A future talent-seeking strategy at the heart of the hospitality industry
“At the end of the day our bottom-line is at the hands of the frontline”
Over the years, traditional business practices have been progressively disrupted by technology and innovation – leading to a constant reconfiguring of the business landscape. Today’s business models are technology- empowered and those who continue to solely follow traditional talent management strategies will be hit the hardest.
Looking ahead, there are some things that intrinsically lie now at the heart of hospitality, particularly where attracting future talent matters. Technology is one of them. Love it or hate it, hoteliers will have to accept it…because it is here to stay. Automation - once considered a “nice to have” in the hospitality industry – is now essential. Hospitality leaders used to think that technology was the enemy of hospitality. But many have now come to realize it’s not technology… its how it’s used.
The pandemic devastated divisions in hotels and whether staffing is lean or new talent is coming into the market, hoteliers must shift their focus towards enabling customer-facing employees with technology, thus enhancing the level of support they provide those employees they are able to attract and thereafter retain. As someone remarked, money invested in technology stays unlike money invested on staff who leave.
In 2022, Oracle Hospitality and Skift released “Hospitality in 2025: Automated, Intelligent… and More Personal,” a survey of more than 600 hoteliers and 5,000 consumers across the globe. In terms of must-have technologies, the report showed that 53.6% of travelers would like to see contactless check-in and checkout be permanently adopted during the next few years. 49.1% cited contactless payments as a key offering they want.
Indeed a compelling case for investing in technology But that’s let’s say, half of the current value proposition - given that almost half of those who participated in the survey didn’t deem ‘contactless’ a priority. Is this then, where the other half of the value proposition belongs?
Tech will come and go declares the report, adding,” And what’s trending and hot today may change by 2025.” As the tech revolution marches on, today’s value propositions could well be totally different tomorrow.
What has remained constant and will continue to stay that way are the core fundamentals of the customer experience. Customers have needs and will interact with businesses and their offerings to ensure that their needs are fulfilled satisfactorily. Hotels thus need technology to standardize their processes and to deliver that consistent guest and staff experience.
Thus technology takes a rightful place at the heart of future talent strategies – but by doing so, it would require leaders to re-set the bar for entry level talent.
Apart from the challenge of staying relatable to the older travelers, whilst wooing the 26-year old, a shrinking and shifting workforce has created demand for technology as never before. At what pace the guest of the future will gravitate toward luxury high-touch service or mobile, experience-oriented efficiencies is left to be seen. For the moment there will be ample room for both types of service.
When it comes to digital devices, finding the sweet spot between too much and too little is vital for a healthy relationship between industry stakeholders with technology.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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