Employee Motivation During COVID-19 Pandemic
Focusing on employee motivation should begin with a review of the present situation of the global hospitality business. When the current situation is taken into account, it is evident that the pandemic slows economic growth, making the globe poorer as unemployment rises and the economy shrinks. As a result, a thriving tourist sector is required, as is a concerted effort to reorient it toward sustainability. Tourism enterprises are seasonal, and they barely scrape by the rest of the year; as a result, they rely on the tourist season to generate enough money to support the rest of the year. Travel brokers, hotels, and other businesses were hampered by the rapid cancellation of bookings (Seyfi and Hall 2020).
Other small and medium-sized travel agents and hotels temporarily shuttered their doors to cut overhead costs and possible losses, while they opted to lay off their temporary workers and trainees to decrease operational expenditures. As a result, the COVID-19 is a once-in-a-lifetime disaster that might shatter our assumptions about social injustice, environmental sustainability, and host-guest interactions, among other things. Indeed, it has rocked the fundamental foundations of global tourism as well as the hotel business, producing widespread demotivation among industry personnel.
There are several reasons why hiring in the hotel industry is now difficult. Low-wage, low-skill job, unpleasant working conditions, a lack of growth opportunities, and schedules that aren't favorable to work/life balance make it difficult to recruit individuals to the profession. The epidemic only served to highlight these flaws. A lack of accessible daycare, particularly in low-wage occupations, is also a significant problem. Thousands of childcare programs have closed due to the epidemic, creating childcare deserts. This isn't something that should be taken lightly. This has caused a significant drop in the sector.
One reason for the significant staffing shortage in the hotel industry is a lack of funds. even with the 13 percent rise in September 2021, average non-manager hospitality industry earnings are less than $17 an hour. Another cause for the labor scarcity in the hotel business is the significant employment loss in the first year of the pandemic, 2020, which will force millions of people to hunt for work elsewhere. In many cases, this was unemployment compensation or alternative jobs in other sectors. According to industry experts, those workers are unlikely to return to their previous or similar hospitality professions.
While the epidemic drove numerous changes throughout the economy and the hospitality sector, it also forced many people to be innovative and step outside of their comfort zones in order to attempt new things. And they want employers to provide them with those possibilities in the future. In post-pandemic recruiting, providing career path and development help is a significant plus. As the economy improves, workers are looking for more flexibility. Workers are searching for work-life balance, remote job options, and flexible scheduling such as four-day workweeks. Workers seeking trust and stability rather than simply another salary will be attracted to a caring culture that supports employees tired of COVID clashes and difficulties. In the post-pandemic environment, appreciating and acknowledging employees for their efforts and successes is a cost-effective method to bond with a staff. A welcoming workplace combined with higher salary is a recruitment plus (New Jersey Business & Industry Association, 2021).
• Recruiting and Choosing the Best People High turnover rates demand a constant infusion of new talent to adequately fill all of the available jobs. However, due to a number of issues, the hotel industry has recently had difficulty attracting individuals with the skills needed to succeed in even entry-level roles.
• Attrition is unaffected by a company's size or the industry in which it works. It is always harmful, inconvenient, and costly in terms of both resources and labor. Turnover and poor retention rates are particularly troublesome in the hotel industry, because employees represent the company's face and interact with customers on a regular basis, and when consumers have little direct influence on hotel personnel.
• In terms of Training and Development, Because of the epidemic, all staff training was put on hold for two years. Of course, insufficient training and development contribute to high turnover rates. Low retention rates limit management's options, resulting in undertrained and ill-prepared people being placed in key positions without the necessary skills and experience.
Employers in the hotel sector will need to shift even more than they did at the start of the epidemic as labor shortages persist and workers refuse to return. To compete in the post-pandemic labor market, they will need to rethink their strategy to attracting and hiring people, reinventing their work environments, and compensating and rewarding their workforces.
Closing the skills gap will require time, effort, and teamwork, but the hotel sector can take a few steps right now to assist fill current gaps (Samanta, 2017).
• Create and expand current staff upskilling and training efforts.
• Collaborate with our educational institutions to build talent pipelines and increase program alignment with the skills required in our local workforce.
• To establish a workforce based on capabilities rather than experience, change your hiring attitude to focus on knowledge, skills, and abilities. Hire and teach people that have an aptitude for learning your business.
• Make equality and inclusion your allies to expand the pool of possible candidates.
It all boils down to your willingness to change your mentality and accept that your workers' expectations have changed. Employers must appreciate human resources and pay close attention to employee engagement and satisfaction and motivation Consider the following points:
• Create chances for professional growth and promotion at all levels of your business.
• A strong feeling of belonging and culture should begin at the top. Make sure your management are aware of your company's culture and aren't pressuring good employees to quit.
• Improve your onboarding process so that new workers feel welcomed and involved right away.
• Ensure that your staff are valued and recognized, and that they are not overworked or overburdened.
• Be willing to provide personalized solutions and flexible working arrangements for your staff.
As a take home note, the dream can only be achieved with others' cooperation. To address this issue, all hotels should focus on making their employees physically and mentally stronger while also keeping them motivated.
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Reference List
New Jersey Business & Industry Association. (2021). Employees Who View Workplace Positively More Motivated to Upskill. [online] Available at: https://njbia.org/employees-who-view-workplace-positively-more-motivated-to-upskill/
Guzman, M. (n.d.). The New Role of Hotel Housekeeping During COVID-19. [online] www.aliceplatform.com. Available at: https://www.aliceplatform.com/blog/the-new-role-for-hotel-housekeeping-staff-post-covid-19.
Samanta, A.K. (2017). Employee Satisfaction and Quality of Work Life: A Review of Literature. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, Volume-2(Issue-1), pp.356–360. doi:10.31142/ijtsrd5957.
Hello Melanie, Interesting discussion on the motivation with current environment situation. In addition to above studies show that the correct anti COVID-19 protection measures taken by the organization influence the degree of employee motivation and satisfaction at work (Szentesi S. G. , et. al. 2021)
ReplyDeleteHello Dumindu, If managers or leaders can apply the four drives of motivation which are Acquire, Bond, Comprehend and Defend during times as pandemics, they will acquire a better understanding on their employees motivational requirements (Nohria, 2001).
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