Is It Time to Rethink the Way Hospitality Graduates Are Treated in the Workforce?

The hospitality industry could be losing a generation of future leaders. It’s not that there’s a shortage of passionate young people, but we’re not treating our future managers differently than the transient employees we use in front-line positions; as a result, many of them are leaving the industry. To solve this problem, leadership development needs to be strategic and specific to the people we want to promote. We can’t take for granted that bright and ambitious young people want to manage our businesses.

Case in point: last year two students from the University of Guelph’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in Ontario conducted a research project examining their peers’ perceptions of the industry as an employer. The students, Lindsay Barron and Matthew Azevedo, were in their graduating semester and had completed year-long co-op placements at resort hotels in Western Canada. With their academic careers winding down, both wondered what their future career held for them. Initially, they were keen to pursue a future in hospitality management — Azevedo most likely in foodservice and Barron in accommodation. But, four years later, although Barron was still determined to find a career in the industry, Azevedo had decided his future lay elsewhere. Regardless of their final career objectives, the duo was determined to address and document issues that concern students and recent graduates from hospitality programs across the country. They hoped their research would encourage industry leaders to create a more supportive, complementary and mutually beneficial relationship with their employees.

The following article presents Barron and Azevedo’s findings, followed by the school faculty’s experience with students and recent grads.

The student perspective

For their research, Barron and Azevedo interviewed approximately 150 hospitality students from colleges and universities across Canada. Students were asked 30 questions about earning potential, compensation and work-life balance. Below is an excerpt from their research paper:

“Respondents were asked to reflect on the following statement: “The earning potential of the hospitality industry appeals to me.” The findings show a decline in positive feelings about earning potential as the students approached graduation and full-time employment in the industry.

When asked to list what they dislike about the industry, one respondent stated: “The number of hours management has to work and the difference in pay between managers and servers.” 
Respondents were also asked to rate their feelings about the statement “The compensation for work is fair in the hospitality industry.” Fifty-two per cent of the first- and second-year respondents surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that compensation for work is fair. Third- and fourth-year respondents had a more divided perception as only 28 per cent agree or strongly agree with the statement. And, the perception among recent graduates shifted further as only 16 per cent agreed, while 0 per cent strongly agreed with the statement.

In a preceding question, respondents were asked to list the two qualities they liked least about the hospitality industry. This open-format question did not require respondents to explicitly list two separate items. Overall, the word “hours” was mentioned 54 per cent of the time. Perhaps more telling is a breakdown by year: first- and second-year students mentioned “hours” in 42 per cent of the responses, while third- and fourth-year students mentioned the word 56 per cent of the time, and recent graduates mentioned it 71 per cent of the time. ”

Read more | foodserviceandhospitality.com