If you have a solid knowledge of the hospitality industry, then pursuing a career in this industry could be a very good career choice. However, the hospitality industry, especially hotel and restaurant management is one of the most high maintenance and demanding industries. If you’re aiming for a career in the hospitality industry, it’s essential that you know what skills can help you take a leap and succeed.
To be work-ready, equipping yourself with the right skills will not only help you to gain a competitive advantage but also help you and your business achieve a higher quality of service than anywhere else. This is because customers will choose to always come to you first instead of your competitors.
Essential skills for the Hospitality industry
Developing and perfecting a skill is a process that requires constant practice – don’t expect miracles to happen overnight. However, knowing exactly what you need to improve on will lay a strong foundation and motivate you to apply it on a daily basis. Whether you are a waiter/waitress, kitchen staff, or a manager, you will grow and find success through experience and constant learning.
Here is a list of the top 4 skills that you should strive to acquire and perfect in the hospitality industry.
Resilience
If you’re new to the hospitality industry, you should know that it’s not a career for the low resilient. To cope with change, you will often have to endure high levels of stress due to constant multitasking, repeated runs, and sometimes requests from clients or colleagues.
However, anyone can learn to stay positive and productive despite difficulties through accumulated experience, or through mind training.
You need to stay calm to face any challenges, and even better, use them to improve yourself. You should realize that a lot of what happens can be out of your control and that you are not responsible for how others behave – you can only control your own actions. This mindset will make you more comfortable and improve your productivity. You’ll spend less time worrying about things you can’t control and focus on what you can.
Resilience is not only important for making things easier, but also for maintaining a professional image. Customers and colleagues respect people who can stay calm in any adversity.
Proactivity
In the hotel industry, proactivity means proactively responding to customers’ needs with one’s own capabilities. This is a skill that makes a good impression on customers and makes it easier for everyone to work with. You’ll need to rely on your instincts and knowledge to handle unfamiliar situations or tasks, rather than depending on others or deciding that you can’t help.
Say you are working in a restaurant. A customer asks if you offer a vegetarian alternative to your burger. You can tell them you only know what’s on the menu and point them to other vegetarian options, or you can be proactive: you can say you’ll go ask the chefs for them and ask if anyone else at the table wants to know more about their other options?
This behavior shows your willingness to rise above adversity and beyond and that you are competent in your role, which builds trust with your customers and co-workers.
Communication
Clear and professional communication through your words, writing, and body language are essential to serving customers well in the hospitality industry in general and the hotel and restaurant management industry in particular. In a customer-oriented and team-oriented role, everything you say and do must communicate a positive, constructive message that enhances the customer experience and allows your colleagues to do the same in order to work together effectively.
The most important part of communication is listening. Therefore, when talking to guests, you should show warmth and genuine concern for them. You can try asking questions and listening to what they have to say. Doing so creates spontaneous, spontaneous conversations that give guests the impression that you really care about them. This in turn lets them know that you are available to discuss and accommodate their needs.
When communicating with your co-workers, active listening will either create or disrupt no matter how well the work goes and you all work together well. Frequently talk to your colleagues about what you need as well as let them know that you’re available to help. Remember that you all need each other to get things done, so being open, honest, respectful, and appreciative of each other’s abilities is really in everyone’s best interest.
Developing and perfecting a skill is a process that requires constant practice – don’t expect miracles to happen overnight.
Adaptability
Working in the hospitality sector often involves dealing with the unpredictable. Your shifts may change frequently, and customers may have requests or attitudes that you don’t know how to deal with. Your adaptability is closely linked to your ability to multitask, resiliency, and proactivity, so if you put the effort into training those, you’ll find yourself enjoying it.
Most importantly, you should constantly maintain a “can-do” attitude at work. This will help you to face unpredictable situations or challenges with joy because you know for sure that you can overcome them. Accept that nothing is certain and failure is inevitable: focus less on wishing things were easy, instead, focus on improving your skills.
In addition, choosing the right learning environment while still in school will help you be more ready for your future career path! The Swiss Institute of Innovation and Management is currently running a dual Bachelor’s program in Hospitality Management.
Check out our website for more information.
Source: The Swiss Institute of Innovation and Management
