Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Herman Trend Alert
April 17, 2019
Guaranteeing Jobs
Over the years I have written about hospitality's recruiting nightmare; there is simply a global shortage of good people to serve guests in many ways. Recently, the biggest challenge for hoteliers has been recruiting and retaining front-line staff, including chefs, servers, and front desk people. Last month, when I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, I spent some time with the General Manager of the Scandic Front Hotel where I stayed. This Herman Trend Alert details the innovative program that Scandic Hotels is launching in Scandinavia to respond to this critical shortage.
Skilled worker shortages in Denmark
According to new statistics from Dansk Erhverv, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, 46 percent of its members and the employers' association's member companies have experienced that it was either "very difficult" or "difficult" to recruit skilled workers. Furthermore, there has been a shift away from vocational education towards college and university programs. We have seen this shift globally with devastating consequences for the Trades in many developed countries.
Scandic's innovative program
Responding to these shortages, Denmark's largest hotel chain has moved in new ways to attract the necessary skilled labor with the goal of doubling the number of skilled students it attracts, for its four new hotels in Copenhagen and Aarhus within the coming years. Furthermore, the hotel chain will create new internal development and internship courses for training students in these career paths. The bottom line is to guarantee jobs to the students who stay in the program.
A brilliant---and necessary---move
With Scandic's rapid development in the Danish market, this is a brilliant move. They believe this program, including the job guarantee will allow them to attract even more talented young people in the future. "The job guarantee is a guarantee that young people will have access to attractive career opportunities in an international, expanded business," said Anne Mette Pedersen, HR Director at Scandic.
An excellent role model for other hoteliers
Though probably not unique among the world's hotel chains, Scandic's job guarantee is a superior program for recruiting front-line staff who can grow into hospitality leaders. I believe that independent hotels and others will do well to use this excellent role model to respond to workforce shortages in their areas. The challenge may be that independents will not have the scale necessary to make the investments in the unique training programs worthwhile. Kudos to Scandic for their effective response to recruiting challenges.
Special thanks to Jacob Brammer, General Manager at the well-run Scandic Front Hotel in Copenhagen for letting us know about this wonderful new program. To book a room with Scandic, visit their website.
*********
© Copyright 1998-2019 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. 336-210-3548 or http://www.hermangroup.com. To sign up, visit http://www.HermanTrendAlert.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc."
*********
The Herman Group is a firm of Strategic Business Futurists concentrating on workforce and workplace issues. We forecast the future and advise clients regarding relevant trends and how those trends may affect their lives. Applying our expertise as Certified Management Consultants, we advise corporate leaders regarding employee retention and organizational development to help them build workforce stability. We help organizations become Employers of Choice®. We also work with Employer of Choice, Inc. to formally recognize employers that meet the stringent standards dictated by the labor marketplace. As authors of management books and as active professional speakers, we inform and inspire people to make a positive difference in the world of work.
You did really get the ball rolling with our retention presentation, overall we have seen a move in the right direction with our turnover.
In practice since 1980, we have served a wide variety of clients throughout the United States and in other countries. Our global affiliates assist us in sharing our expertise and advice with clients internationally. Our team of professional consultants and trainers is supported by an administrative staff that gets things done. We also have consultants certified to deliver our programs in your local area.
Delivering to both small and large groups across 100 industries, The Herman Group has provided over 2,500 educational and informative keynote speeches and training seminars worldwide.
Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, we travel extensively to meet the needs of our clients. We can always be reached through the support team in our office at (800) 227-3566. Overseas callers may reach us through 336-210-3547.
Should you have any questions after touring our website, please call or e-mail us at info@hermangroup.com.
Get started now on improving the stability and performance of your workforce and increase your chances for success in the future.