Motivation from Taj Incident
The Ordinary Heroes Of the Taj
How an Indian hotel chain’s organizational culture nurtured employees who were willing to risk their lives to save their guests by Rohit Deshpandé and Anjali Raina
PhotograPhy: getty Images
AbOve employees and guests of the taj mumbai hotel are rescued as fire engulfs the top floor on November 26, 2008.
On nOvember 26, 2008, Harish Manwani, chairman, and Nitin Paranjpe, CEO, of Hindustan Unilever hosted a dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai (Taj Mumbai, for short). Unilever’s directors, senior executives, and their spouses were bidding farewell to Patrick Cescau, the CEO, and welcoming Paul Polman, the CEO-elect. About 35 Taj Mumbai employees, led by a 24-year-old banquet manager, Mallika Jagad, were assigned to manage the event in a second-floor banquet room. Around 9:30, as they served the main course, they heard what they thought were fireworks at a nearby wedding. In reality, these were
the first gunshots from terrorists who were storming the Taj. The staff quickly realized something was wrong. Jagad had the doors locked and the lights turned off. She asked everyone to lie down quietly under tables and refrain from using cell phones. She insisted that husbands and wives separate to reduce the risk to families. The group stayed there all night, listening to the terrorists rampaging through the hotel, hurling grenades, firing automatic weapons, and tearing the place apart. The Taj staff kept calm, according to the guests, and constantly went around offering water and
December 2011 harvard business review 119
THe glObe
Seek fresh recruits rather than lateral hires. Hire from small towns and semiurban areas, not metros.
the taj approach to hr
reCruit from high schools and second-tier business schools rather than colleges and premier b-schools.
induCt managers who seek train workers for 18 a single-company career months, not just 12. and will be hands-on.
FoCuS more on hiring people with
How an Indian hotel chain’s organizational culture nurtured employees who were willing to risk their lives to save their guests by Rohit Deshpandé and Anjali Raina
PhotograPhy: getty Images
AbOve employees and guests of the taj mumbai hotel are rescued as fire engulfs the top floor on November 26, 2008.
On nOvember 26, 2008, Harish Manwani, chairman, and Nitin Paranjpe, CEO, of Hindustan Unilever hosted a dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai (Taj Mumbai, for short). Unilever’s directors, senior executives, and their spouses were bidding farewell to Patrick Cescau, the CEO, and welcoming Paul Polman, the CEO-elect. About 35 Taj Mumbai employees, led by a 24-year-old banquet manager, Mallika Jagad, were assigned to manage the event in a second-floor banquet room. Around 9:30, as they served the main course, they heard what they thought were fireworks at a nearby wedding. In reality, these were
the first gunshots from terrorists who were storming the Taj. The staff quickly realized something was wrong. Jagad had the doors locked and the lights turned off. She asked everyone to lie down quietly under tables and refrain from using cell phones. She insisted that husbands and wives separate to reduce the risk to families. The group stayed there all night, listening to the terrorists rampaging through the hotel, hurling grenades, firing automatic weapons, and tearing the place apart. The Taj staff kept calm, according to the guests, and constantly went around offering water and
December 2011 harvard business review 119
THe glObe
Seek fresh recruits rather than lateral hires. Hire from small towns and semiurban areas, not metros.
the taj approach to hr
reCruit from high schools and second-tier business schools rather than colleges and premier b-schools.
induCt managers who seek train workers for 18 a single-company career months, not just 12. and will be hands-on.
FoCuS more on hiring people with