Sue Williams urges hoteliers to encourage young people into hospitality
Too many hotels are failing to look after their staff, the Master Innholders' 25th Hotel General Managers' Conference was told.
Williams, general manager at Whatley Manor, near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, and 2017 Hotelier of the Year outlined her aim to become more involved with any initiatives that help inspire the next generation to take up a career in hospitality.
She said that there are some hoteliers who need "to stop a moment and take a break and realise that they cannot keep doing what they have always done".
"New cultures need to be established with the express aim for all to gain some traction on showing customers and parents that hospitality is a fantastic career of choice.
"I hear us sometime talk of emulating what goes on in football clubs where they identify and nurture talent. But we don't go to the grass roots enough to identify them."
Williams highlighted the great work that is always being done by the Academy of Culinary Culinary Arts' Adopt a School charity and Springboard is doing to sow the seed that hospitality is a great career option.
She also said that the message from hoteliers should be that fulfilment and satisfaction in a job takes time and that the rewards can be great.
"On the one hand we have youngsters with little self esteem and confidence and on the other we have people who are full of self-belief but have little substance to back it up, leading to a challenged work force of the future and very sadly I know they will struggle to find fulfilment."
Going forward, Williams said that tech-free time needed to be introduced into the work place to allow teams to build social skills and relationships. "This fantastic access to information needs to be balanced with emotional intelligence to bring life back into balance," she concluded.
The Master Innholders' 25th Hotel General Managers' Conference was held at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms on Monday and Tuesday. A full report of the event will appear in next week's issue of The Caterer, available 26 January.
Hotelier of the Year 2017: Sue Williams, Whatley Manor >>
Sue Williams to leave Cliveden to take up GM role at Whatley Manor >>
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