Mark Dickinson, of DONE! Hospitality Training Solutions, explains why a change in mindset at management level is key to bringing out the best among the new generation of team members.

When considering the new generation of team members entering hospitality, we are up against a challenge of old mindsets versus the digital natives. Managers grew up learning about technology and discovering how to implement it to improve the workplace, while digital natives were born with complete connectivity.

Motivation is now an old concept that was rooted in management ‘motivating’ the staff, meaning managers persuading team members to do what they wanted the employee to do. It was a concept that depended on goal-oriented behavior, hanging incentives in front of the team and encouraging them to move toward the management’s objectives, with an array of evaluations, KPIs and the like. Motivation in this form is dead. Inspiration is the new motivation!

Beyond employment opportunities

‘Staff’ is a dead term. Employees no longer exist. We live in a world of team members, associates, stakeholders and entrepreneurs who dream of enormous personal success that is far greater than the simplistic offer of an employment opportunity. Getting a job is purely a means to an end and no longer necessarily a career choice. The thought of performing the same task for years is buried and it is the digital world that is responsible for this shift.

Their time to shine

Management need to inspire their teams, rather than motivate them. The challenge here, however, is that management must be inspired themselves and many are not. The dedicated employees, who love their company and are committed no matter what, are a relic of the past. Team members want to: be important; have meaningful engagement; and have the opportunity to shine. And yet customers are still waiting to be served. How do we cross this divide? The answer is through inspiration.

Why inspiration works

Share the dream with your team and show them how they can grow. Invest in their personal learning experiences in a way that they see massive value. Share your challenges with them and let them be a part of the solution. The idea of inspiration is that it is:

• an external influence – authentic managers as living role models, mentoring and coaching team members to believe they can achieve personal success.
• an emotional connection – empathetic managers, listening and asking, ‘What can we do to make your experience here amazing?’
• transformative – managers sharing the vision of how they are experiencing their own growth and laying a trail for team members to pick up on.
• something that involves trust – genuine belief from seniors that team members can contribute and that their contribution is valued.

Change in mindset

This approach brings challenges, however. It requires managers to: acknowledge digital influence; be authentic leaders; and embrace employee expectations of growth and feeling valued. Overcoming these hurdles requires a shift at the organizational level of the business. This can be done by:
• sharing the dream – ensure that every new team member is made aware of the business’s dream from the outset. Make recruitment exciting, tech savvy and alluring. Talent will be drawn magnetically to a genuine vision of greatness.
• investing in learning – allow team members to select the kind of learning that they would like to experience.
• embracing authenticity and trust – the leadership team must be genuinely interested in the rise of the team members through meaningful work.

If we seek to inspire our teams, they will respond, feel engaged and valued, and contribute beyond simply doing their job. The bottom line will reflect team members’ contributions as they seek to
share with your customers the values that you have shared with them.