Top Team Member: Mary Faris Bluegreen Resorts
By Marge Lennon
Mary Faris joined Bluegreen Resorts in January of 2016 as Talent Acquisition Manager for Hospitality and was promoted to Talent Acquisition Director a year later. In this role, she is responsible for leading and driving Bluegreen’s talent acquisition function within the Resort Operations division. Prior to joining Bluegreen, Mary held similar positions with Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, recruiting for ARAMARK and the Advertising Specialty Institute.
This high-energy lady was an ARDA Finalist for Talent Acquisition in 2017 and 2018 and is recognized and applauded company-wide for the positive impact she has made in the acquisition of new talent in Resort Operations. Some of Mary’s most notable accomplishments include launching a Recruitment Campaign to proactively staff a Florida Keys resort following Hurricane Irma. Employees were forced to flee the area due to lost housing after the hurricane, which made recruiting in the market very challenging. The creative recruitment campaign Mary launched included incentives for new associates to attract them back to the market and help them with their housing cost.
Mary works directly with hiring managers, HR Business Partners, and her Talent Acquisition Partners to coach them in making the best hiring decisions and ensure a diverse and well-rounded candidate pipeline. She has facilitated learning and development training for her hiring managers to educate them on full cycle talent management. This includes how to attract the best talent, engage talent and retain talent.
To extend her outreach and her ability to continue to find top talent, Mary leads the recruitment campaign for the Leadership Experience Accelerated Development (LEAD) Internship program. This included close partnerships with premier learning institutions throughout the country and educating Hospitality students about the benefits of a career in the timeshare industry. Her “college tour” process generated over 400 resumes, resulting in interviews of more than 150 candidates and 11 hires. Mary partnered with corporate marketing to create a new recruitment campaign to attract the best interns in the nation for 2018. Fifty percent of the newly hired interns came from the top five hospitality schools in the nation.
Originally from Philadelphia, Mary has lived in Fort Lauderdale since January 2015 but is still a devoted Philadelphia Eagles fan. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Government and Political Science with Dual Minors in Economics and History from Millersville University in Lancaster, PA and recently earned a Master of Science in Human Capital Development from La Salle University in Philadelphia and has multiple professional HR certificates.
Mary is proud of being able to make a difference for a company that trusts and values her ideas. She also loves the challenge – like when there were more people than jobs during the 2008 recession – or now, when the situation is reversed. When not recruiting new hires for Bluegreen, Mary is the commissioner of her own girls-only fantasy football team, a role she has enjoyed for almost ten years.
“There’s a continuing need to be original and creative to find the best talent to provide excellent customer service to our guests,” says Mary. “I I’m proud to help attract these professionals as I believe they are the heart and soul of our company.”
