From the 2025 Fortune Best Companies to Work For, I chose Hilton, Delta Air Lines, and The Cheesecake Factory to analyze in relation to our MGMT 453 class.
At Hilton, employees boast about the extensive training programs, opportunities for growth within the company, and of course, the perks associated with hotel discounts. The HR team at Hilton is clearly hitting at least 3 of the 11 HR functional areas-training and development, workforce planning, and employee benefits. They also appear to be utilizing a HRM strategy: “Fit with Organizational Capabilities” because they focus on building employee skills that can carry to different roles within the company.
For Delta Air Line employees, they particularly appreciate the inclusivity, work-life balance, and recognition programs. The fact that inclusivity is one of the reasons why employees like working here shows a well-suited HR department that cares about the functional area of managing diversity. Work-life balance relates to HR’s role in benefits and overall employee well-being, which is something that has been more important societally since COVID. The recognition programs fall under performance management and is a great way to create engagement within a company.
Lastly, The Cheesecake Factory’s employees point out that they enjoy the team like culture, recognition, and opportunities to move up in the company. Turnover is restaurants is a huge problem and so The Cheesecake Factory uses recognition and engagement to create a positive work environment and keep their employees motivated.
The kind of manager I would want to be is one who really cares about their employees. I would make work-life balance, diversity, and training & development my priorities. I believe that people will come to work more creative and with more energy if they had a good work-life balance. I believe that diversity enhances the work environment by having a variety of perspectives on hand. And, I believe that training & development is crucial to having a successful team. I think the biggest challenge overall in being a manager is the human aspect of, “You can’t make everyone happy.” All people have different opinions on what makes them feel appreciated, motivated, and happy so it’s a fine balance to satisfy everybody.