Winner of Westin’s Associate Enrichment Challenge

Westin as a brand follows the philosophy of Wellness. Our focus is on creating an experience through our signature products and programs such as The Heavenly Bed, Heavenly Bath, SuperFoodRx and Heavenly Spa. As a brand, our belief is that wellness is not solely delivered through our programs, it is also experienced through individual associate interaction with our guests. To enable an associate to deliver the promise of wellness, it is important for them to understand and live through the wellness experience themselves. Starwood has introduced an initiative named “Associate Enrichment Program”. It is a worldwide challenge encouraging all Westin brands to create a program which focuses on Associate Enrichment with signature programs like SuperFoodRx, WestinWorkout and Purify.

At The Westin Mumbai Garden City, the Associate Enrichment Program has been driven by our Food & Beverage Manager, Surajit Chatterjee along with support from the General Manager, Lance Ourednik and the entire The Westin Mumbai Garden City team. We initiated ‘Super Fridays’, a unique concept of rejuvenation for our associates every week. We dedicated a day for enhancement of our associates covering the three core components, eat well, move well and breathe fresh air. This program included fun and interesting activities to inspire associate well being.

Eat Well with SuperFoodRx – ‘Refuel’ our dining venue for associate showcased SuperFood breakfast, lunch and dinner. SuperFoods inspired tea/coffee breaks for associates at Refuel. Our Associate Enrichment team also conducted ‘Welcome to Work’ activities at associate entrance once a fortnight.

Move Well and Get Workout at Work – We started Move Well with RunWestin, our signature program. A group of associates from all departments got together for jogging and stretching exercise early in the morning every fortnight. The day started with a quick power breathing session to help associates build focus and concentration. Department-head meetings, discovery and departmental meetings started with meditation and stretching exercises. Additionally, yoga classes were scheduled every Friday. Also on Fridays waste bins were removed from ‘Refuel’ to encourage the practice of no waste and ‘No Smoking’ days were initiated inside the hotel premises.

Take a Breath of Fresh Air - Air humidifier and detoxification plants were placed in Heart of House (HOH) areas to ensure the air is pure and fresh. These are maintained by the Engineering and Horticulture Teams. Water–sensors were used for HOH wash-basins and bathing facilities to conserve water. Health Magazines were placed in Refuel to bring health awareness amongst associates. A sports event was organized every month for associates like Ring Football, Badminton, Kho–Kho, Carrom, Chess, Cricket and Throw Ball.

Recently, The Westin Mumbai Garden City was selected as ‘Best in Class’ for Westin’s Associate Enrichment Challenge. We took the top prize for efforts in implementing the first three modules of WestinWORKOUT, SuperFoodsRX and Purify. We won the prize of $2,500.00 USD which will be used as donation in our hotel’s name to the charity of our choice. We thank our associates for being part of this program and adopting Westin wellness brand values within themselves.