Workplace safety plays an important role in retaining productive employees, especially in the hospitality industry where turn-over is high compared to other private sector industries. Safe work environments affect employee health, staff morale and workers' compensation insurance costs. The following guest column by Barry Vogt, senior vice president and chief claims officer at EMPLOYERS, America's small business insurance specialist®, provides guidance on what hotels should do in the event of an on-the-job injury or illness to ensure their employees receive appropriate care and return to work in a timely manner. READ MORE

Despite industry efforts to the contrary, women still earn less money than men for the same jobs. Data analysis does not support the economic arguments for this disparity, and several studies have pointed directly to discriminatory policies. Regardless of the reason, the industry loses a valuable resource, as talented women look elsewhere for employment or leave to form their own businesses. To stanch this loss of talent, several firms have taken steps to promote women in their ranks. This article outlines the gender pay gap and suggests ways to improve the status of women--thereby retaining a large set of dedicated and talented workers. READ MORE

Service in today's hospitality properties is more far casual than it was during the era of 'Old World' hotels. Even though this may be more appropriate for the times and a big cost saver, we are losing sight of the glamour which with we have, in times past, attracted some of the brightest and most eager minds to our industry overtop of others with potentially more lucrative monetary compensations. All is not lost, however, as the hotel industry has many exceptional benefits for new entrants to the workforce, but only if we properly promote these incentives. READ MORE

We came to our hospitality careers by a number of different paths. Some of us fell in love early, decided to go to a hospitality school and plotted a career up through a specific discipline. Others found ourselves in a service role that grew into a lifelong career that took us all over the world. Everyone has their story, but we all agree that the diversity of cultures, disciplines and scenery that make up our everyday work lives in hotels is one of the most exciting aspects of our daily work lives. READ MORE

One of the biggest myths surrounding leadership is that it's inherent: People are born with it or they're not. But, it's not that simple. People aren't necessarily born with great leadership skills. Rather, leaders need to be shaped and molded, and organizations need to be proactive and have a commitment to develop great leaders. In the hospitality sector, where customer service can make or break a business, effective leadership is an absolute must — at every level of the organization. Especially when it comes to managing today's multi-generational workforce. READ MORE

The landscape of the Hospitality business has changed drastically in especially the past 15 years. We have shifted from “gracious hospitality” as a means to increase profitability to “analytics and metrics.” It is simply not the same business that it was back in “the good old days.” Some of the change was needed to raise the bar of our industry to a level of sophistication that it lacked, but some of it has just gone too far, forgetting what the hallmarks of Hospitality are all about. READ MORE

Nelson Mandela said it best…”it always seems impossible until it's done.” Mr. Mandela was a man who understood that only through aligning people to a higher purpose could the greatest accomplishment of his generation be achieved for South Africa. He was the kind of leader who understood that within each of us is a common need. As he said: ”for to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” This was a truly inspiring, compelling and engaging vision for his people. READ MORE

Quite the buzzword in today's literature, 'millennial' is often associated with words such as 'narcissism' and 'entitlement' - generalizations that may or may not be entirely accurate. A simple internet search of 'millennials in the workplace' will display nearly one million results advising you as to best practices in 'dealing with' this new generation of workers. Much of these publications focus heavily on the problems and challenges associated with this new labor pool. It stands to reason, however, that it is futile to spend one's time complaining about the millennial generation, when one should instead focus on how to successfully work with this generation. READ MORE

Far too many business leaders in the hospitality industry today are failing to invest in one of the most critical aspects of a successful business - their leaders of tomorrow. Most hotel executives recognize the importance of leadership in building the long term success of their business. Yet, many executives fail to develop their managers of today into great leaders that will successfully drive and guide the future of the business tomorrow. With guests raising the bar and demanding more every year, the ongoing success of your properties is ultimately determined by the recruiting, hiring, development, and retention of your future leaders. READ MORE

Employee engagement is the secret sauce that sets leading companies apart. Employee engagement, profit, growth, client satisfaction, and solid leadership by themselves are not sustainable. These outcomes are from something bigger: purpose. Having purpose is the magic dust for organizations. Employees tend to be happier, healthier and more productive when they feel a sense of purpose in their work. Employee engagement strengthens when employers explain how their employees are contributing to the success of the business. READ MORE

It's All About Leadership: A 2013 global C-suite study by the IBM Institute for Business Value suggests that, by a pretty wide margin, the top two concerns of Chief Human Resource Officers are 1) talent development and 2) employee engagement and commitment, outcomes that are influenced more (much more) by the quality of leadership at a person-to-person level, than organizational attraction. The operative precept here is that our employees don't always get to choose the manager they report to, but they choose daily which ones they're going to come back tomorrow and exert real effort for. READ MORE

We both travel much in our work as consultants and keynote speakers. We watch for ideas to help our clients create environments that support, nurture, and retain talent. We seek insights to nurture resilient organizations that grow through engagement challenges. We realize one source of continual insights often comes from our experience as guests in hotels around the world. When asked to write this article, our collective brains hit upon an idea that many of you already have in place: superb training to enhance the guest experience and encourage repeat visits. READ MORE

The intense competition to secure the best talent continues, with organizations engaging evermore creative recruitment strategies to ensure they get the best from international graduate pools. Fueled by new technologies, market globalization and frequent changes to business models, the demand for organizational talent grows. Talent supply, however, is another issue with the World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group (2011) indicating shortage across 25 countries by 2030. A ready-supply of engaged talent is needed to enhance service quality and to achieve this, graduate talent skills sets must become culturally embedded investments across international hospitality industry organizations. READ MORE

The U.S. labor market in October reached its longest stretch of job creation since at least World War II. U.S. employers, which added 214,000 jobs to payrolls last month, are on track to post the best yearly gain in employment since 1999. The steady job growth has pushed the nation's unemployment rate down to 5.8%, which is great news for job seekers and not so great news for anyone in search of talent. READ MORE

After spending 13 years with the Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute and the last 15 years working with the best hotel companies in the industry, I have learned the best lesson in business today. Inspect what you expect and don't hire the first warm body that comes through the door, even if they 'look' the part and talk a good game. Recruiting great talent takes a lot of time, will try your patience and bust your HR budget on professional recruiters, if you don't have a plan. The best hiring practice is to 'select' NOT 'hire.' READ MORE

The workforce is aging, and many organizations remain unprepared for the changes necessitated by increasing numbers of retirements. What are the old assumptions about retirement, about productivity of older adults, and about what employers can and should do to effectively manage through these changes? This article outlines how the workplace will likely change, and suggest new assumptions and new strategies for maximizing the benefits of an aging workforce. READ MORE