Our latest survey asked our audience what resources hospitality professionals have available to them from their employers, and what they think would help them reach their career goals. 

Thank you to everyone for their feedback, below is a summary of the findings. 

Career advancement in the hospitality industry 

61% of our audience believes that there are equal career opportunities in the hospitality industry regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, ability, or age, however, when we dive deeper into the results not everyone feels that way. 

When the responses get broken down by race, 66% of Black, 50% American Indian or Alaska Native, 39% Hispanic, Latinx or Spanish origin, 33% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 26% of Asian respondents answered that they do not think there are equal opportunities.

Furthermore, when broken down by generations, 43% of Millennials, 41% of Gen X, and 35% of Baby Boomers disagree with equal career advancement opportunities. 

What could the industry be doing better to help prepare workers to feel more supported and represented for career advancement opportunities?

1. Offering mentoring opportunities

60% of our audience responded that they do not have anyone in their current role that they would consider a mentor. Creating mentoring opportunities for employees would not only increase the support of employees but increase employee training opportunities, give each employee more people to ask questions or for help and increase knowledge sharing. 

It also creates more opportunities for representation of different races, ages, and genders in leadership roles so that workers in entry-level or mid-level roles can aspire and work towards becoming. Creating opportunities to mentor other team members would also increase employee retention and prepare employees for leadership roles earlier on in their careers. 

2. Supporting more diverse employees, beyond race

Our respondents answered that the industry for the most part only considers diversity as race, but it also encompasses age, gender, and ability. Employers need to include language and imagery that represents people of all backgrounds, education, and experience levels. 

There should also be more opportunities to promote diverse candidates into leadership positions, not only one person to increase statistics or the image of the company. 

3. Provide better training and resources

When asked what is needed from employers to be successful in the respondent’s current roles, many mentioned offering more clear direction and guidance for employees. Giving more consistent feedback rather than waiting for performance reviews, or only when a mistake is made. 

Many also mentioned having patience and allowing more opportunities for employees to grow in their roles, and creating an environment where employees feel safe and comfortable to have open and honest conversations with their manager or team members. 

Also, taking into account different learning styles and providing more training styles for each of those learning styles. It may seem like a small thing, but providing visual training opportunities for visual learners and kinesthetic training for kinesthetic learners can make a world of difference.