The prize of the Midwest, or the jewel of New England?
The Dolly Parton Solution to Tourism's Labor Crisis
25.08.2023 - 14:12 / skift.com
The numbers are bleak. Almost half of the jobs in the U.S. leisure and hospitality industry disappeared between February 2020 and April 2020. Even with encouraging news from the latest jobs report, the sector has 2 million job openings. The U.S. Travel Association reported that 39 percent of the total jobs lost due the pandemic were in the leisure & hospitality industry, with the food and accommodation sectors being hit the hardest.
The rationale for leaving tourism is unsurprising. Millions have shed a lack of job security and uncertain future for more consistent hours, better pay and generally healthier environments.
Emotional benefits come into play as well especially as workers increasingly believe it’s important they feel valued by their employers. Many departures ultimately come down to employees feeling that their work can be better compensated or more valued elsewhere.
Characterized in that way, many industries and companies that are still struggling to bring visitors back can feel hopeless. Helpless. Compensated and valued are often narrowly defined as “Pay me more,” and when too few customers are coming in the front door, increasing pay becomes quite challenging for many companies.
So while there’s a great argument for paying people more, how people want to be compensated or valued depends on more factors than just the weekly paycheck. The Boston Consulting Group said, upon conducting a survey last year about hospitality’s staffing issues, that the hotel industry could solve its labor challenges by creating more paths for workers to ascend the corporate ladder, among other steps.
Like so many things, people make employment decisions based on practical factors and also emotional ones. Do I feel respected, heard and seen? Does my employer have my best interests at heart or are they only out for themselves? If advancement is important to me, how are they building that into career growth and development? If bettering myself is of value, what are they doing to create that kind of culture?
Which is why what Dolly Parton did last year blew me and many in the attractions world away.
She and parent company Herschend Family Entertainment announced that Dollywood would pay the full tuition — as well as any additional fees and books — for its 11,000 seasonal, part- and full-time employees who choose to pursue higher education. There was no expectation that they would attend hospitality classes or attain a hospitality degree. Employees’ education would be covered regardless of what major they chose.
The move was intended to show staff that they were both compensated and valued. “When our hosts feel appreciated and are given opportunities like this, they feel cared for and they can pass that feeling
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