Hoteliers', now's the time to upgrade your employees
The hospitality sector is experiencing labour shortages worldwide. For Sri Lanka, these labour shortages have temporarily ceased after the 21st April terror attacks drastically reduced business activity and employment. Hoteliers are scrubbing their businesses for ways to cut costs. Now, with varying levels of uncertainty circulating through the industry and an ever-growing difficulty pushing rate, operators are back in cost-cutting mode. But once the situation returns to normal, the struggle to find a qualified and skilled workforce, particularly among young people, will come back to hit the industry with a vengeance.
Consequently, our hotel and restaurant sector will face daunting challenges that impact on its sustainability in the future. These challenges will be exacerbated by the fear factor and heightened anxiety about job security. As it is, long working hours, low wages, seasonal, part-time and temporary work is already driving prospective applicants to look elsewhere for employment.
Several stakeholders in the hospitality industry have time and again, voiced the value of education and training in teaching hospitality employees, the skills they need to serve guests in the 21st century. However, it appears many hotel employees have either not taken heed of the message or are unable to get away from the workplace to follow a professional course in training. Issues of affordability to enroll for an industry recognised course is another road-block.
Most workers in hotels and restaurants have a level of education that corresponds to ‘lower secondary’ or less, and, it is from this group, that a large number of them have risen above the ranks, after joining at entry level. Despite the initial career growth, the majority then ‘stagnate’ at some point, owing to a widening ‘skills’ gap. This disconnect is mainly due to such staff not receiving timely quality training or not taking a class for many years – or taking none at all. Unfortunately, these issues which principally coincide with the importance of maintaining a skilled workforce with adequate training and continuous learning - go mostly unheeded by hotel leaders and managers.
The ‘Easter Sunday” incident has had a devastating effect on the hospitality industry and it would take some time for tourism to recover. Meanwhile, while the pain of low occupancy has to be endured, there is a ‘window of opportunity’ to invest in staff training and to be prepared when the good times return. Now’s the time for hoteliers to step up and ‘walk the talk’ - by embarking on training initiatives in partnership with Hotel schools, Associations and academics and retired professionals, to plan and roll out certified training courses.
Trainings can be held for different aspirations - divided according to their purpose and content. It can be held at the workplace and outside the workplace (e.g. regional Hotel Schools)… leading to certification of employees after the training. I.e. hotel workers receive a professional certificate after successfully passing theory and practice tests.
Simulation training (at the workplace) can also be conducted in order to improve work methods, increase efficiency and productivity – which in our country is below par. As someone commented wittily “the average Sri Lankan worker will take five minutes to observe two minutes of silence”.
Another area of learning is language training. – hotel employees are required to at least learn spoken English which is considered an international language, in order to be able to properly communicate with foreign guests.
It’s important to maintain training, even more so when you are stressed economically.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, “Hospitality Sri Lanka’, Consultant, Trainer, Ex- Hotelier.
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