Finders, keepers...the old rules no longer apply
The problem of attracting and retaining qualified workers is increasingly becoming a global challenge. Negative perceptions of the industry, wage levels, failure to adequately address, worker satisfaction and a reputation for long hours and low pay are all cited as contributing factors. This is a problem that won’t go away. Today, employees hold all the cards, and the market is responding accordingly. The combination, of a workforce shortage and skills deficit is potentially explosive for hotels, which are already struggling to find good people and keep them. The industry needs to respond to this challenge now. Hotels must now take retention management seriously because when more hotels come up and the ‘big guns’ move in, it might be too late to address this issue. When a position must be filled, many new operators may prefer to hire candidates who are currently holding a similar position in the field - even if it means paying more, and thus save the training and development expenses on new hires. No hotel can afford to lose its top talent to the competitors.
Staff Wars…and star wars
Similar to the hotel room ‘price wars’ one sees during low occupancy or recessionary times, we will pretty soon encounter acrimonious ‘staff wars’, even ‘star wars’ where hotels will have to battle to retain their high performers. Creative hospitality professionals have to develop innovative strategies for capturing and keeping high quality workers. In the short term, staff turnover means hassle and loss of productivity for employers constantly seeking new staff. When the search for new staff is prolonged or vacancies stay unfilled, it places additional stress / burn out on the others at work. Oftentimes the employees are asked to do more including working longer hours to fill in for the missing staff. Resentment increases among such employees, and some employees – especially the better ones leave the organization for brighter opportunities. Others may stay, but become less productive and unenthusiastic workers. In the longer term, it places a question mark over growth in the tourism and hospitality industry.
It’s Time to Take Action
The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) conducted a survey which included 1,000 young Brits aged between 16 and 21, and it revealed that 26% of them don’t see hospitality as an industry to work in after obtaining a degree. One in four thought that working in a hotel mainly entailed dealing with difficult guests. 19% of the respondents said they were ignorant of the range of roles available in the industry. Ironically 40% are looking for jobs with flexible hours, 36% career progression and 29% were keen to work in an environment that afforded them the ability to travel. Aren’t these exactly what the hospitality industry offers? Elaine Grell, vice president of human resources, Europe and Global Functions at IHG said: “These results highlight just how important it is that young people get a real life, on-the-job experience, so they can fully understand how varied and exciting a career in hospitality can be.”
It’s time to take action. By owning our workforce problem, and taking collective action to find solutions, we can chart a course that ensures the prosperity of our industry, just as it ensures the prosperity of our businesses. As an industry, we share the same goal: a sustainable tourism and hospitality sector that delivers a quality visitor experience and which contributes strongly to the Sri Lankan economy. For this we need the right people and the right number of people coming into the industry, and staying on to build rewarding careers and contribute their expertise to the industry of tomorrow. There are no silver bullets that will remove the industry’s woes. This is not a problem that someone in Colombo can fix with a stroke of a pen. It is an industry-wide problem, which can only be solved by industry, education and training providers, and Government acting in concert, and by individual businesses collectively examining what they are doing today, and what they can do differently tomorrow.
We create the industry, every day, and our actions today and tomorrow will determine the industry we have next year, by 2020 and beyond.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-hotelier |
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