As the hotel industry struggles to find staff amid competition from other sectors, employers need to prioritize meeting their staffing guidelines and focus on training, recognizing success and cultivating a culture of fun and inclusion.
At the recent World Travel Market held in London, panelists said hotels can only attract and retain talent by addressing workforce diversity and inclusion and adapting to evolving employment practices.
“We’re kind of in trouble. A lot of people are leaving the industry.” said Mark Julian Edwards, travel journalist and founder of Strengths Explorer. "We’re seeing hotel stays tailored to guests, bespoke stays, so why should the same not be done for staff in their job roles?
It has been shown that performance radically improves when staff are allowed to leverage their strengths, but Edwards asked, “which companies do that?”
“As people, our greatest need is to be seen,” he added.
Monique Dekker is senior vice president of human resources for Europe, Africa and Middle East at Hyatt Hotels Corp. and a former general manager at the Park Hyatt Vienna, Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf and Roppongi Hills Club. She said staffing guidelines are necessary but should not be etched in stone that employees cannot be themselves and add to the business.
“Within these [guidelines] we must search for the true authentic selves, and this has to be shown to exist, not just be an empty statement,” she said.
Dekker gave one example at Hyatt of allowing employees to express themselves that simply would not have been considered a few years ago.
“One member of the housekeeping staff is allowed to dress in drag a couple of days a week,” she said.
Tonian Simpson, training and development manager at Good Hotel, said staff success comes from having an open mind about all people and fostering the human connection. Good Hotel has three hotels, one a floating property in London and two hotels on land in Guatemala,.
“Trainers must learn from trainees,” she said. “Our mission is to be good, and we believe hospitality begins at home.”
For nearly 20 years, Helen Roberts was a sales director at United Kingdom travel-package company Kuoni; now, she's a leadership coach. She said hotel employees must be given some degree of empowerment.
“There was one guest who reminisced about how he once had a revolving cheeseboard and wondered why they were no more, so our staff found and sent him one. That is a highly individualized approach, but it is one that is fun and creates loyalty on both side of the check-in desk,” she said.
People Power
Consistent branding and a viable social media presence not only attract hotel guests but can attract prospective employees, Roberts said.
“Again, it is about building trust and differentiating the brand. Consistent social media messages,” she said.
Simpson said a former Good Hotel in Amsterdam — the same one that now floats in London — provided opportunities for unemployed residents and now does the same in the London Borough of Newham.
“It is all about providing inspiration. Our four-month hospitality courses have the first month solely in the classroom and is about basic hospitality, values and that all-important human connection,” she said. “After that first month, the course goes on property and, as the other panelists said, it then allows trainees to discover themselves, and for us to discover them, too. Often the main issue is a lack of confidence.”
The Good Hotel has now had 16 groups graduate from the training, but not everyone among them enters the hotel industry.
“What we ask trainees for is commitment, but sometimes it is just inevitable that they need a paying job now,” Simpson said.
Dekker said Hyatt also is bringing in staff who are in search of a second career, mostly those 50 years and older.
With trainees hopefully in full-time employment and armed with confidence, empowerment and a sense of fun, management needs to appraise and guide them and acknowledge success.
“You have to be honest in what any individual can do, and what they cannot do,” Dekker said.
Roberts agreed.
“Give feedback and recognize achievements and highlights. [Management] visibility means openness and an open door,” she said. “When time is crunched, the first thing to go is one-to-one meetings, but these are critical, and have an agenda when you have these, not just a time slot.”