1. Empowerment isn’t a buzzword at Omni — it’s the whole strategy

One of Joy’s proudest accomplishments? Relaunching "The Power of One," Omni’s cornerstone service philosophy. The idea is simple: every single associate has the authority and responsibility to make decisions that benefit the guest.

“You don’t need permission. If you see it, you own it. Do what’s thoughtful and caring. Put the guest first.”

After briefly being replaced by a generic employee brand, Joy brought The Power of One back with three simple principles, rewritten by a cross-functional team:

• Do what’s thoughtful and caring
• Put guests first
• You see it, you own it

And they didn't stop at slogans. They trained every associate, created storytelling rituals, and embedded it in the bonus structure. When they surveyed associates on empowerment, they scored 93% company-wide, and 97% from managers.

2. Culture change starts with operations

When Joy needed to relaunch service training across 8,500 associates, she didn’t ask HR to lead it. She asked: who are the most respected operators in the business? Who do people actually want to learn from?

Then she paired those ops leaders with a professional writer, ran focus groups to test the material, piloted the program, and brought 90 trainers to Dallas for a week-long deep dive.

“Nobody wants HR to go out and train on service. That’s why we asked: who do people follow? Who do they trust?”

The result? The Power of Engagement. An eight-week training focused on how to connect with guests, resolve issues, and handle complaints in a high-touch, Omni way.

3. Want your culture work to stick? Do the political calculus

Joy made it clear: great HR leaders are great operators. And that means thinking like a strategist.

When she rejoined Omni, she didn’t start with an HR agenda. She asked: who do I need to sell? What do I need to tweak to make this work for Ops, F&B, and the field?

“I always do the political calculus. Who will help me implement this? Whose support do I need? Who do I need to win over?”

Before launching any new program, she gathered cross-functional feedback, found her allies, and made sure every proposal came with proof that the business was bought in.

4. HR makes culture real

Joy doesn’t believe culture belongs to HR. But she does believe HR has a unique role in bringing it to life — not by owning it, but by operationalizing it.

“Culture has to be owned by the business — not just by HR. But it’s our job to make sure it sticks.”

For Joy, that means embedding culture into systems, rituals, and incentives. It means training the right people, telling the right stories, and making sure every initiative passes one test:

“Is this the best thing for Omni? If it’s not, we don’t do it.”

When culture lives everywhere, HR stops being the driver — and starts being the force that keeps it moving.

5. Find your mantra, and make it your north star

Whether it was “Lose Less” during COVID, “Deliver More” post-COVID, or “Elevate Service” during their training relaunch, Omni always had a rally cry.

“When people came in with a project, we asked one thing: does it elevate service? No? Push it to next year.”

Those mantras shaped decision-making, created urgency, and helped the whole company focus. They weren’t branding exercises. They were strategy.

Want to build a culture like Omni’s?

• Start with empowerment
• Build with your operators
• Create moments that stick
• Rally people with simple, clear mantras

And never underestimate the power of one.

Thanks for reading. See you next time!

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