The post-pandemic period and the recovery of the global activity brought us a macroeconomic context that our generation had never seen before.
After 2 years of total inactivity, the rebound is made in a context of production delays, lack of component materials and a war in the world’s 2nd largest producer of wheat. This situation has its local repercussions, added to a brutal shortage of human resources, especially in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The global context “is what it is”, we must learn to live with it and adapt to circumstances. But in the local context, the issue of business sustainability depends on human resources – the main pillar of our activity, from people to people – and their willingness to work with us and participate in our projects.
At a time when all conversations revolve around the “lack of people in the sector”, “we don’t have people to work”, “it’s difficult to hire”, it would be great to understand that paradigm has changed and that this shift leads companies to applying recipes that seem new, or impossible, but turn out to be the basis of a company with a culture of sustainability, deriving into the achievement of unseen positive results:
1. Decent wages – one feels that is being paid based on what one actually does;
2. Productivity awards, at whatever level – employees feel they are recognized for their contribution to the company’s results;
3. End split working hours, which several studies have shown to be one of the biggest contributors to physical and emotional exhaustion;
4. Health incentive programs, namely the possibility for employees to enjoy the wellness spaces of the units where they work, or collaboration programs with wellness entities, co-financed by the company;
5. Personal and professional development programs, understanding the future that employees aspire to and what the company can do to lead them to that goal.
These, and more measures, have already been applied in cases of success in our country, reflected in brutal increases in revenues and results, demonstrating that the path is made with more and not with less. The old story of cheap labour to maintain margins is the answer of a generation of entrepreneurs that will fail miserably. Talents must be qualified but treated in a humane way (and these answers are given in the ESG context in which the company’s social condition will be measured).
Hospitality companies will have the opportunity to change, but they need to quickly understand this change, at the risk of becoming obsolete as their competitors attract talent, develop them, and grow together, in a sustainable way.
Luis Madera
Hotel Management Strategy
ABC Sustainable Luxury Hospitality
Proud Ambassador Global Wellness Institute
Happiest Places to Work – Awards