April 26, 2020 Marriott & People Centered Innovation

Marriott International CEO, Arne Sorenson’s video to Marriott employees, shareholders, and customers has been widely praised as a model of how brands and leaders should respond in difficult times—with humility, authenticity, and a people-centric approach. Consistent with that, Marriott is doing all they can to help furloughed workers affected by the crisis. 

One way they’re doing this is by aggregating a group of online resources for workers—websites and platforms where they can learn new skills, practice and improve, and potentially earn some income. Topcoder is honored to be part of this group, and we’ve launched a microsite for Marriott workers. 

On the site, Marriott workers can explore different areas of the Topcoder community— including design, coding, and predictive algorithms. Webinars from the Topcoder team and top community members offer a chance to learn or hone a new skill. Topcoder’s education and learning center, Thrive, offers videos, tutorials, blog posts, and articles, and workers can get on-the-ground experience through participating on projects to learn a new skill first-hand. 

Tough times challenge us to rise to the occasion, and Marriott’s willingness to innovate and partner with platforms like Topcoder, to offer their employees new ways to stay productive and perhaps even gain new skills, shows remarkable leadership.

We’re proud to partner with Marriott in this effort to offer value and resources to their community during difficult, unprecedented times. Marriott will no doubt continue to lead as we emerge from the pandemic, and stand as a true example of values-driven, people-centered innovation.