Imagine this scenario: Peter (not his real name) is a middle-aged professional in the medical field. Peter holds a Master’s degree in Public Health as well as two baccalaureate degrees in the medical field. Up to March this year, he was working with a world-level healthcare company in the UK.
Shortly after, Peter left his position in the UK to become the CEO of an ailing private hospital in another country. The idea behind Peter’s new position was to help the ailing medical entity come back to its feet economically and financially. Unfortunately, barely six months into office, he was unable to make this happen. The hospital’s board fired Peter on October 3.
This anecdote mirrors one of the important aspects of human resource in any business: talent acquisition and management.
What is Talent Management?
Talent Management refers to the process by which businesses identify and develop talented individuals to drive a positive impact on their business objectives. Effective talent management and development is a key driver of organizational performance. It also improves the competitive advantage of a company among its peers.
The current hospitality industry is evolving. There’s a need to implement seamless technology across different platforms and devices. Mobile check-in and digital concierge services are on the rise. A good example is Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, where visitors use high-tech cards to detect their presence and unlock the doors even before they reach them.
These services can only remain effective when the industry has employees who are tech savvy to ensure smooth coordination and automation at all times. The hospitality industry is highly customer-focused and must deliver great customer experience to generate repeat business and build their brand. This makes talent management an important component of its human resource department.
Why TM is a Priority
To consider talent management a strategic priority, there is a need to integrate it into the daily activities of all hospitality practitioners. The following are the benefits of having an effective TM system:
- It improves the hiring process: A company focuses on only the best candidates to join its team of staff.
- Initiates employee learning and development: A company identifies, acquires, grows, and keeps top talent for future leadership.
- Leads to accurate data: Helps in aligning important HR processes from recruitment to ongoing performance assessments.
- Helps in retaining top talent: It’s easy to track employee performance, review goals and skills, and keep employees engaged.
- Improves cultural connections and employee engagement: It creates a better understanding of company goals and objectives.
The Role of Managers
In strategic talent management, Line managers play a crucial role in employee development and well-being. To augment their role, they need management techniques as a necessity for developing talent management processes. These skills enable them to understand how to achieve employees’ comfort and cultivate good relationships.
Besides, they develop the right work attitude with workers. Consequently, they build faithfulness and honesty and provide commendable organizational support in the hospitality sector. Importantly, strategic talent management fosters cultural and behavioral change in the hospitality sector.
With effective TM strategies, companies encourage the improvement of the abilities and personalities required to infuse a way of doing things in line with their business goals. Notably, hospitality organizations are changing their policies and processes to adapt a “build” rather than “buy” approach to talent identification and development.
Points to Note on Effective Talent Management
The partnership approach to talent management emphasizes skills in teamwork, strength, and adaptability. This encourages employees at various levels across the organization to collaborate on the talent retention plan. It underlines that internal talent is fluid, and managers should enable this rather than creating barriers to it.
Externally, the approach advocates for working together with a business agency expert to foster a better understanding of the external environments. For instance, in recruitment, there should be collaboration with managers of other companies to combine resources or techniques. This ensures a decrease in retention problems and gives workers more growth chances.
Possible Bottlenecks
This piece cannot be complete without mentioning some of the challenges in talent management. Daily operational demands and economic pressure constrain strategic TM. The pressure to survive in difficult external and financial environments is a problem for talent management in SMEs. These challenges can thwart their determination to see beyond potential current short-term business challenges and invest in long-term company growth.
The owner-managers have the demanding task of daily juggling the functional and strategic aspects of their role. The emotional relations that owner-managers make with their workers affect the growth of the business. Proper emotional connections help them understand their employees’ goals and progress requirements. After an employee leaves, positive relationships formed results in the alumni bringing many referrals to the organization.
Final Thoughts
Talent management should be emphasized as an essential tool for the development of the hospitality sector. When accorded the priority it deserves, strategic talent management processes enables employees to become better skilled and the sector reels sustainability and success. Line managers in the hospitality sector must equip themselves with strategic TM skills to achieve the most desired prosperity.
Author Bio
Alexander Mirza, The Founder & CEO of Mogul – Humanizing Travel. Its platform Staymogul.com provides booking, service and talent solutions for the hospitality industry.
