What does the hospitality industry need to attract future employees to properly compete in the workplace?
43% of ISHC members surveyed see better compensation (i.e. higher salaries and performance-based pay) as a key to improving our industry’s employment outlook, followed by 30% touting career advancement as critical according to the ISHC WorldView study. Benefits, Flexibility, Training, and Recruitment were also noted as key factors.
ISHC’s Aurora Dawn Reinke, Founder of Astrapto LLC, weighed in, “A spectrum of dignity and equality matters to future generations – from living wages and benefits for the lowest line staff to opportunity and ability to have a positive impact for managers and college grads.”
Many ISHC members feel a greater awareness of hospitality as a viable career path should be the focus. “Education/exposure earlier on in the hospitality industry. No one ever heard a fifth grader say ‘I want to be a hotel manager.’ The hospitality industry is virtually unknown as an opportunity for employment,” commented Ted Mandigo, ISHC, President of TR Mandigo & Company.
Cecilia Gordon, ISHC, Director, Goulston & Storrs noted “I have seen our industry truly offer real opportunities for advancement, which is increasingly unusual in the world, and I think the industry should emphasize that much more strongly.”
Several ISHC members felt the industry should evolve to attune to generational nuances. Leora Lanz, ISHC, Owner of LHL Communications indicated, “So much has to change in the recruitment process to keep millennials and gen z's even interested in our industry. Today's generation looks at hotels from a real estate perspective or not at all; if it does not make them money, very few are interested in the service and hospitality aspects.”
Debby Cannon, ISHC, Director of Georgia State University’s Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality advised, “Clearer career paths that are more realistic for millennial advancement expectations; Emphasizing the role of creativity in the workplace and how entrepreneurial talents are tapped even if working for a large corporation.”
