BY

ALISON HARRIGAN

AS AN EXECUTIVE TALENT RECRUITER in the hospitality sector , I have the honor of spending most hours of the day speaking with our industry ’ s most influential CEOs , executive leaders and global operators . For everyone from CEOs of a global hotel companies to owners of a single property , the pressure of recruiting and retaining talent is nothing short of overwhelming .

We know that you in the spa industry are acutely feeling that pressure for a number of reasons , including higher wages in other fields , increases in federal unemployment aid and a significant talent shortage . While the spa industry faces especially harsh challenges , it ’ s far from alone in rethinking its approach to talent management . In a study Korn Ferry completed with 29 of the world ’ s leading organizations , almost every single company reported that they are urgently addressing ways to make their talent management practice more able to deliver solutions for the new world of work .

When even global companies are finding that their sophisticated , decades-old talent management systems are failing the real-time pressure test , it ’ s no wonder that smaller companies who never established a talent management strategy prior to the pandemic are now at their wits ’ end .

So , here is some good news for those who need it : there has never been a better time to start fresh with the way you handle talent . Why not use this time to construct a better system in a way that works best for you and your company ? Out of sheer necessity , your talent management process probably looks a lot different than it did in 2019 — this is an opportunity to reinvent the way you approach that process altogether . Years from now , when this year feels like a distant memory , you may wish you had taken the chance to reset .

48 PULSE ^■ AUGUST 2021