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Identify high potential employees early and work on keeping them engaged, says ACI HR Solutions founder Andrew Chan.
Andrew Chan
Businesses in the MICE sector need to do more to promote the industry as a vibrant and dynamic place to work, especially for millennials.
In terms of job selection, career progression is a top priority for many millennials, while long working hours, overtime, and weekend work are often seen as a negative factors. Making the right hire in the first instance can go a long way in alleviating turnover rates.
Here are my key tips:
- Identify your HIPO (high potential) employees early, and work continuously to keep them engaged and involved in the organization.
- Make sure you create a network to support new employees.
- Implement new incentive and bonus structures that are more tangible. Forget annual bonuses and yearly reviews and instead consider on-the-spot bonuses and incentive schemes.
- Invest in training and development programmes that allow employees to develop additional skills (including those that may not be directly related to their jobs). Training should always be structured, and a platform should be provided for continuous learning.
- Provide a platform for mentorship programmes that promote professional and personal development. Millennials and other younger professionals want mentors, not managers.The MICE industry also needs to ramp up its marketing efforts to attract young talent.
Today, marketing efforts should not be focused solely on customers — think about your brand not only as a “service provider,” but also as an “employer.” The first thing young professionals do before taking a job offer is examine a company’s digital presence. So keep your social media pages and website up-to-date with regular content.
Investing in staff must be a collective industry effort. If we want to survive, the many SME operators that make up the MICE industry across Asia must overcome their fear of talent poaching and start investing in broader training and enrichment programmes that keep employees engaged and ensure the longevity of this great industry.
Based in Singapore, Andrew Chan is the founder and CEO of ACI HR Solutions, a recruitment and professional training firm dedicated to the travel, tourism, hospitality, and lifestyle industries. This article was compiled by staff at Untangled, a Singapore-based content, marketing, and business strategy consultancy.