A FOUNDATION TO BUILD GREAT TEAMS
2024-08-22 07:32:17
AN ENHANCED FOUNDATION FOR OWNERS TO DEVELOP THEIR WORKFORCES
Attracting and retaining qualified team members has evolved into a long-term challenge for the hotel industry, and it has become clear that increasing wages alone is not the answer. Evidence comes from recent U.S. hotel industry labor statistics: average hotel wages have risen more than 20% faster than average wages in the overall economy since the pandemic, and yet a May 2024 survey of hoteliers by the American Hotel & Lodging Association showed 76% of respondents are still short-staffed. The labor shortage is not restricted to the U.S.; for example, the U.K. saw 107,000 hospitality vacancies in the Q1 2024, which is 15% higher than pre-pandemic levels of 93,000, according to trade organization UKHospitality. Compounding the challenge is the resurgence of leisure travel, which calls for hotels to be well staffed across all operational departments—from housekeeping to F&B to the front desk—to meet guest expectations and drive loyalty.
To ensure the full efficiency of their operations, hoteliers must go beyond the standard attraction/retention practices of increasing wages, perks and job flexibility and consider the quality of the employee experience from a broader perspective. Most employees look for learning opportunities that create a sense of confidence on the job and set them up for success and career advancement, as well as a supportive and rewarding workplace culture. These elements foster an engagement with the company that exceeds what wages and benefits can inspire, and ultimately build longstanding, more effective teams that benefit owners and guests alike.
“We need to take our attraction and retention efforts to the next level in this difficult market,” says Tonya Muncey, Chair of the Association’s AMER People Committee and VP, Operations & Development at Audubon Land Development. “Our recruiters have had to become more active to find great candidates, and we’ve taken a multifaceted approach to retention that includes maintaining a welcoming work environment at our hotels and supporting staff in their present and future roles through education and development.”
OPTIMIZING THE TALENT SEARCH
To help franchisees succeed in the current labor market, IHG® Hotels & Resorts has introduced a suite of new tools supporting all stages of the team building process: attraction, hiring and retention. Attracting qualified candidates requires a layered approach in this competitive market, including a compelling social media strategy that positions the hotel as a desirable place to work and pursue a career. Best practices to execute that strategy can be found in the new Franchise Recruiting Resource Guide (now available on the Merlin People Tools page), along with advice on posting effective job advertisem*nts.
In addition, IHG’s updated Quick Reference Guide provides key recruiting steps and links to multiple social media sites to expedite the search for talent. Both guides feature video content and are currently available in English and Spanish. Especially helpful for Holiday Inn® and Holiday Inn Express® owners will be brand-specific marketing assets that facilitate attraction. Currently being developed, these assets will save owners time and money in the effort to bring the best candidates to the Holiday Inn brand.
PRO TIPS FOR HIRING
While encouraging workers to apply to open roles is essential, equally important is the critical period in which they are being hired and assessed. According to recruitment services firm Zippia, a bad hire could cost a company up to 300% of the employee’s salary, and IHG’s new Franchise Recruiting Resource Guide also assists owners in avoiding that consequence. According to Julie Jurta, Vice President, HR, Americas Hotel Operations for IHG, “This very robust guide includes best practices for an interview process that ensures the right talent is attracted and brought on board, as well as guidance on other aspects of the recruiting process such as conducting background checks.” The latter is an indispensable step that protects guests, staff and the reputation of the hotel and brand (see Full Report on page 20 for details).
RETENTION RESOURCES
New assets to promote retention are on the horizon, including Culture in a Box, Celebration Toolkit and Inclusion Playbook. These resources are designed to help owners create a supportive workplace culture, celebrate employees’ achievements and foster inclusivity, respectively. An environment where people feel valued and included is essential to retaining talented staff over the long term, while motivating them to continue delivering great guest experiences. Promoting retention in this way is essential, given that on average, it costs 30% to 150% of an employee’s salary to replace them, according to ROAR For Good.
“Employee engagement is critical in a job market where hospitality workers are in high demand and can readily find employment with other companies,” says Eduardo Ruiz, Member of the Association’s AMER People Committee and Director of Operations at the Crowne Plaza® Lancaster Toluca. “So, we prioritize recognizing our staff to create a sense of pride in their performance and even stage social events where team members can bond. We look forward to capitalizing on the new retention tools IHG is developing to further enhance engagement.”
MEETING THE LABOR CHALLENGE WITH LEARNING
Along with a positive, inclusive workplace culture, dynamic learning opportunities go a long way toward making team members feel supported in their roles and aspirations. As such, they promote retention while serving to attract professionals who want to work for a company that prioritizes talent development. Launched in February 2023, IHG® University supports owners by providing a learning framework that differentiates franchisees and the brand itself within the highly competitive labor market.
“IHG University is a comprehensive learning offering where individuals come first that provides easy to navigate, accessible learning that empowers everyone to reach their full potential, at every stage of their career journey,” explains Teresa Hatton, Chair of the Association’s Europe People Committee and Operations Director for Tower Hotel Management Ltd. “Training and continuing education for hotel staff help attract and retain solid workers and prepare them to provide consistent service to our guests.”
Since its founding, the University’s leaders have been working to enhance its learning opportunities. “IHG University is regularly evolving its learning solutions and approaches so we deliver clear and impactful experiences for all learners regardless of their role or IHG hotel brand,” says Dylan Myking, Head of AMER Hotel Learning & Global Owner Solutions at IHG. “We aim to deliver comprehensive learning solutions that support all areas of the hotel, helping individuals and teams learn, grow and thrive.”
The University is comprised of four specialist schools—the School of Hospitality, School of Hotel Management, Owner Learning Solutions and School of Business Performance—each of which provides curated learning solutions for a specific learner audience. Both the School of Hospitality and School of Hotel Management have new and exciting learning opportunities to help hotel team members and hotel leaders succeed and progress in their careers.
ONBOARDING SUPPORT
A well-structured onboarding process is essential to preventing turnover among new hires, which can happen if team members are not adequately trained for their new roles and experience difficulties early on. Early turnover can be costly, as it can take up to six months for a company to make up the money it spent on a new hire, according to Zippia. The School of Hospitality’s New Colleague Learning Guide brings a refreshed approach to this crucial stage of building hotel teams, delivering a consistent, thorough onboarding experience from a learning perspective. “Providing hotel team members with the targeted learning they need at the point of joining a hotel team ensures a great start by building an understanding of their responsibilities and how their role supports the larger hotel team,” explains Susy Infanti, Head of EMEAA Hotel Learning, IHG. “This learning increases team members’ confidence in carrying out their responsibilities consistently and effectively. In turn, a positive work environment is created for both new and existing team members, translating into retention across the team as a whole.”
The New Colleague Learning Guide offers content targeted to hotel team members based on their region, hotel brand and role within the hotel. Once a team member drills down to their specific role within their region and hotel brand, they can view all the learning they should complete for their role with just a few clicks. User-friendliness and flexibility were important considerations in developing the resource. “The layout is formatted to present the required learning based on the recommended completion flow, though a learner is not locked into this flow; they can navigate and consume the learning based on their individual and/or hotel needs,” Infanti adds.
Time is often of the essence during the onboarding phase, particularly when several new team members are being onboarded at once while the hotel is preparing to open. The New Colleague Learning Guide was designed with that scenario in mind, providing a resource that is easy to access and navigate. “We’ve exported the list of required training as a checklist for our team members, who use it to track their progress,” says Michelle Hartman, Member of the AMER People Committee and Human Resources Director for SJS Hospitality. “This option works especially well during busy times when team members have a lot on their plate.”
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Focused on empowering hotel leaders and their leadership teams to be the best they can be, the School of Hotel Management has debuted the Supervisor Development Pathway for team members who are embarking on their first hotel leadership role. Available on IHG myLearning, the learning solutions provide critical content for any new or aspiring supervisor. “Frontline staff members often aspire to become leaders on our team, and to retain them over the long term, it’s important we provide resources to pave their way,” says Ruiz. “And preparing them with the right education ultimately makes them better supervisors who enhance staff morale and effectiveness.”
As an entry-level leadership position, the role of a supervisor is a rich opportunity to gain the skills needed to help drive hotel performance and build long-term careers with IHG. However, the role comes with a steep learning curve for many employees. “We often see hotel team members promoted or external individuals join a hotel team as a supervisor with limited leadership experience. While these individuals may have been very capable of delivering on expectations as an individual team member, they may not be prepared to lead others,” observes Myking. “The learning solutions within the Supervisor Development Pathway help set up these new and aspiring supervisors to grow their leadership skills and thrive in their career journey. In addition, current supervisors who need to build and/or refresh foundational leadership skills will also find these learning solutions extremely beneficial.”
The Supervisor Development Pathway comprises the Journey to Supervisor course and Foundational Diploma of Hospitality Leadership Program. Both offer “blended learning” that includes self-paced education supplemented with virtual instructor-led sessions. “There is also flexibility in how an individual approaches the learning; for example, they can do the self-paced learning first, apply the learnings within their role at their hotel and then participate in the instructor-led session,” says Myking.
JOURNEY TO SUPERVISOR
This interactive and engaging web-based online training benefits both aspiring hotel supervisors and newly hired or promoted supervisors transitioning into their roles, ultimately helping owners develop a strong pipeline of future leaders. The transition, though exciting, can often be overwhelming. “During this process, new supervisors are likely to make a few mistakes. These can include failing to delegate, focusing on details instead of goals, imitating others, making promises they cannot keep, etc.,” Infanti notes. “Hence, it’s important to cover topics to support our teams to become successful leaders.” See the sidebar on page 29 for details on the topics covered in the course.
Hotel team members have provided positive feedback on Journey to Supervisor, both from content and format perspectives. “Learners are sharing that the content is highly relevant to their supervisor role and that the ease of consumption is allowing them to embed their learnings into their daily activities,” Myking says.
FOUNDATIONAL DIPLOMA OF HOSPITALITY LEADERSHIP
Designed to help supervisors build critical leadership skills, this six-module program is delivered using the 70/20/10 development model, which emphasizes that the greatest part of learning (70%) comes from experience, i.e., hands-on activities on-property. Learners are thus required to complete workbook exercises in their day-to-day work activities at the hotel, such as conducting interviews, assessing team members’ performance and providing written reflections on their own learning and performance.
The 20% exposure element is fulfilled in a live, 60-minute instructor-led virtual session, which allows supervisors to connect with other learners, share experiences from the workbook activities, recap the module content and embed the foundational principles. Sessions are led by experienced IHG University Hotel Learning team members who work globally as needed to deliver content in a variety of languages. The facilitators are also responsible for delivering other IHG University learning solutions, which provides them with a broad understanding of hotel- and IHG-specific knowledge that they can share with learners.
The instructor-led sessions will only become available in IHG myLearning once the learner has successfully completed the accompanying eLearning, which comprises the 10% of the 70/20/10 model. The self-paced eLearning introduces each module’s content, definitions and principles in an interactive way for the learner before they begin the workbook activities.
Supervisors who successfully complete all six modules and submit the required essay will earn the Foundational Diploma of Hospitality Leadership, a certification issued by the esteemed Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality. Learners may register for any one module at a time, and they have the flexibility to complete the modules in any order they prefer. “This allows IHG to meet learners where they are, giving them the flexibility to focus on gaps or immediate learning needs,” Infanti explains.
The module topics are Change Management, Nurturing Talent, Setting Goals and Managing Resources, Optimizing Team Performance, Performance Coaching and Team Collaboration. “We’ve found that learners who completed one of the modules are already reviewing the content again and/or signing up for additional modules,” Infanti says. “We often see learners signing up for three or more modules at the start and then registering to complete all six.” As part of the IHG Value-Add Learning O er, the program has a per-module cost; however, learners can choose to purchase them à la carte, based on their needs.
EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE
Learning opportunities that build skills and careers motivate many workers to join a company for the long term, and IHG University’s latest offerings help to further cement IHG franchisees as employers of choice in a competitive job market, which was underscored by IHG’s recent naming to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in the U.S. This catalyst for attracting and retaining great employees is poised to become even more powerful with new personalized learning experiences that are easily accessible, simple and timely. “I always look forward to new learning opportunities for my team,” says Hartman. “Not only do skill building and professional development keep sta engaged with my hotels and the IHG brand, but they also result in better service for my guests and consistently positive reviews for my properties.”
When these learning programs are combined with IHG’s new recruitment and workplace-enhancing resources, owners have no shortage of support in building reliable, commercially successful teams. That support will continue to evolve as long as the labor shortage lasts in the hospitality industry, and beyond.
GUIDING NEW LEADERS
ASCENDING TO A SUPERVISORY ROLE is an attractive opportunity for many team members that often motivates their longevity with a property, but this path sometimes isn’t easy for employers or staff. The Journey to Supervisor course, part of IHG® University’s new Supervisor Development Pathway, offers a “runway for team members to step from individual contributor to leading others and sets the foundation for their development as leaders in the hotel and wider hospitality industry,” say Susy Infanti, Head of EMEAA Hotel Learning at IHG® Hotels & Resorts. “Through this course, supervisors learn about their responsibilities and the key differences between an individual team member role and a supervisor role. From there, they explore the first steps every new supervisor should take, followed by some top tips to help them thrive in the role.”
Here is a sampling of the topics covered within different areas of the course:
FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS
Planning: Developing employee schedules and planning special events, new training programs and other objectives.
Organizing: Determining how work and responsibilities will be divided within the team and/or department.
Leading: Overseeing, motivating, evaluating and disciplining employees.
Monitoring: Ensuring that plans are carried out properly.
COMMON MISTAKES/PITFALLS
Failing to delegate: Supervisors should not focus on individual tasks but rather on helping the team complete their assignments.
Focusing on the details instead of the goals: As a team member, employees were used to being assigned tasks and focusing on those tasks—now as a supervisor, they need to see the bigger picture and focus on achieving overarching goals.
Imitating others: It’s not unusual for first-time supervisors to simply imitate what they’ve seen before. This is not always bad, but it can be if they are imitating bad habits or failing to lead with a new vision.
Making promises you cannot keep: New supervisors can be eager to please and prove themselves as an effective leader, which is admirable but can lead to problems.
Missing out on early wins: If there are some changes they can make immediately, such as getting rid of an ineffective and time-wasting daily meeting or eliminating a repetitive documentation step, they should take advantage of those opportunities.
PROFESSIONALISM
Be polite, kind and respectful.
Be accountable: Take responsibility for your actions and job performance, as well as that of the team.
Be appropriate: Remember that you are setting the bar for how your employees will behave in the workplace.
Be ethical: Surveys have revealed time and time again that the most important trait people look for in a leader is trust. Ethical behavior is key to building trust.
Be positive: Set the tone for the team. If you want a positive work environment, you must be positive.
GIVING FEEDBACK
Enhances performance: Providing employees with ongoing feedback encourages them to move in the right direction and reach higher performance levels.
Boosts motivation: Consistent feedback is connected to higher employee motivation, as it encourages staff to adopt a growth mindset.
Improves engagement: Without feedback, employees may wonder, “My manager doesn’t seem to care either way, so what’s the point of trying?”
Promotes self-awareness: Through feedback, employees learn about their strengths and weaknesses, uncover their positive and negative tendencies and realize how their actions affect others.
“We need to take our attraction and retention efforts to the next level in this difficult market. Our recruiters have had to become more active to find great candidates, and we’ve taken a multifaceted approach to retention.”
—Tonya Muncey, Chair, AMER People Committee
76 PERCENT Of respondents are still short-staffed, according to a May 2024 survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
SUPERVISOR DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY
70 PERCENT
EXPERIENCE & PRACTICE
On-the-job learning through experience and practice on-property
20 PERCENT
SHARE & LEARN
Group learning via conversations and coaching with peers
10 PERCENT
eLEARNING
Learning from formal activities, such as web-based online learning
“Frontline staff members often aspire to become leaders on our team, and to retain them over the long term, it’s important we provide resources to pave their way.”
—Eduardo Ruiz, Member, AMER People Committee
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