by Stavroula Kitsanou, Social Media Coordinator | Workathlon
Technology is redefining rather than replacing in-demand roles. Jobs in the skilled trades, as well as sales representatives, engineers, drivers and technicians have ranked among the hardest roles to fill for the past 10 years.
Soft Skills
A good place to start rethinking the recruiting process is at the top of the funnel, by cutting requirements in job ads to what’s truly essential and hiring for fit. Leave outside the technical mastery of the role.
“Resumes, for example, cannot reveal a candidate’s creativity, willingness to work hard and love of learning”, says Jennifer Carpenter, vice president of global talent acquisition at Delta Air Lines.
Jobs are changing more quickly, so we’re finding more and more organizations hiring the person who has the necessary soft skills to navigate the workplace, and then train them for the rest. Agility, creativity, teamwork, ability to learn will survive the automated future. The jobs that endure will be those that are not easily automated as they require human reasoning.
Employer’s Part
Experts recommend the implementation of internship assignments and mentoring opportunities to high school students. Additionally, they suggest recruiting outside the local labor market and in parts of the country where there’s a surplus of workers. “You’ve got to go where the talent is” Axenson says.
In the end, companies that improve wages and benefits offerings will differentiate themselves in the market. Employers have started competing for candidates by increasing bonuses and benefits faster than they increase salaries, cautiously preserving the flexibility to dial the perks back if the economy experiences another downturn.
Competitive compensation is only part of the puzzle. Employees are also seeking for learning and development opportunities, that can lead them to creative career paths.
For employers part, using multiple approaches to build the skills of their workforce is critical to bridging the skills gap. Techniques like internal certification programs, partnering with third-party training providers and offering financial assistance to employees for professional development have proved to be successful.
All in all, change happens so quickly now that organizations consistently have to reinvent themselves. This means employees have to reinvent, too, by upgrading their skills and learning new ones.
RELATED ARTICLE Hard VS Soft skills: Hospitality Edition HERE
What happens in Hospitality
As far as the Hospitality field concern, the 2019 Young Hoteliers Summit Employer Rankings found that students are most motivated to work in traditional hospitality upon graduation. However, there is an overall decrease in motivation across all hospitality sectors, with traditional hospitality experiencing the steepest decline of 4.66%.
Although only 4% of students expect to leave their first job within a year, 25% of hospitality alumni actually move on to their next job within that time frame. Intrinsic motivators such as Career path and Advancement, Training and Development and Empowerment and Responsibility were cited as most critical motivators for job retention (salary only appeared as the fifth motivator).
The most sought after brands in luxury hospitality are, for this year, Four Seasons, followed by The Ritz Carlton and Marriott Hotels & Resorts. At the same time, Ibis Hotels, Ibis Styles hotels and the Ibis – Accor Hotels – are ranked among the top 5 sections of the Midscale & Economy department, which is probably due to the excellent awareness and perception of career development and careers among the group.
What are Greek Hospitality talents looking for?
Finally, Greek hospitality talents recently told Workathlon what they want in order to remain loyal to a company. Team spirit, standard and predictable working conditions, continuing education, innovation, mutual support, and prospects for development are the factors that will make them claim or stay in a position. If you are recruiting your next talents, do not forget to note all the above down!
Resources
Dardig, J. C. (1993). GCT Review: Pick up Your Socks …. And other Skills Growing Children Need. Gifted Child Today Magazine,16(1), 52-52. doi:10.1177/107621759301600120
Hsu, O. (n.d.). How to Attract Hospitality Talent in 2019. Retrieved from https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/hospitality-management-career-talent
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