How you can profit from the labor shortage in the hotel industry.
A journalist of a hospitality magazine observed recently: “Although many restaurants, bars and hotels are finally allowed to reopen due to falling corona numbers, unfortunately they often cannot find anyone who would like to receive their guests, clean their rooms, or cook for them. In times of the long-awaited relaxation of the corona virus, the massive shortage of skilled workers in the hospitality industry is becoming a tragic but also home-made dilemma.”
For decades, many hotels have done too little to train new specialists and keep them in the industry. Instead of retaining the specialists with attractive pay, the focus was on avoiding collective agreements, part time jobs and precarious employment set. Half of the prospective Chefs, Restaurant servers- and managers have given up their training and have moved to other industries or related industries with better renumeration. Full time Jobs in housekeeping in hotels have been replaced with cheap part time labor. In most cases these part time workers are not only not qualified for the job but severely damage the hotels image and service excellence mostly in North America and Europe, especially however in the USA and Germany. The exceptions to this scenario are again the global giants. Even here there are strong indicators that some of them are “following the money and not the vision.” This trend is particularly strong in Franchised – and Time Share base companies.
The hotel industry in Asia and Africa is in a different position. Here companies are blessed with an abundant supply of applicants who are “hungry and ambitious”. Companies there can afford to select associates based on high entry criteria. However, in countries, where the hotel industry does not appeal to a large part of the workforce Human Resources be more innovative, accommodating and welcoming to potential applicants instead of maintaining challenging entry barriers.
How can you profit from this skilled labor shortage in the hotel industry? Here are some professional insider solutions you can use in this situation to your advantage and if you apply my advice properly, it will work for you and help you to improve your growth opportunities within your company but also make a collateral move to a better company possible. Please keep this in mind: I have always pointed out, that you should try to move up within your own company however, for young hoteliers this is not always possible. So moving into a better company from where you are will be a positive and upward move. Here are your potential profit opportunities:
A. Get into a better company:
No matter in what kind of company you are presently working You should always, always evaluate and keep stock of what your present company is offering you in terms of training, promotion, progress, transfers, international exposure and if they truly “CARE” about you. The monetary rewards should not be a sole criterion especially at the beginning of your journey. Remember, not everyone is fortunate and starts out with the Top global hotel companies I have mentioned this in my book “The Perfect Hotel Career”. The present labor shortage in the hotel industry is in my opinion not short but will last for years to come. I am sure, that within your geographic region there are hotels which belong to the global hospitality leaders. You need to make a list of those hotels and over time check the job boards on a regular basis for job opportunities and zoom in on one or possibly two hotels you really want to work for. Make sure, these hotels are better compared to the one you are presently work for based on brand value and growth opportunities. Now, if you work presently in a property well below the level of the hotel you want to work for you may even consider applying for the same job, you presently hold. In the case of a much superior hotel, you might want to accept even a “temporary” lower position. But this only if it’s worth the investment. This depends completely on your own career plan and ambitions and is a step to be well thought thru. If I tell you, that even a person who started out as a dishwasher can become a General Manager of a Ritz Carlton Hotel years later, you might want to look at this option. Important is, that you know exactly what you want and get yourself into the right hotel and career path. This will not only boost your market value over time but also your own self-image and belief in yourself.
B. Get promoted within your present company
You have been working for your company for more than 18 months and you observe that new associates or supervisors are being hired. You should evaluate your own role and performance and ask yourself, why it is not you who has been offered the promotion or the position. You yourself will know the answer most likely. It simply could be, that you have not been on the radar for the position in your company. One reason could be that your work performance is satisfactory but simply not excellent. The second reason could be, that you are doing such a good job, that the company wants you to stay in this position for as long as possible. This is a signal, that you need to act and let your HR manager know, that you are indeed very interested to be promoted at the next given opportunity. Important here again are the steps you should take pro-actively which I describe in detail in “The Perfect Hotel Career”. One tactic is this: In the moment, a position in your department becomes available, request a meeting with your manager and the HR manager and volunteer to do the job, they are seeking to fill for a 3 month period on “probation” and without any salary increments. It is hard for them not consider this offer. Once you have completed the 3 months you will most likely get the position and the salary, which comes with the position. This means, you have done well. The reality behind this is, that the HR department and your superior will know by now, that you can do the job quite well and they really do not want to start the search unnecessarily. This way you become an internal candidate who does not require “onboarding” and introduction. With this move, you also define yourself as a person with ambition and constructive contribution to help your company. In due time, when the next higher position will be open, the company – most likely- will approach you this time automatically. Requirement – as always is- that you are performing very well.
C. Earn a better salary:
You need to familiarize yourself with the salaries and wages paid by the hotels in your competitive set (comparable hotels) for the work and position you are holding. One of the strategies which has always worked for me in the early years of my career was this one: the final part of my – so far successful interview were the salary negotiations. I never stated the salary I wanted but waited for the recruiter to tell me, what the company was willing to pay me. After I was given the amount, I counter offered 25% more than the stated amount. Of course, the HR person rejected this. I then counter offered to perform the job for the same amount, the company had paid the previous holder for 3 months and if they would be happy with my performance, they should pay me the requested salary. The first time, I used this strategy it worked perfectly. I started low and they happily offered me the job. Three months later, the company was able to have a much better idea of my performance and what I would bring to the company, I got my 25% increase. Since then, for many years, I used this strategy and it always worked.
Naturally, after 12-18 months the time is right to re-negotiate an increment in salary. For this you need to find out the salaries paid for the job in the comparable hotels in your region and what is your ranking in comparison to those who hold the same or similar position in those hotels. If you rank at the lower end you should analyze why it is so and then follow thru with a constructive conversation with your superior. It is, that your job performance is measurably in line with or above budget. This in terms of quality to customers, to fellow employees and in terms for financial results. All these are measured in a proper hotel, and you just need to learn how you measure your own outlet’s performance, which ultimately is your performance. And if the performance indicators show improvement over the past 12-18 months you can make a convincing case for a suitable increment to your superior, department head or general manager. I need to point out, that many internationally companies have internal systems, performance reviews and performance indicators who are applied quite well, however the benefit of a suitable salary increment are not always up to par and you should always review salary structures for your region. Do not compare to pay in other geographies where the circumstances vary substantially.
E. Volunteer for Extra Work to help your company during labor shortages:
Let your supervisor and your HR manager know, that you are available to work when there is a need, even if it requires for you to acquire new skills. For example, if you work in the F&B department and they need someone to help at the Front Office. This way, you learn new skills but also stand out from your fellow colleagues. It is possible, that the company will be tempted to take some advantage here and you need to assess on a case-to-case basis for yourself. But the shortage of labor in certain positions offer opportunities for you which otherwise may not exist. It depends on your own judgement to find out how you can profit from this situation. If you are in the early stage of your career, you want to aim at promotional opportunities more than as for monetary rewards, which will follow by default at a later stage.
F. Volunteer for transfers and challenging assignments:
If you are working for the global players, there will always be an internal communication of new positions be it for replacements or for transfers for new hotel openings. Depending on your own situation, these are opportunities You want to take advantage of. As a standard you should have worked with the company for at least 2 years to benefit and qualify for this early announcement of insider opportunities. If you qualify it will say a lot about you and the trust your company puts into your ability to perform well in other locations, be it regionally or internationally. During my IHG and Hilton years, I saw a lot of individuals taking advantage of these opportunities and in most cases, they moved up in the company hierarchy very quickly. As long you remain in a region, it is quite easy to take advantage of these opportunities. If your company approaches you for an international move, you should take notice. It is a sign of great confidence; your company has in your abilities and you should almost always go for it. Of course, your family status and your own preferences play a role here. In any case, it is a sign that you are considered as a strong and reliable performer and company man or woman.
G: Make sure your career tools are top notch and fully aligned:
This part should be in order. Make sure you do have your resume or CV updated and easily available in hard copy and in digital format. You should assure that it is ATS compliant and that your LinkedIn profile is fully aligned. I want to point out to You, that you must be careful where and when you upload your resume on any job portal. I personally recommend using the portals for the detective work to find out where a potential interesting job exists, but not to go thru the online channeling. You do not want to give up the control over where your CV / resume will go to. and be stored on some server you have no control over. Be very protective about your resume or CV. In my book I have written extensively about this.
H. Have your own website:
As a career oriented hotelier you are working hard to manage and improve the results of your hotel. Just like hotel companies spent considerable time and money to improve and update their company image, you should consider to do the same in regular intervals. However due to time and maybe some lack of awareness you are not taking advantage of today’s opportunities. Maybe you consider your presence on LinkedIn to be sufficient. Remember, LinkedIn is a professional search engine. You do have the opportunity to comment, post and interact, but it has its limits to market yourself. Think about it for a moment: A link to your own website on your LinkedIn profile will attract curiosity and the recruiter who discovered you on LinkedIn is highly likely to find out more about you. He or she will most likely follow the link and visit your website.
Here is, where you are free to provide information about you and your work, which have little place on LInkedIn. A photo gallery, scans of your work certificates, scans of letters of recommendation, of course a downloadable copy of your CV or resume and maybe as an addition newspaper clips about you, your team or even the hotel you are presently working at. There are many creative options available and it is up to your own imagination to present yourself in a way what could help you to get the job you are applying for. Even a video clip where you introduce yourself briefly is possible. The options are endless. One more thing to keep in mind: your own website might – one day- become your own networking platform and other future benefits which you are not seeing at the moment. Your own website is the place where you can promote yourself in a way you cannot on any of the social media platforms. It is true, that there is a price to pay but look at it as an investment not only in your present situation but into the future.
I hope you find that one or more of the tips I have presented will help you in your growth and I wish You the best in your continued journey to the top.
Helmut H Meckelburg