Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Many organizations delegate the HR department to manage their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and sustainability is an incremental component of such efforts. However, an organization's sustainability efforts go beyond building a strong employment brand for current and prospective employees. It also affects a company's bottom line.  Hotels, for example, ensure guests continue to choose their property amongst the rest by providing great customer experiences, high-quality services, and a comfortable stay. Recently, another factor affecting travelers' hotel choice and perception of a hotel brand is on the rise in importance: sustainability. Sustainability is becoming a core focus as it has grown to be a make-or-break for brand images and reputations as their environmental impact comes to light. This brings in the question: How can hotels remain a strong competitor when adapting to the growing importance of sustainability practices within the industry? Sustain...

The hospitality industry is known for its fast-paced and ever-changing nature, but one of the biggest challenges it faces is high employee turnover. With long hours, demanding customers, and relatively low pay, many employees in this field leave for other opportunities, leading to significant costs in hiring and training new staff. This blog post will explore the critical role Human Resource (HR) Management plays in improving employee retention and engagement in hospitality. By looking at successful HR practices used by leaders in the Hospitality industry, we can see how focusing on employee satisfaction can reduce turnover and improve customer service and business outcomes.    Further, employee retention is not just about keeping staff around; it's about creating an environment where employees feel valued and supported. In the hospitality industry, where service is the core product, employee turnover can directly affect the guest experience. Constantly training new employees ...

In March 2024, Radisson Hotel Group inaugurated its first Diversity Week to celebrate its 70,000 employees representing more than 146 nationalities. Diversity Week is a global virtual event to learn, share, and advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This year’s event theme was “Inspire Inclusion,” as it concluded on International Women’s Day to reinforce the business commitment to provide a welcoming and inclusive workplace.   What is DEI? One of the main goals of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is to promote DEI in the hospitality industry worldwide. D iversity indicates that the organization embraces different cultural and social characteristics. E quity symbolizes fair treatment among employees. I nclusion reflects that staff members feel welcome in their jobs, no matter their identity. Although these three core pillars have been included in the mission statements of many hotel businesses in recent years, not many companies prioritize them or ac...