General Manager
Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel
The hospitality business very much depends on human resources. The average labor turnover for the global hospitality industry is around 30-35 percent. Meanwhile, this rate represents nearly twice the average for all other industries. High employee turnover negatively impacts the industry in the light of hotel company's competitiveness and brand consistency. High employee engagement always affects the level of guests' satisfaction and customer retention, as well as recruitment and training budgets of the hotel. Even the quantity of uniforms that a hotel has to buy depends on this issue. The lower the labor turnover index is, the higher the guest satisfaction index. Employees with longer professional experience and a higher degree of brand loyalty are more likely to possess competence that enables long-term brand consistency.
Being an employee of an international brand hotel, you have a lot of benefits, including a strong corporate culture and values, brand education and recognition, and also opportunities to travel as a brand employed person worldwide as well as an individual, using the staff rate. One of the most important things to support employee loyalty is comprehensive training programs that focus on problem resolution/avoidance, meeting guests' unanticipated needs and recognizing our most loyal guests. To recognize team members using the brand worldwide initiatives also means to invest in employees and greatly influence the success of our business. On top of that, you will be in the middle of the latest news: if a famous football club is staying in your hotel, celebrities are attending a presentation or show, or ambassadors are coming for protocol dinners, etc. It is definitely an exciting job, but hoteliers face very strong competition from other industries in terms of packages and sometimes job opportunities.
Statistically, higher employee engagement means 10-12 percent higher revenue per compensation per dollar and 7-10 percent higher house profit, which is very important for hospitality industry. Besides, it is up to 10 percent less guest complaints and therefore promise more returns to your brand in future.
Nowadays, all industries, including hospitality in the Russian Federation, experience huge challenges with young talents. This is mainly due to the drop of the birth rate at the beginning of the 90s. Even high schools and universities start promoting themselves while hardly facing the same drop. That is why hotel operators have to think about strategies both prior to entering the market and already existing markets. Hotels need to rethink their operating model to effectively execute business talent strategy. The most advanced hotels have already started to create a talent management plan aimed at extended compensation packages, financial incentives, job security, career progress, leadership development and flexible work arrangements.
The hospitality industry is becoming more and more attractive, judging by the number of new hotels opened and those planning to be opened in the Russian Federation. I am sure that in the next few years the leading hospitality brands will be more closely communicating with local hospitality schools to provide job opportunities, internship and development programs for young talents.
