At the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin this week, Chris Mumford â€" Managing Director AETHOS Consulting Group â€" moderated the panel session: ‘Finding & Nurturing Hospitality Talent’.

The panel comprised Clare Gates, Human Resources Director at Meininger Hotels; Paul Griep, Director of Industry Relations at Hotelschool The Hague; and Serena von der Heyde, owner of the Georgian House Hotel in London.

The discussion centred around topical issues such as the hospitality industry’s difficulty in attracting talent; the demand for new skillsets in areas such as digital and technology; the relationship between industry and hotel schools; how companies can today leverage new technologies to improve their talent hunting techniques; the importance of engaging with each member of a business and tailoring development plans to the individual; the need to encourage diversity; and the impact of automation on traditionally people intensive jobs.

Some of the panel’s findings included:

The hospitality industry needs to strengthen relationships with government and education in order to better position the sector as an attractive career choice; there is a need for a greater number of hospitality related qualifications and apprenticeship schemes.

Employees do not want to feel they are ‘just a number’ in an organisation but that their contribution is valued. Young job seekers are more attracted to smaller fast growing businesses as opposed to the big established hotel chains.

Employers need to exercise greater flexibility in being able to accommodate the needs and wants of the workforce in terms of working hours, learning and development, wellness.

Most importantly, specifically when it comes to attracting the next generation of industry leaders, companies should not forget that although technology has a role to play in bringing greater efficiency to aspects of the employment cycle at the end of the day it is the person-to-person contact that makes the difference.

Chris Mumford studied in England and began his professional life in Germany and Japan before entering the world of recruitment. Following 3 years in New York, he returned to London in 2002 to set up the EMEA offices of a global executive search firm. In 2013 Chris became a founding partner in AETHOS Consulting Group specialising in senior executive appointments, advising on compensation, and consulting on significant strategic organisational needs on behalf of players in the hospitality industry. A regular speaker on industry related issues, Chris is a frequent author of articles on executive selection, compensation trends, and general HR topics for a number of industry publications.

For further information, please contact Chris on: cmumford@aethoscg.com or +44 (20) 7065-1391

AETHOS Consulting Group is a global advisory firm serving the hospitality industry. We enhance value for our partner organizations via access, know-how and fresh thinking. Core competencies include executive search, compensation consulting, business strategy and psychometric assessments. We are designed as a single partnership operating from ten locations in North America, Europe & Asia Pacific. www.aethoscg.com