The tourism and hospitality sector must uplift itself and re-embrace the excitement of being hosts. This is one of the conclusions from the webinar “Returning to the tourism sector: how to get talent and commitment back?”.
The tourism and hospitality sector must uplift itself and re-embrace the excitement of being hosts. This is one of the conclusions from the webinar "Returning to the tourism sector: how to get talent and commitment back?", held by the Sant Ignasi Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, in which the essence of the hospitality industry was on full display. “During the pandemic, a group of employees volunteered for healthcare causes, because serving is in their blood. The calling for service and talent didn't disappear,” said Jordi Sala, Director of Human Resources at Hotel Arts Barcelona, East Spain and Island Coordinator at Marriott International.
According to the hotelier, contacts need to be re-established with people who have left the sector (whether of their own free will or forced) to find out if they are still interested in the industry and they should be offered positions that they can successfully perform. Referring to one of the ways to give dignity to the profession, he stated: “We must bring dignify to the sector and rediscover the excitement of being hosts, of being inspiring. The hospitality industry is our way of life, and clearly identifying people who truly embrace and feel this passion is key.”
Along these lines, Jordi Sala also encouraged professionals to demonstrate that their employees are important and offer them a career plan: “Let's leave behind six-month contracts just to cover the season and let's pay well too. The sector shouldn't remain like it has been for a long time (badly paid). That's why there isn't enough dignity in the sector."
Xavier Martín, Founder & Managing Director of Turijobs, warned of the flight of talent and the difficulties that companies will face in finding professionals. For this reason, he made reference to dignity in the sector and encouraged companies to strengthen collaboration with their employees: "There are leading companies that show the way by taking care of their teams and this must permeate the rest of the tourism sector."
Emotional management, a key in today's leadership
How can teams be led today amidst so much uncertainty and constant changes? Through emotional management. Jordi Sala was quite emphatic when he stated that “leaders must be managers of their teams, behaving and managing through the principles and duties established by Human Resources. Leaders must handle their emotions.”
Coach and trainer Vanessa Sancho agreed with this approach and stated that both "emotional self-management and emotional management of the teams we lead" is a key skill for today's leaders, based upon communication, active listening, and resilience.
The professional from Hotel Arts gave an example of this with one of the actions in emotional well-being that has been implemented in the hotel: in addition to courses on resilience, mindfulness, or stress and change management, they have started active listening sessions with small groups of employees. “In these sessions, we listen and share everything about difficulties we have experienced that have helped us to better prepare ourselves for our day-to-day work, to be able to relate to one another, and to treat each other with awareness of what everyone has gone through. It has helped us to reconnect."
Since April 2020, HTSI has held online seminars (#HTSIwebinars) in partnership with strategic tourism and hospitality companies and entities that enable people to exchange different points of view, actions, good practices, and advice in these "extraordinary" times that the industry is experiencing due to the pandemic.