Hilton has earned a 100 score on the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN®’s Disability Equality Index for the third year in a row. We are proud to be recognized as one of the “2024 Best Places to Work for People with Disabilities.” This recognition illustrates our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace for all, including individuals with disabilities. In this blog, we highlight one initiative that brings this commitment to life – Human Resource Director at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Minneapolis Airport, Lauren Cotner, and her property’s partnership with Project SEARCH.
Lauren collaborates with Project SEARCH to prepare individuals with disabilities for the workforce through internships. This initiative fills critical hotel roles, boosts team morale, and improves community engagement. Keep reading to hear how this partnership extends beyond the hotel to inclusive practices, ensuring Hilton thrives as a welcoming and supportive workplace for all.
Meet Lauren
“As the Human Resources (HR) Director at Embassy Suites Minneapolis, I oversee all HR functions for the hotel. I am the sole HR representative, so I manage recruiting, employee relations, training, and all other aspects of human resources. Working closely with Team Members across departments in our smaller hotel, I ensure a hands-on approach to fostering a supportive and productive work environment.”
What is Project SEARCH?
“Project SEARCH started at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center when an emergency room nurse recognized the opportunity to hire the individuals with disabilities they were already serving. The program was created to hire for positions within the hospital and has grown to be a nationwide initiative. Project SEARCH offers a 9-month internship that integrates classroom learning with on-site job training. Interns spend mornings and afternoons in classrooms and the remainder of their day in various hotel departments, rotating through three areas to gain experience in independent tasks and training. Upon completion, they graduate from transition school fully prepared for the workforce!”
How has this partnership with Project SEARCH influenced your hotel and the development of your Team Members?
“This program tremendously impacts our team and hotel, boosting morale across the board. Our staff actively engages with our interns. For example, one of our engineers regularly shares lunches with Riley, an intern, bonding over discussions about the Minnesota Vikings. Our team enjoyed their time with the interns so much that we decided to do a community event for those with disabilities. Each Halloween, we host a sensory-friendly trick-or-treating event at the hotel, providing a safe, enjoyable experience for children with disabilities. Project SEARCH interns contribute by decorating and volunteering at the event.
We have also noticed career advances in those who directly mentor and train our interns. As they have trained these interns, they have gained valuable skills for mentoring in their department. These Team Members are also the first to advocate for hiring interns in lower-level positions, and now, most of them make all the hiring decisions in their departments.
This program has also allowed us to build a strong connection with our local schools. The team at Bloomington Transition Center has created a program for students who are not quite ready for or not yet interested in Project SEARCH. We plan to partner with them to host reverse job fairs where local companies, including us, will go to each student and interview them. This program will help build our pipeline for more Project SEARCH interns in the future and will allow us to hire anyone who may be ready for employment now directly.”
Can you share personal anecdotes or stories highlighting the positive outcomes or meaningful experiences of your collaboration with Project SEARCH?
“One of my favorite stories is from our first year when we had a gentleman named Hampton. He loved Pepsi products. We have always only sold Coke at the hotel, but he said if he was going to do Project SEARCH, he needed Pepsi products at the hotel. Our team came together and made it happen! Hampton got a Pepsi daily during his internship, and we still sell Pepsi products because of him.
A couple of weeks ago, one of our interns visited us to ask for references. We found out he has joined a college program, is graduating next year, and is starting to search for a job. He thanked us for everything and acknowledged that it helped him immensely when transitioning into this independent college program!”
Hilton is committed to creating a welcoming home through initiatives like Project SEARCH. Our efforts towards an inclusive workplace are represented in our perfect score on the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN®’s Disability Equality Index.
