“Psychologists and human resources professionals each strive toward building organizational culture and fostering workplaces that are appealing to both existing employees and outside talent,” according to a 2023 article on Indeed.com. “Industrial-organizational psychology is a subfield of psychology in which professionals study human behavior in the workplace. Researchers in this field focus their efforts on understanding the principles of behavior on an individual and group scale, so practitioners can apply this knowledge in the workplace and identify solutions to organizational challenges.”

Ana Kutle found a way to combine these career interests—work organization and improving team dynamics and human resources (HR) in general—in her growing career in the global hospitality industry. As the director of operations at The Jay Hotel’s Autograph Collection, she leverages the strengths and virtues of individuals and teams to help them and the organization thrive together.

A Croatia native, Ana says, “I had always wanted to work in the United States, so when I had the chance to spend some time in San Francisco, I enthusiastically applied for hotel positions. I secured a role as a front desk manager at a charming, classic hotel on Union Square, the Villa Florence [Editor’s Note: The hotel has since been converted to The Barnes], where I began to learn about the work culture and labor laws in the U.S.”

Ana began gaining the basic knowledge needed for her HR career path. And with the help of our Certificate Program in Human Resource Management, she would advance in her various hospitality roles.

Hospitality and Human Resources

In 2017, Ana earned a Cornell Certificate in Hospitality Management, which provided her with tools and knowledge not only in front desk and housekeeping operations, but also in sales, revenue management and the strategic aspects of the hotel industry. She says that certificate also highlighted the importance of effectively managing human resources.

Ana looks back on her time working with Proper Hospitality as being an incredibly formative experience, where she held positions from sales and revenue coordinator to housekeeping manager, to director of housekeeping. “Through the experience with Proper, I managed various human resources tasks, including training and development, onboarding and hiring,” she recalls.

It was at this point in her career that Ana decided to shift focus to people management aspect and to complete our Certificate Program in Human Resource Management.

“I started to think about pivoting my career toward human resources and believed that this program would be a valuable tool in achieving that goal,” Ana tells me. “UC Berkeley is a prestigious institution, and I was impressed by the high quality of the program. The courses were well-designed and applicable to real-world situations.”

Ana soon found that holding our HR certificate and one in hospitality were crucial to advancing to an executive position in the hotel industry and growing into more senior roles, such as the director of rooms. Her tasks in this management role included:

• driving the Forbes luxury hospitality trainings for Proper’s front desk, concierge, valet, bell, security and housekeeping staff

• being part of a task force for new hotel openings

• serving as safety committee chair, implementing safety initiatives that resulted in a lower number of accidents on property.

“The certificates provided me with essential industry knowledge and skills that contributed to my career development,” she concurs. 

For a brief time, she left the hospitality industry to apply her skills as director of operations, or chief of staff, for a ultra-high-net-worth (UHNWF) family’s private estate. As chief of staff, Ana was responsible for two properties: leading all projects and managing day-to-day property operations, event planning, travel management and coordinating construction projects, from small renovations to new construction. During this time, she was also responsible for overseeing the recruitment, payroll and benefits processing for this family office.

By the time Ana returned to the hotel industry, she had honed her people management skills for interviewing others, had created job ads on different recruiting platforms, conducted comparative salary research and learned to use Zenefits as benefits administration platform.

Reflecting on her career path, one course—and an instructor—in particular made a lasting impact on her career growth: Human Resource Systems and Technology.

“Human Resource Systems and Technology instructor Terri Lynn Cardona was exceptionally knowledgeable,” Ana commends. “She brought in real-life examples, we had great group assignments and she hosted engaging speakers. I gained insights into how human resources processes are deeply rooted in technology and systems. This knowledge enabled me to enhance the efficiencies of the systems within my organization.”

These enhancements involved the creation of more structured onboarding guides, improvements in the performance management systems and staying current with labor laws, which have all proven to be highly beneficial to Ana’s career growth. The certificate program also helped her tap back into her psychology background as she already understood the principles of human behavior and is able to apply her knowledge in different ways in the workplace.

In April 2023, she joined The Jay in San Francisco as their director of operations.

Building on her experience as a chief of staff for the private estate, Ana adds, “The human resource management certificate allowed me to have a comprehensive understanding of HR systems and technology. This was helpful when I learned to use the Marriott recruitment and training systems.

“The knowledge I accumulated during the program inspired me to create more structured onboarding guides for new colleagues and a library of standard-procedure protocols that are currently in use.”

Continuing to Grow in HR

“The reason I want to pivot to HR is simply that I love it and believe I do a good job managing human resources,” Ana tells me about her dedication to this path. “I perfected the implementation of Forbes luxury hotel trainings, and I love developing people and supporting them as they grow in their careers.”

By working on the HR training tools, Ana has helped her colleagues also succeed in the workplace. Her current goals include becoming a human resources director for a hospitality group.

“I chose to pursue something that genuinely interests me,” she reflects. “As a result, I realized that the areas of training and development are very dear to me and give me personal fulfillment. Promoting colleagues internally and supporting their careers is incredibly rewarding.”