WORKPLACE DYNAMICS – Articles

In 2013, some colleagues and I published a research study in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly concerning the lack of advancement of women into the C-Suite in the hospitality industry. Our work was borne out of a curiosity about the reported career obstacles that modern female executives faced. In the present era of “Me Too,” it seems appropriate to revisit that research to shine a light again upon the issues that might hold women back, as well as to re-examine the ways business leaders can help women to navigate those obstacles successfully.

In a meeting with the CEO of a student housing owner-operator just before the holidays, our conversation steered from ‘anticipated challenges for 2018’ to local politics and frustrations caused by difficulty in getting through planning permission for new-build developments. The conversation reminded me of others that I have had with hotel companies and developers as well as restaurant operators in the recent past – they all referenced the rise of ‘NIMBYism’ as something that has caused a lot of frustration to them and their companies.

The issue of diversity, and the lack of it, has popped up frequently in recent conversations with leaders in the hospitality world to the point where it seems that if a candidate for a job is neither female nor of a minority ethnicity, then their application is at a disadvantage. Grey-haired white men continue to be the largest faction of leaders sitting around most hotel company boardroom tables. The good news is that a lot of these companies are self-aware enough to recognise that the composition of their leadership needs to better represent their customer and employee bases. In the same way that a fish rots from the head down, the thinking goes that changes at the top of the organisation will percolate down through the rest of the employee body, as staff become inspired by the leaders above them.

My father worked for the Midland Bank (better known today as HSBC) for 33 years. His brother, too, had been employed by the same bank. In addition, their father had similarly spent the majority of his professional life at Midland. Their respective generations were of a time when you picked a profession and, if you were lucky enough to be offered a job, you then dedicated your working life to one company until you reached retirement age.

If traditional “Employee Engagement” or “Opinion Surveys” are akin to what employees and team members say to an organization’s proverbial face, then Glassdoor.com is what they’re saying behind the organization’s back. Therefore, this particular social media feedback can give companies an opportunity to gain unique insights to help evaluate and improve its internal and external branding. That’s the business case for monitoring Glassdoor in principle. But, what tends to happen in actual practice within organizations? AETHOS recently surveyed more than 50 HR professionals from best practice hospitality companies to understand the extent to which they give credence to and leverage Glassdoor as a business tool.

The sobering truth is that personal and professional development hinges on the ability to be self-critical. Some might use softer language like “contemplative, introspective, and reflective,” but that undermines the rather raw and unforgiving nature of the task itself.

Studies generally show that assessment outperforms traditional behavioural interviews 4:1 in predicting job performance, so a targeted and valid assessment can give organizations a major competitive edge in identifying and retaining top talent. But that’s only the first part of the equation. The other part is to correctly choose and use these tools.

Alignment has been a commonly spoken “business mantra” for years, although Human Resources professionals would agree that misalignment is a common issue that is neither comprehensively discussed nor addressed in today’s workplaces. That performance gaps and lapses in resources exist is not debated. What’s now needed to advance the conversation is evidence-based guidance on identifying and rectifying the catalysts of misalignment.

Keith Kefgen and Dr. Jim Houran on the recent trend of consolidation within the hospitality industry: "It’s not about trying to force a square peg into a round hold, but rather about building new, novel, and profitable configurations altogether".

Dr. Jim Houran assesses global leadership profiles and specifically hones-in on the potential challenges faced by employers and senior executives on the African continent. Dr. Jim shares best practices in driving performance in the work place and identifies key issues that need addressing - the psychometric GM and CEO/COO profiles revealed in the article provide a data-driven response to the critical question posed as to what types of leaders will meet the guests defining the new haven of hospitality. Arguably that answer is leaders who are “technical capable but perhaps not fully prepared in their service mindset.”

There are three major shifts within the industry and the workforce as a whole that drive the growing need for transformation within the HR department and the relationship between business leadership and HR professionals. Considering each on a case by case basis, it is subsequently questioned whether there are no other talent management tools beyond the established that are worthwhile applying.

The article takes an in-depth look at how leaders must possess both creativity and problem-solving skills to excel on the job. it is argued that these skills can be taught and are not necessarily innate.

Critical issues to consider when outsourcing a hotel’s restaurant operations to a professional restaurant brand/operator.

The 20|20 Skills™ team presents key findings from the pre-conference survey conducted for HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® Mid-America conference.

A new study finds that industry professionals equate job success to different competency models for different employment levels; and consequently have expectations that selection and training assessments should be more highly context-specific.