Hospitality Talent VP Gaslighting

As an (ex) hotelier, I don't tolerate it very well when hoteliers complain about talent shortage when I know how they treat talent. A few weeks ago, I talked to a Talent VP discussing challenges, and he had the cheek to tell me, "We invest in our people." So I had to explain to him what is happening to the people in the industry.

I was like, dude, I have spent 19 years in this industry and never received anything useful. During two decades, I have been sent for mandatory trainings, which is the government telling you to train me. Or I received on-the-job training allowing me to carry out my daily duties. I wouldn't call it investing in me.

Apart from that, I may have received maybe five training that were all below par and a complete waste of my time. They were so basic that a 5th-grade student would walk out of those sessions.

In addition to this, I received useless service culture training, another waste of energy. We don't need to dance around for days to understand that the job is about smiling, being polite & professional, and trying to deliver what the guest needs.

So no, you have not invested anything in me because I paid ($80 K) for all my degrees, diplomas, and certifications I needed because I knew that I was unqualified for the job you hired me for.

If what you say were true, we wouldn't have the whole industry filled with unqualified people. Look at your HR people. 99% of them are without any HR qualification, why don't you start with them? It would help address the current state of our industry.

I have grown within this industry from a waitress to a director without help. Nobody ever came and taught or talked to me about my roles and responsibilities as a supervisor, manager or director.

So if you want to claim the "We invest in our people" slogan, start providing them with professional and continuous qualifications by partnering with reputable internationally recognised institutions. Give them recognised qualifications that are valued wherever they go.

We don't need in-house learning academies with their wishy-washy copy-paste content from the internet that nobody values. They are also unqualified to design programs, so don't even get me to go there. What do you think people on the ground feel from your top-heavy corporate talent structure? Absolutely nothing, only the burden of the annual carry-on of appraisal, PDP and the rest so they can prepare a nice report and justify their salaries.

So, if you want people to enter the industry, you need to tell them they are on their own with their development. This industry is for self-motivated people because nobody will develop them beyond the minimum basic requirement.

We don't even budget for development. We budget for the basics.

So yes, this is what happens when you try to gaslight me. I also added that I have never complained about not being developed because I am a self-learner and happy to take care of myself. But don't come to me saying that you have invested in me.

If you want a different future for our industry, let's start being honest, at least with ourselves. Once we have done that, let's hire qualified people who can sort this mess out. This would be a good start.