That, to me, is the danger, that a few spectacularly spoilt Millennials become the standards by which the industry benchmarks the changes it has to make in order to attract talent.
A 25-year-old Singapore lass applied for a job at a hotel chain based in the city and told her friends about her interview. When asked about what she thought her chances were, her reply was: “Well, they have to show me why they really want me.”
This is a true account and I can only hope she’s joking. But it’s hard to reckon that, for whenever I meet industry members for coffee or lunch, there’s always the inevitable fresh round of Millennial expectations’ stories, some so outrageous we would be splitting our sides with laughter.
If only it was funny.
Recently an industry dialogue themed Developing Human Capital & Talent Management, organised by the Singapore Tourism Board and TTG Asia Media, again spotlighted the need for the industry to understand and meet Millennials’ needs and aspirations.
Are we starting to sound like we are ready to indulge a bunch of indulgent young people who actually need to wake up to the realities of a working life? That, to me, is the danger, that a few spectacularly spoilt Millennials become the standards by which the industry benchmarks the changes it has to make in order to attract talent. Or that we don’t think we’re good enough for Millennials, so we overcompensate to attract them.
Let’s isolate the problem. For instance, is this a Millennials problem or a Singapore problem? I do think the Singapore hospitality & tourism industry has a problem in attracting young people to join it, and Singapore has its own specific issues which it must deal with in order to solve the problem. But while more Singapore youths do not want to join the industry, thousands of Filipinos, Thais, Indonesians, etc, do.
Let’s also go back to basics. What exactly do we mean by ‘talent’? The industry should bring back its focus to who it wants to attract; the ability to pick out the right type of people has become more critical because while workforce has changed, comprising a bigger and ever-growing pool of Gen Yers, the ideal workforce for the industry has not. This industry, be it in Singapore or China, whether Gen X, Y or Z, requires a special type of individual – people who like to give, who get satisfaction from making other people happy, EQ over IQ. If a Millennial finds it unglamorous, the hours too long, the work too tedious, he or she is not right for it to begin with. Thus, recruitment, selection, interview processes, for example, need to be sharpened.
There are Millennials who are right for the industry. Attract this breed of people and meet their aspirations. Productivity and efficiency, for example, would go well I imagine with this group, so by all means challenge them with a larger job scope, empowerment, vertical and horizontal growth, and compensate them fairly with not just money but further training and education, overseas exposure, work-life balance, etc.
As for the spoilt Millennials, let them go to banking or finance, burn out, gain some EQ, come back to us and tell us why they really want the job, instead of us showing why we really want them.
