Mr. Ferrara

Human Resources, Recruitment & Training

Building Employee Career Paths to Recruit and Retain Quality Talent

By Jason Ferrara, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, CareerBuilder

One of the greatest benefits of a career in hospitality is the ability to connect with others - whether it's working directly with guests or developing programs and services that impact guests' experiences. Employment opportunities in hospitality are aligned with the qualities that many workers say make a job ideal. In fact, a recent CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 6,300 workers finds that 81 percent of workers feel it is important to impact others in their jobs - one-in-five (20 percent) say it is absolutely essential.

This demonstrates that there are a lot of workers who would be attracted to a career in hospitality. However, many job seekers are unaware of the career growth opportunities that exist in hospitality companies. There is often a misperception about a lack of opportunity for upward mobility in the industry, which leads some job seekers to view jobs as a stepping stone to something else.

Developing, implementing and promoting Career Path programs can help establish your company as a preferred employer and that has many advantages. Here are just a few of the ways Career Path programs can positively impact your organization:

• Compete with other industries for top talent - in an increasingly competitive hiring environment, focusing on Career Pathing can help attract candidates who may not have considered a position in hospitality.
• Reduce turnover and elevate customer experience - educating employees about opportunities for growth and helping them achieve their personal and professional goals will make employees more loyal and inspire them to deliver a better customer experience.
• Take focus off salary alone - when employees feel like they are part of something, that they are learning and building a career, salary isn't the only motivating factor.
• Create brand ambassadors - in hospitality, more so than in other industries, employees are your brand. Creating a Career Path program results in a more engaged and invested workforce who treat your business as if it's their own and become powerful brand ambassadors for your organization.
• Reputation - we live in the Internet age, where reviews of hotel experiences are readily available on blogs, hotel rating websites and more. Creating a positive environment for employees is ultimately beneficial for your external image as well.
• Bottom line impact - a more engaged and loyal workforce translates into a better experience for your guests and that directly impacts your bottom line. In fact, a recent Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania study, companies on Fortune magazine's annual list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" between 1998 and 2005 returned 14 percent of employees per year, as compared to 6 percent a year for the overall market. In the high touch hospitality industry, employees are the key to your success. Therefore, when you invest in your employees, you invest in your future. Empowering your employees to grow and learn within the organization will help distinguish your organization as a desirable workplace. And for guests, that translates to a desirable place to stay.

What is Career Pathing?

Before we dive into building a Career Path program, it's important to first explore what Career Pathing really means. It's more than putting together an organizational chart for your employees and tacking it up in the break room; it's understanding what motivates your current employees and those you would like to attract.

There isn't necessarily a set formula for Career Path programs. They should be based on what makes your organization unique, what you promise to customers and what motivates your talent.

Here are some things to keep in mind when considering a Career Path program:

• Understand motivators of top talent: what makes your employees and prospective employees feel successful? How can you empower them and help them achieve their goals?
• Dedication to employee development: do employees of all levels in your organization understand the importance of education and personal and professional development? And do they embrace it?
• Provide a culture that is inclusive, open and offers opportunity: evaluate whether your organization's culture lends itself to employees growth.
• Give employees opportunities to impact organization: What are the opportunities for employees of all levels in your organization to make a difference to the company?
• Communicate clearly to employees, gain buy-in: Where will you go? What will you learn? Employees have to feel like they are supported by the organization and compelled to participate in the program.

Building a Career Path Program

Once you identify the need for a Career Path program in your organization, how do you go about creating one?
Here are some factors to consider when developing and communicating a Career Path program:

• Growth Opportunities
  Employees and candidates need to understand the opportunities that exist in the organization to learn and grow, both professionally and personally.

• Develop Upward Mobility Plan
  If there isn't a clear plan in place for growth, employees won't feel like the organization is truly dedicated to development, and leaders in the organization won't promote it. The plan should focus on the training and skills that are necessary to make effective leaders, to develop employees and grow the organization.

• Create Multiple Layers of Education and Leadership Training
  Look at the leaders and top performers in your organization. What qualities and knowledge do they possess? How can you help other employees grow into these types of leaders?
  Talk to employees and customers and use their experiences to help develop training and leadership programs that will prepare employees for each step of their career.

• Place an Emphasis on Values
  Don't just create values that sound good. Develop, communicate and commit to values to which employees can understand and relate. These values should stand as a framework for how the company reacts in certain situations and provide a clear understanding of how success is measured.

• Consider a mentoring program
  A mentoring program provides guidance to employees and makes them feel supported in the organization while simultaneously demonstrating your dedication to employees' futures.

• Re-evaluate employee reviews
  Don't just approach employee reviews as a time to give employees feedback about their performance. Employees want to feel like they are part of something; that their ideas and opinions matter. Use reviews as a way to also gather information and ideas that may help move the company forward.

Also consider conducting reviews/feedback sessions on a more regular basis. Does your current process allow you to be agile and respond to changing dynamics in the marketplace? Would a more regular review system provide better direction, inspire throughout the year and identify and address problems in a timelier manner?

Getting the Word Out: Marketing Career Paths
Once you have a strong Career Path program in place, you want people to know about it. You can't effectively market your Career Path program externally, though, without clearly communicating it to employees first. Employees need to be cognizant of all that is available to them to embrace the program. Set up sessions, create employee newsletters, develop an employee-specific section of your web site and train managers to educate employees about the opportunities that exist in the organization.

Once your employees are on board, here are some ways to market the program to prospective employees and to customers:

Employment brand:
Organizations spend thousands, even millions, promoting their consumer brands, but many ignore their employment brands. All your investments in marketing and advertising can be for naught if customers' experiences with your employees are not consistent with your overall brand promise.

Your employment brand is the reputation you have as an employer. It can play a powerful role in attracting the types of candidates you have identified as critical to your success. To develop your employment brand, talk to employees, talk to job seekers, talk to customers, and then look at what sets your employees and opportunities apart.

Here are a few things to consider when you're building and promoting your employment brand:

• Capture employees' experiences
• Demonstrate the ability to learn, grow and move up in the organization
• Communicate what it's like to be an employee
• Focus on how the organization gives back - to employees, to customers, the community and the world

Getting the word out: Once you've determined the message, look at ways you can get the word out. You can use anything from employee videos and success stories to blogs and job descriptions - bring the employment experience to life.

For instance, a job description shouldn't just list the duties and qualities of an ideal candidate; it's another opportunity to promote your organization. Include video, employee profiles - anything that communicates what it's really like to work for the organization.

Also consider strategies to proactively reach qualified candidates who may be passive job seekers. Some of the same marketing tools you use to reach your customers can also be leveraged to attract high quality candidates. Develop an employment marketing plan which can include advertising, public relations, search marketing, email marketing, awards and social networking.

After you've developed and implemented your Career Path strategy, marketing both internally and externally is an integral next step. As your make yourself known as a preferred employer, you can begin to distinguish your organization from the pack, which creates a desirable workplace for employees, and ultimately, a desirable destination for guests.

Jason Ferrara leads the development of strategic marketing for the Corporate Marketing team at CareerBuilder.com, the nation's largest online job site with over 22 million unique visitors each month and over 1.5 million jobs. Focused on the recruitment needs of employers, Ferrara is responsible for business-to-business strategy including communications, advertising, promotions, e-commerce management, customer lifecycle and loyalty, and sales support. Prior to joining the company, Ferrara worked as Director, Online Marketing for SPSS, Inc. He holds a MBA from Kellogg School of Management. Mr. Ferrara can be contacted at 773-353-2601 or jason.ferrara@careerbuilder.com Extended Bio...

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