Why hotel companies should invest in their employees.

The tourism sector and especially that of hotels is currently facing a major shortage of staff as many employees due to the changes caused by the pandemic and the pathologies of a tourism system that is no longer viable, choose to change their professional orientation, resulting in a continuous bleeding of executives from the sector and young people not choosing the tourism sector to pursue a professional career.

The working conditions in the field that disturbs the personal and professional life balance of employees with the workload without any redistribution of tasks (Poor management), are the main causes and pathologies that the tourism sector is bleeding today.

Investing in employees is the best strategy!

What is the difference between the name Employer and Employee and how they work together.

Many people when they hear the term "branding" automatically think of marketing and promotions. Things like social media pages, print ads, company logos and sales promotions start to flood our minds.

While the main goal of all of these is to build brand awareness, we often neglect to understand the value of employee branding and employer branding, strategies that can yield favorable results for the organization if they work together.

According to recent studies, statistics show that 96% of organizations believe that employer branding can have a positive or negative effect on revenue. ( CareerArc )

· 78% of jobseekers say that the company's reputation is an important decision-making factor when applying for a job. ( Talent Adore )

· 9 out of 10 candidates will apply for a job when the employer has a strong job brand. ( Workable )

Employer Branding is defined as a company's reputation as a brand and the value it can add to an employee.

The benefits of Employer Branding:

· Creating an attractive working environment

· Creates a value proposition that appeals to employees (EVP)

· Cultivates the Brand of the company as an employer

· It enables them to improve their talent pool and helps them attract and retain talented people

· It affects the way customers and prospects perceive your brand

Factors affecting Employer Branding:

· Salaries.

· Job security.

· The working environment.

· Work-life balance.

· The prospective developments.

· The values, culture and ethics of the company.

· The visibility of employees (rewarding their contribution).

· Employment benefits.

The definition of Employee Branding can be described as the extent to which the company's image is perceived by existing and potential employees.

More practically, we could say that it is a process in which employees project the company's image to customers, potential employees and any interested parties.

So what is the idea behind Employee Branding, to turn employees into ambassadors of your Brand, to talk about your company and convey these values externally by word of mouth (WoM).

Benefits of Employee Branding:

· Harmonization of the personal and corporate brand.

· Adoption of the corporate brand values by employees

· Employees become an integral part of the Brand and its ambassadors to customers.

· It creates economies of scale.

· Improves the company's image on Social Media.

· It enhances transparency and trust in the company.

The fundamental difference between the two terms is that one focuses on how to attract people, while the other has to do with people who are already members of the company.

That is, how we manage the employee lifecycle and how we get a good review from our employees.

If your current employees are satisfied and happy with their jobs, their colleagues, their employers and their overall work environment, then the Employer Brand will grow.

The company should apply the People Marketing policy to its human resources. That is, develop and nurture an approach to employees by treating them just like its customers, getting to know them and listening to their experiences.

Hotels should therefore invest in the Employer Branding and Employee Branding strategy as a focus of human resource management, as it is a prerequisite for tackling and managing rapidly growing competition. Their reputation, which plays a key role in attracting new workforce.

Therefore, before looking for executives for your business, it is important to ask yourself if and how I apply these two important terms in my company.

Investing in employees is the best strategy!

Spokos Vasilis, MSc

Hospitality consultant & Marketing advisor