This hospitality services company has long been famed for the flexibility it offers its hourly employees—everything from compressed workweeks for hotel staffers to at-home jobs for those in customer service. What’s less well known is the range of career development initiatives it offers such workers, who benefit from 10,000 job-related courses and at least 40 hours of training annually. For some, getting hired has been transformative: “Marriott has not just given me a job,” says Anita Tela, a housekeeping supervisor in Towson, MD, and mom of six. “It’s helped me move up the ladder by sending me to trainings and workshops, and provided opportunities for professional growth.” Employees meet with their supervisors twice a year to discuss the details of their career plans, and there’s a specialized management-track program that helps hourly workers advance. Anyone who puts in 30 hours per week is eligible for $2,000 in annual tuition aid, but there’s no such hourly requirement if their kids want to apply for Marriott’s school scholarships, which average $3,721 apiece. Little ones love the newly expanded and renovated child-care center available at headquarters, which provides reduced tuition; in other cities, local day cares may waive their enrollment fees or offer special rates.

Hourly Workers 87%

Chairman & CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr.

Executive VP, Global HR David Rodriguez

Female hourly workers 55%

Work hours required for family health insurance 30

Job skills training during work hours for hourly workers Yes

Encourage breaks so nursing moms can breast-pump Yes

Average annual paid time off taken by hourly workers 15 days

Minimum job-guaranteed maternity leave offered to hourly workers 12 weeks

Minimum paid maternity leave offered to hourly workers 6 weeks at partial pay