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Middle East Hospitality
THE ROAD TO PROFITABILITY IN THIS DECADE
NO WAY WITHOUT STAFF
Our decade Salary Survey reaffirms Albert Einstein's Theory of
Relativity. This theory dictates that all freely moving objects
move at the same speed. In the Middle East hospitality Industry,
the same law applies when business is bad, everyone suffers and
when it improves, everyone improves. The ME and Africa road to
profitability in this decade is open to all hotels / Resorts, no matter
which locations they are in.
We measure growth by demand. The demand for staff usually
follows a few months after the demand for rooms. The last
decision made by hoteliers and owners is to hire more staff, and
it is only done when there are no other internal resources
available.
There are certain areas in the Region where the demand is always
there, especially in locations where almost the entire work
force is comprised of expatriates, such as Dubai, or where new
construction has been planned, and is committed to even before
business hits a low. In other location, such as the Egypt,
demand made a stark recovery in this decade, creating an almost
vertical curve. The demand for staff does not always equal
profitability, and the increase in recruitment is only a small
sign of revenue improvement.
The demand for staff in this decade is not only a
result of continued improvement in business; it also highlights
the poor human capital development that our Region's Industry
has followed for the last decade.
When times are bad, no one hires and trains. Fewer enter or
graduate from hotel schools, and even fewer stay in the
hospitality field, deciding that there are better opportunities
in general industries!.
Depleted management availability shows up two or three years
after the problem occurs, and is reflected when the industry
finds out that there is no one they can transfer or promote. The
current need for staff is the result of these major issues:
1. Improvement
of business.
2. Previous
neglect or lack of staff planning as a result of financial
restraints
3. The
industry does not make itself attractive to graduating
hospitality students; entry-level positions are not fashionable
enough to entice people at the low salaries offered.
For these and other reasons, many companies must go outside
their own organization for very important positions, i.e. in the
past few months Four Seasons Hotels advertised for a Purchasing
Manager for the company. There is absolutely no company
currently in our industry that can say it has enough staff for
its growth or to fill its needs.
So, as Albert Einstein said there is no one exempt from the need
for free moving individuals. Roemer's Law of Consistency of 1676
means, in our industry's terms, that you have to consistently
recruit, train and transfer key individuals in order to develop
a constant flow of good management staff and new ideas.
All companies seek a competitive advantage to raise the bar far
above the heads of their competitors and of course keep
themselves in business!
Human Recourses departments must now think of unique ways to
entice people to enter the Middle East hospitality industry. The
leaders of the industry have to begin considering employees
as human assets in a business framework, not as employees or
team members. This would mean the introduction of better
remuneration, training and career options to produce the desired
outcome. A focus must be placed on the attraction and
maintenance of more talent in your company, which of course,
increases your company's value.
Companies must move quickly to identify and attract human
assets, and they should introduce fine-tuned incentive programs
to attract the best and brightest. These companies can easily
carve out a large and enduring competitive edge over their
next-door neighbors, who can only brag about their innovative
rooms and new mattresses.
Competitors cannot copy human resources assets, but can move
quickly to mimic their rival's new properties by merely
upgrading their rooms. However, new mattresses cannot substitute
for a creative set of Human Resources practices and policies to
compete for human assets.
Good places to start when attracting human assets is to do some
research on the tactics other industries use to attract their
management staff. Their tactics must fit the hospitality
industry and provide you with a good retune on investment for
the start-up outlay. Another question to ask when reviewing
other industries actions is: how long will it take before
results show?
A system process can change management thinking and help to
attract new talent. With this information, your company can
begin to determine specific new ideas and assess the key
results, including the total productivity of these new human
assets.
We have discussed Einstein and Roemer, innovative scientists of
the past, and it is time to use principals of modern systemic
thought to create a new science for hospitality human asset
management. Assess the facts and focus on value:? do not
continue to copy what others are doing. No single human
resources strategy will fit all organizations.
No one size fits all!
P.S.
In the fall of 2009, we did a study on Who is running the
Hospitality Industry in the Middle East the study showed that 62
% of the movers and shakers of the hospitality industry, that
is, Resident Managers, General Managers, corporate and overall
senior management staff, is over 45 years old ? 20 % over 55
years old this is a staggering statistic.
The fact that our industry is statically run by those who are
over 45 years old is not a condemnation of hiring mature
professionals. On the contrary, more and more owners and
management companies are finding success with more mature
managers who are not concerned about moving quickly to more
senior jobs. This age group has a lower likelihood of family
issues and as one client in Dubai slated: I hired him because I
believe I am putting my assets in safe hands, Meaning that he
felt comfortable that the General Manager's ethics and
experience were best suited to protect his assets.
Interesting enough, this was not for an established conservative
hotel, but for a young lifestyle hotel. The GM was 60 years
old.
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