This article first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read other articles, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats
On 1 December 2014, Orland Ashford joined Holland America Line (HAL) from talent, health, retirement and investment consultants Mercer, where he was president of the Talent Business Segment.
Within days he was on his first cruise, of which he comments: “It was absolutely tremendous and I fell in love with the HAL experience, energy, culture and service levels.” In his new role Ashford will oversee sales and marketing, revenue management, deployment and itinerary planning, public relations, hotel operations and strategy. He reports to Stein Kruse, CEO of the Holland America Group.
Ashford says: “It is an honour and a privilege to take on something like this.” It is clear from the outset that he brings with him some serious skill sets that will take HAL to the next level. “Creating the guest experiences and culture in the company is all about human capital. My expertise is in giving Holland America a competitive advantage and more than our fair share of the appropriate talent for delivering a wonderful experience for our guests.”
He acknowledges the talent already existing in the 16,000-strong workforce and says he is “impressed and amazed” by the number of staff who have dedicated their working lives to the brand. What he now wants to do is augment this by having “role clarity and putting the right butts in the right seats”. As the company grows, its ability to attract talent and hence create the “wonderful culture” necessary to compete against other brands is key.
“The future proof and success of Holland America is through our people because that is the most difficult to replicate, to have got in place,” he says. “I think there are 16,000 people who understand the cruise industry better than me. There is a lot of detail that comes into delivering a ship and creating a world-class product. My job is not to out-detail but to paint a picture before taking an asset and making it better.”
In his recently-published book Talentism, Ashford talks about the global disconnect between available jobs and the 202 million people worldwide who are seeking employment. “Organisations are struggling to find talent. I believe that there is an inefficient filtering process which makes it difficult to find those people. Our traditional model of a 45-minute interview has proven to be inefficient so technology promises to be a more efficient filtering system.”
In this respect he says: “I can envision a time with smartphones where we will be pinged against opportunities.” And that is perhaps just for starters. He talks about the company that came up with facial recognition at airports following 9/11 and how something similar could be used as an online lie detector or even to detect health issues such as Parkinson’s disease.
Today this type of technology can be used to assess not only how you answer a question but also the way you answer that question, says Ashford – in other words, how clear an interviewee is and also how honest he or she is being. Psychometric tests and online interviews can all be part of the mix.
He says that in one project where vacancies in four hospitals were filled using a variety of such systems, including collecting data through social media, manpower turnover was reduced between 47% and 56%. It is easy to see how attractive this would be if it were replicated in HAL’s large international workforce. Just identifying those people who are “wired to leave the family and join a ship” would be a large part of the “perfect fit” he is talking about.
Some of today’s technologies, Ashford says, allow for more access than was possible in the past. “What will be exciting is an open global market where the best talent can be put against the best jobs. And I want more than my fair share of that for Holland America. I think the world is going more and more flat, for sure, with people travelling to jobs but also technology allowing you to do jobs more remotely.” He notes that leveraging particular skills will certainly be very much in his own back yard when his two sons, currently nine and 14, both of whom speak Spanish and Mandarin and have lived in Tokyo, start to seek employment.
While cruise is about “moving and connecting with different cultures”, Ashford has done his own fair share of globetrotting, having previously been group director of human resources for 90 countries in Eurasia and Africa for the Coca-Cola Company.
Turning to the fleet that is now his responsibility, Ashford discusses the company’s newbuild, the 2,650-passenger, 99,500gt Koningsdam, which was very much beyond starter’s orders when he joined. However, he has been sitting with the team and going through plans since his arrival, and “putting a thumb-print on what is happening”. Conceptually he says the brand wants to maintain the HAL experience which people have to come know and trust – the timeless elegance – but also wants to “modernise it for our future guests as we evolve forwards.” In this respect Koningsdam will be a tangible element.
This first Pinnacle-class vessel is due for delivery from Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in February 2016. In December a second in class was ordered for delivery in November 2018. These new assets will further clarify the HAL brand and brand story.
Since taking on his new role, Ashford says many of his friends and family have been eager to engage him in conversation about cruising. He tells them that, whilst he would love them to travel on HAL when ready, his advice is that they need to be clear about the experience they want in order that they can be positioned with the right brand.
He says he recognises the love people have for the HAL brand and how many spend years connecting with the crew, the other guests and the ships. “This is a personal extension of many of our guests’ lives,” he says. And indeed, this may be a contributor to the fact that more than half of HAL’s guests are repeat cruisers.
Whilst the brand’s target market is primarily North America and thereafter the UK and Australia, he says the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany “also have enormous potential as we get really clear with our brand message and how we get that across”. To do this the company is leveraging expertise and resources locally on the ground, according to Ashford. “How to make the brand relevant in different parts of the world is absolutely part of our strategy,” he says.
Acknowledging the growth potential of the Asian market, he points to sister brands, such as Princess Cruises, being more present there at the moment. But he remarks: “We do have Asians cruise with us and as those cruising numbers expand we expect to see an increase in our bookings. We will grow into that in time.”
Part of HAL’s appeal and what its guests are looking for is in the global deployment and itineraries. This year 415 ports in 98 countries on seven continents make up the mix. While the cost of fuel may be lower at present, this does not mean HAL is resting on its laurels when it comes to fuel efficiencies. Ashford points out: “We cannot relax as what goes up must come down and vice versa.”
And of course this is a significant contributor to revenue management. “It is a balance of looking at all the itineraries which customers are interested in, the things we can offer that they enjoy and pay money for, and being efficient with our spend so we continue to give value,” he explains. “We provide a wonderful experience for guests but we must make it cost effective and so keep prices reasonable, which is one of the reasons people are attracted to cruising.”
When it comes to protecting the planet, Ashford says HAL is committed to responsible environmental practices. “We have a comprehensive fleetwide programme of recycling and waste disposal. We are compliant with all international guidelines and have a sustainability report available online.”
In addition, parent Carnival Corporation’s US$400m investment to add exhaust gas cleaning technology to over 70 vessels across the brands includes nine in the HAL fleet. “It is a win-win. We protect the environment but also being more efficient and cost effective helps us with money and pricing.”
Coming to his new role with fresh eyes, he says there are some assets which are exciting to work with, such as the dedicated employees and the company’s 140-year history. “That is a rare brand asset. It is really exciting stuff and a very exciting time for Holland America. The opportunity is to leverage the product and enhance what our guests have come to love over 140 years, while giving it an appropriate modern twist for the future.”
He is clearly looking forward to seeing the results of this endeavour. “I expect growth and a lot of upsides for Holland America over the next five years. I think the future is really bright.” It is obvious that a major part of this will be in continuing to retain the good people it has, while attracting the right talent and creating the right jobs to attain his vision of the “wonderful Holland America experience.”