempts to move PMS above property and that has never been realized. Yet this is the model that is being chosen to base all of Information Resources. More outsourcing and more vendors.
3. This has been tried before with disastrous results by our competitors
Hilton completed a transformation in 2011 and their CIO was soon replaced and the contracts with the vendor was cancelled. They ended up having to re-hire as many employees as they could. We know that this was a disaster because Marriott now has a lot of former Hilton Associates who have let us know how much of a disaster it was. Hilton chose IBM for their outsourcer and Marriott is choosing Xerox as well as IBM and others.
In all total Marriott may end up with a half dozen outsourced providers. If you think there are some issues with finding a stakeholder for a specific application now, wait till that happens. Here's a view from one of IBM's former employees:
http://www.cringely.com/...
"Former IBM Employee says:
June 15, 2012 at 1:34 am
I used to work on a lot of outsourcing jobs for IBM, particularly in server and storage management. Although the “billable hours” mindset and foreign labor issues are important, the more immediate issue is having a competent staff in the first place.
Although IBM has a lot of warm bodies, the simple fact of the matter is that IBM does not have enough competent staff to deliver on all its outsourcing contracts. When I left the company a few years ago, there were just a handful of people (I was one) that were capable of implementing, configuring and troubleshooting a SAN. Most people within the company at the time had no idea what a SAN was, and probably still wouldn’t know today.
Server and database management is in a similar position. In order to adequately monitor a database, you need to know what parts of the database to monitor, how to set it all up, and an action plan when the monitoring detects a problem. IBM has the tools, but it does not have the depth within its outsourcing staff to adequately implement and utilize them. The needed skills in database and systems management are simply not there in sufficient quantity.
In most companies, this level of competency is ingrained in its employees using formal training classes, plus supplemental learning in test labs as well as on-the-job training.
At the time I left the company, the only training that IBM was offering to the outsourcing staff were basic project management courses. The test labs were being disbanded, with equipment (servers, workstations, etc.) either being sent to India or sold on the open market. Some items like SAN switches and storage devices never really existed in quantity — the management didn’t want to spend the money.
To add insult to injury, IBM outsourcing employees no longer had access to IBM’s software collection. Software products like AIX, DB2, Tivoli and Websphere were once easily down-loadable by employees for internal use. At the time I left, this access was disabled. In order to get this software, you had to requisition the software via official requisition channels, and provide a funding source. That’s right — IBM outsourcing employees had to BUY the software just like any customer.
So when I hear about customers dumping IBM for stuff like not monitoring the servers or performing the backups properly, I’m utterly saddened but not a bit surprised. This outcome was baked into the cake long ago. Although it’s tempting to blame the problems on H1Bs or laying off workers or whatever, the customers are leaving for a much simpler reason. All too often, IBM is proving itself to be incompetent to perform the work for which it has signed up."
For a glimpse of how Xerox conducts business, feel free to look here:
http://www.computerworld.com/...
Xerox is one of the largest outsourcing providers in the world after purchasing ACS. ACS and IBM have a history of working together for the Indiana Welfare system. The hybrid provider failed. IBM ended up getting fired and suing.
http://www.nuvo.net/...
"Failed IBM deal could still cost millions
Remember that deal Gov. Mitch Daniels made with IBM to privatize welfare administration? The one that, despite ending up a total disaster riddled with waste and mismanagement, was costing the state millions each month?
Angela Mapes Turner, at Fort Wayne's Journal Gazette, revealed Sunday that IBM has continued to bill the state of Indiana since Oct. 15, when it was announced the contract would terminated. The bill since then? Another $125 million.
In today's Journal Gazette:
It took a public records request from The Journal Gazette to determine IBM has billed the state for $125 million since the deal was canceled.
IBM is one of two private-sector partners in the contract with Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration. [...] The claims include $43 million for an annual “deferred fee,” $40 million in payments to subcontractors, $8.1 million for computer hardware and $1.2 million for furniture."
http://www.wthr.com/...
Former ACS workers highlight call center problems
"Indianapolis - The cost of privatizing Indiana's welfare system has jumped more than $180 million on top of the original $1 billion price tag. The money will pay for new programs and ongoing problems. Former employees say it's going to take more than money, manpower and some proposed policies to get a major contractor in line.
Hired to take client calls, two professionals in two different Indiana cities, unknown to each other tell similar stories to 13 Investigates.
"Your job is to get the people off the phone," said Angie Kennaugh, former ACS employee. "The people running the call center came from Sprint and Taco Bell. They had absolutely no experience at all whatsoever."
"We don't call back because we're not getting paid for it," said George Thompson, former ACS employee. "The training was very substandard."
George Thompson is a former employee at a wireless telephone call center in Anderson. Angie Kennaugh worked at the Grant County FSSA call center in Marion.
But it turns out they share the same boss - an out of state contractor making millions here in Indiana.
"That was all ACS doing that," Kennaugh said.
"It's just about ACS making money," said Thompson. "And that's what they do, they make money."
To get a view of the employees who will be supporting your systems after this transformation you need to look no further than those that currently work there or who are lending advice for job seekers. These are the people who will be supporting your systems instead of dedicated Marriott Associates.The turnover rate alone should be a cause for alarm.
Updated Feb 3, 2013 – Reviews are posted anonymously by employees.
Employees are “Dissatisfied” 605 ratings
“Run away. Don't look back.”
Current Customer Care Assistant in Lexington, KY – Reviewed Dec 27, 2012
Pros – Unlimited overtime. That is it.
Cons – Hostile work environment. Health insurance they had to get a waiver from the government before they could offer it to us. Four weeks of "training". . . then put on the floor and had no idea what to do. However, we were expected to know everything and know it perfectly or we got chewed out. Just walking in there was depressing. Employees were unhappy and it was evident. Employees openly aggressive with trainers. I couldn't handle the negative atmosphere and left after 5 weeks.
Advice to Senior Management – All the reviews I have read have been basically the same no matter what location they originate from. The problem with ACS (Xerox, whatever.) is it's leadership. Until the companies antiquated leadership is overhauled, it will continue to be the pit where souls go to die."
http://www.glassdoor.com/...
4. We are being told that we will be treated with dignity during this process, yet that is not the case.
We will be forced to train the people that will be taking our jobs. If we refuse to do this then we will more than likely be fired and lose any opportunity at a severance package. There is no dignity in this.
5. This decision shows a lack of creativity.
Information Resources is filled with the most innovative and experienced hospitality technicians in the world. This resource is not being tapped, in order to save a buck. There is nothing that this department is not capable of doing and to be told that this is our only option is insulting. The IR restructure is only being undertaken because it is a cookie cutter option that was provided by Hilton and the state of Indiana among other companies that have outsourced. The employees of IR were never approached with the opportunity to take pay cuts, if necessary and to create the services and applications that are desired. This is the department that built Marriott's programs and infrastructure from the ground up. Who is better suited for this opportunity?
6. Lessons Not Learned
If you would like to see the future of this endeavor, then you need to look no further than Marriott's outsourcing of Desktop Support. Ask your Associates how happy they are to have to call Desktop Support today. Their only hope is to get to Desktop Supports Tier 2 department which is staffed by the Marriott Associates who made it through that outsourcing. If you are lucky enough to get to Tier 2, then your problems will be fixed. As proof that this has been a failure, the company that now provides Marriott's Desktop Support (A provider based in India), is being fired. Marriott is going to try again with another company. In the meantime, your Associates waste valuable company time trying to work through their desktop issues and this is for products and services that are "Off The Shelf",Windows, Office, Printing etc. When Marriott outsources IR they will be outsourcing Marriott specific products and services. Walk down to any Marriott computer room and you will quickly learn that there is no "Off The Shelf" solution for IR.
7. This is Dangerous!
How?
Information Security is becoming as important if not more important than physical security in this digital age. We are being told that Security will not be outsourced at this time but that is not a guarantee. More importantly, security is more than a single department. Every day, Information Resources comes in contact with information (credit cards, Names, Addresses, PCI, Proprietary) that is extremely valuable. If these services are outsourced, this information will be accessible and controlled by outside vendors with no vested interest in Marriott and no history of knowing what can go wrong if it falls into the wrong hands.
As an addendum, Marriott's Security Department didn't exist not too long ago. This was something that was built and is staffed by Marriott associates who had the desire to build something new and took it upon themselves to learn a new skill set. This wasn't outsourced and beset by failures and delays. The associates formed a functional service that is maintaining Marriott's security today.
8. Saving Money?
Another reason we are told that this is being done is to save money. Marriott's IR has ventured into numerous projects that cost millions of dollars and went nowhere. Above Property PMS is a project that has gone nowhere but has cost millions of dollars and is another example of waste that was passed on to our customers. Consolidated Inventory is a project that has taken over a decade, cost millions of dollars and has caused headaches for it's customers as well as those that support it. Sales Force One has caused former owners of hotels to sue based on the Sales Team Outsourcing to centralized systems instead of the face to face contact that Marriott was known for. The Gaylord acquisition almost failed when a group of stockholders cited many things including Sales Force One as an issue. Marriott and IR need to look at these and other wasteful projects that have not been fully vetted or requested by our properties or their owners as cost cutting initiatives.
9. Marriott should not be talking about the need to grow our economy and then be responsible for shipping jobs overseas at the same time. This takes money directly out of the hands of American workers and in doing so, out of the American economy. This sends mixed signals to the shareholders as well as our customers. This is not the kind of publicity that we need.
Lastly, as a Marriott Associate, I am not happy with the prospect of losing my job. However, that is not my purpose for this letter. I will be fine as will most of my other Associates. We have transferable skills and experience, but we also love this company. This is not something that you will find at many companies today and is just as valuable as the knowledge and experience that is being shown the door. We genuinely want Marriott to succeed and we have shown that day in and day out. We have given up Holiday's and Birthday Parties for our children in order to serve Marriott and our property's. We have stayed up overnights making sure that all property's, just like yours, stay up and ready to serve your customers. Leading up to Y2K, we worked around the clock making sure Marriott would stay up and connected. After 9/11, we worked tirelessly to rebuild everyone affected. Every storm, every hurricane, every power outage, every innovation, Information Resources and the Marriott Associates who staff it have gone above and beyond what was expected and this only comes from a Marriott Associate. Associates who care about their company. This is going to be replaced before the end of this year and I am sad to see this happen because Marriott and their customers deserve better.
Regards,
A Concerned Marriott Information Resources Employee