Name: Anthony Nardi
Title: Director of Employee Services
Company: Roskamp Sun Health
Years with company: 13
Years in current position: 13
Company established: 1998
Employees in AZ: 450
Employees in HR dept.: 4
www.rshaz.com
What does a carrot named Garrett have to do with attracting and retaining quality employees? Quite a bit at Roskamp Sun Health, a Surprise-based company that operates senior residential-care communities in northwest Phoenix.
Realizing that not all managers praise staff members for a job well done, Anthony Nardi — Roskamp’s director of employee services — developed a program called Carrot Culture. Employees who excel in their performance are praised and presented with a small stuffed carrot named Garrett that they can wear. Employees who receive the honor are given the opportunity to award a Garrett to another employee, who is singled out for recognition. Employees who receive a Garrett are inducted into the Carrot Culture Club. All Roskamp employees, from management to entry level, are eligible for the recognition.
Community residents, visitors or other employees also may nominate staff members for performance recognition in a Caught In the Act program. Employees are honored with a quarterly customer-service award, as well.
Among his many responsibilities, Nardi also gets residents involved in employee development. He coordinates a program in residents tutor employees in English and U.S. citizenship testing. Roskamp employees from Iraq, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, Jordan and Russia have benefited from the tutoring. Web-based training also helps employees grow professionally.
Roskamp visibly demonstrates work force diversity in the high number of women and minorities it employs. Diversity is celebrated in Food From Around the World events in which employees wear native dress, enact country dance themes and share their ethnic cultures.
Name: Elizabeth Tosh
Title: Human Resources Generalist for Arizona and New Mexico
Company: Diamond Resorts International
Years with company: 4
Years in current position: 4
Company established: 1994
No. of employees in AZ: 430
No. of employees in HR dept.: 2
www.diamondresorts.com
As a global hospitality company, Diamond Resorts International has a diverse customer base. That’s why diversity in its employee ranks is vital to providing quality customer service.
With Elizabeth Tosh serving as human resources generalist in Scottsdale, the Las Vegas-based company can boast a truly varied work force in Arizona. For example, an employee at one resort gift shop is more than 80 years old. She happily works alongside employees in their 20s. One of the company’s Arizona salespersons is deaf. She not only interacts efficiently with her co-workers, she also conducts sales tours in sign language for deaf guests.
With duties covering both Arizona and New Mexico, Tosh plays an active role in recruiting and retaining talented employees. She holds classes for managers and supervisors on how to effectively advertise, interview and retain high-quality staff. Knowing that great employees usually know other outstanding employees, Tosh makes sure Diamond Resorts’ staff members are aware of the company’s international employee referral program. She also directs employees to a variety of training programs offered by the company and conducts in-office training on a variety of topics.
Tosh works diligently to help employees understand they can grow professionally with Diamond Resorts and that she will assist them with changing positions or applying for a promotion.
Tosh also leads classes on the company’s benefits options and how employees can determine which package is best for them. In addition, she empowers managers to work with employees at times of illness or family-related issues when a leave of absence is needed.
