While job seekers worldwide have constantly been pelted in the gut by the onslaught of news about high-profile layoffs, this isn’t the case in the global hotel industry. Since the pandemic ended, the hotel industry has struggled to fill open and quite attractive positions. Still, hotel giants like Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Accor and of course the rest of the industry need help finding suitable candidates and recruiting young and fresh talent.
Why is this? Many of these companies have grown significantly in the past decade but laid off thousands of their talent due to the pandemic, entering course-correcting mode since 2022. Yet, they still struggle today in 2024.
Prominent Toronto-based Renard International predicted this dilemma in 2021, and the top companies shredded much of their talent due to the pandemic, with many yet to return. Very few companies seriously tried to protect and maintain their talent bases, such as the Indian Hotel Company (IHCL), which owns Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, Vivanta, SeleQtions, and other well-known brands in India.
The foresight and dedication to their “most important human asset” – CEO Puneet Chatwal and Senior VP HR Gaurav Pokryal walked the talk and helped this company protected and retained its permanent employees through the crisis. Not only this, but the company also maintained its ranking as the World’s Strongest Hotel Brand.
Industries like health services, construction, hospitality, and government continue to add jobs, yet for some reason, these industries face the most challenging times in locating and keeping talent. Indeed, the job search rabbit hole goes much more profound, and it is vital to understand the situation on the ground.
First, there’s an epidemic of ghost job postings online with many lies and incorrect details in job descriptions to do the job and the company look exciting and attractive. But essentially, there’s a massive number of jobs online that are either already filled or companies intend to wait to fill them.
If you are subscribed to a portal and receive online job postings, you will notice that many jobs seem to be there forever. Surveys, like the one from C-Capital or The Guild in 2022, found that 50% of hiring managers keep many positions open since they are always “Open to new people.” This is hilarious because they say, “We are always open to new people,” and you say, “Well, wonderful, perfect, I’m new people,” and they go, “Oh no, are you?”
Many candidates check “positive” on all requirements and have a well-crafted resume, impressive achievements, and experiences, yet someone else gets the position. Often, someone being transferred via the internal route speaks for the company. But the question remains: why is there a posting in the first place.
Very often, the reason is that internal candidates need more time to be ready for an upward move or are unwilling to move from one location to another. So, outsiders have short-term opportunities to move into one of the prominent companies.
And look at these other reasons they leave the job open: to grow their email lists, to keep the impression that the company is growing with many opportunities, to stay available to potential future candidates, or simply because they forgot to take it down. The competition for hospitality jobs seems fierce, but is it? Considering the so-called job shortages in our industry, finding a new job, after all, should be simple, especially for candidates with an impressive resume and a track record in top companies like Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, or Hilton.
Yet, many of these top candidates often keep searching for extended periods because they get rejected due to cultural FIT, so-called “Overqualification,” or simply due to age, which is the case mainly in Europe.
And what about those who are just starting their careers? Companies like Hilton in Germany is so desperate yet innovative that they involve their junior employees in finding suitable candidates. Here is the link. Their obvious lack of qualified HR coordinators or executives throws up the question how qualified these people are. The additional hurdle of high school qualifications makes it even harder and explains, why there is such a job shortage, especially in Germany. Those with limited HR experience need help thoroughly assessing the qualifications and fit of young, but also seasoned professionals. Evaluating resumes with substantial experience demands a nuanced understanding of the hotel industry, and a steep learning curve for those recently entering the HR domain.
As a Hotelier Veteran and Mentor to my clients, I constantly observe the changing world of hospitality and its long-term impact on people’s careers, besides the consolidation and product changes – a new mindset has emerged in the Human Resources ecosystem. It needs to be an intelligent approach to recruiting and an employee-friendly and motivational recruitment method.
Let’s face it: the benevolent form, an emotionally intelligent system shaped by years of experience and understanding are being replaced quickly with a group of individuals who do not take responsibility for not being able to fill the open positions fast but also too slow. You know the saying, “New brooms sweep clean.” It means that new or inexperienced people tend to be more energetic, enthusiastic, and diligent when starting a new job or task. They are eager to make a positive impression and show their capabilities. However, we also know that this initial burst of energy might fade over time as the person becomes more accustomed to their role. What is the worst part of this. Many Coordinators or Executives in HR are not really aware about their role and the weight of their decisions on the Individual.
The fact remains that many companies can only fill open positions quickly if there is talent available, but because their efforts fail to reach and attract those waiting to be hired. Call me old-fashioned, or call me radical, but I like simplicity. If you are a restaurant manager working with a waitress or waiter who fails, get the food to the guest consistently, you will consider replacing the person with someone fit to do the job. Clearly this applies in todays world to many HR offices.
While some argue against comparing an HR executive to a waiter or waitress, I wholeheartedly disagree—I believe it’s a valid comparison. In a bustling restaurant environment, servers must handle the constant pressure and ensure swift food delivery to guests. They don’t have the luxury of attributing delays to the daily rush; instead, they navigate it seamlessly.
Likewise, the onus is on Human Resources professionals in the hotel industry to embrace the challenge, roll up their sleeves, and expedite the recruitment process to fill those vacant positions. In instances where the ideal candidate seems elusive, it becomes the responsibility of the respective supervisor to swiftly train and integrate the chosen candidate into the team.
There is so much talent in every country, willing to work hard and put in the hours. However, the entry barriers set up by many companies and the time it takes them to recruit someone are of grave concern, and serious speed bumps interrupt the smooth running simply too high and tuned in a way to identify not the most suitable candidate but the Perfect Candidate. If the perfect candidate cannot be identified, the search goes on for extended periods, putting severe pressure on the hotel’s ecosystems and performance.
I remember my time as a General Manager in India; I had an HR manager struggling to find qualified people. First, I was wondering and trying to understand his challenge. I looked at the process and could not find any flaws. They were designed to make recruitment a breeze, especially in lower-ranking positions. I then realized he was highly critical and wanted to get the “Perfect Candidate,” a noble yet unrealistic intention. We all know: “Nobody is perfect.” Over and out.
Eventually, that HR manager resigned several months later. Since his secretary was doing all the routine work and keeping the department rolling, I made a quick and pragmatic decision. I promoted her to acting HR manager until I found a matching replacement. Let me be blunt: I interviewed about 12 potential HR management candidates. Yes, they had BAs and MBAs, came with fascinating prepositions, and some had “Big Egos”; in short, they mostly overvalued their value to my hotel, and I decided to make the former secretary a full HR manager. It took some time to convince my Seniors in Mumbai to give her a chance and eventually they did. After that I never had staffing problems anymore. I left the company years later and heard that this former secretary was still in charge of the HR department in my old hotel, plus 3 more.
Then there are descriptions of what the company offers. Many of those descriptions are hilarious and need to be more accurate. Some go so far as to say, “We will provide Uniforms; look, we even have it cleaned for You at no cost. We even offer you reduced prices for parking spaces and so on.”
It’s hilarious, and of course, no young hotelier will accept this and fall for this kind of rhetoric. Come on; Young people in 2024 want real incentives and not pseudo-motivational rhetoric, and in 2024, the young hospitality professionals are quite different from their counterparts only 20 years ago. They want clear-cut information and a clear idea of the potential salary range. If you identify a company- and there are many- that does not share an indication of salary, you know that this company will not pay well. The company knows this already.
Then there are the middle- and upper-management positions that require more critical research and are more time-consuming. During my career as a General Manager, I was very much focused on filling these crucial positions quickly. The HR department had 6 weeks to produce candidates. Considering they already knew at least 6 weeks before the previous manager’s departure, they had almost 3 months to fill a vacant management position. We would outsource this task to skilled hospitality recruiters and their databases if they could not. They would create a fill within 4 weeks. Of course, this was an expense often not budgeted for, but it put some pressure on the HR managers.
In conclusion, the job market in 2024 presents a tapestry of challenges from deceptive job postings to cultural fit issues, unrealistic expectations to identify the perfect candidate, often unrealistic entry barriers and last but not least, the “high castle” mentality found in countless Human Resources offices.
As the hospitality sector grapples with these complexities, a critical re-evaluation of HR practices and a return to simplicity may hold the key to unlocking the potential of the vast talent pool waiting to contribute. For young hoteliers seeking the proper match, the strategy should be to get into a good company at a slightly lower level, even if necessary. With the talent turnover and the generational gap, this time investment will pay back well into the future.
Companies often dance around pro-employee strategies in a world bursting with talent, leaving aspiring professionals scratching their heads. Instead of showcasing the internal stars who’ve earned their stripes, companies opt for the external spotlight, even for roles like Asst. F.O. Manager. Why not give a rising Duty Manager or Senior Supervisor a shot and a few months to proof him- or herself?
As a seasoned hotelier keeping tabs on the industry’s pulse, it’s clear that 2024 is primed for a career explosion. With doors opening globally, the demand for skilled professionals is soaring. Here’s the scoop for ambitious hoteliers: Don’t just watch the opportunities; grab them! Connect directly with HR and superiors. If you’ve got the mojo for the next step, don’t hold back—apply internally when the proper role pops up.
Your 2024 mission: fine-tune your career toolkit. It’s not just about hard skills; throw in some soft skills and leadership flair. And here’s the golden rule: when that golden opportunity knocks, don’t be a turtle—react swiftly and apply internally. If, at first, it doesn’t click, don’t tap out. Try, try again. Are you feeling a bit lost? Snag a complimentary call with me on my website, and let’s chart your course together and subscribe to the careerhotelier.com.
I wish You the best on your next promotion and new position in 2024!
Helmut