Retention and Employee Engagement of Generation Z in the Dutch Hospitality Industry
Bakker, Amber Dominique (2020)
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020060216304
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020060216304
Tiivistelmä
Employee retention and engagement have become one of the most important issues for hospitality industry in most of the western countries as the industry is known for its high turnover and younger generations are characterized as disloyal. Organizations have recognized the need for more and deeper insights in engagement and retention for future practices. This thesis has been written to study and better understand the conceptions of HR professionals and experiences and expectations of graduate hotel school students on engagement and retention in the Dutch hospitality industry.
The main objective of the thesis was to study and understand the context and conceptions of both HR professionals and Generation Z around engaging and retaining Generation Z in the Dutch hospitality industry. To meet the objective, three research questions were formulated to guide the research. What are the conceptions of HR professionals in the Dutch hospitality industry on their organization’s present actions on employee retention & engagement and generation theory? What are the expectations and experiences of graduate hotel school students in The Netherlands on retention and engagement in the Dutch hospitality industry? What recommendations can be made to organizations in the Dutch hospitality industry regarding engaging and retaining Generation Z? The research has been limited to a specific industry and country to better understand the complexity of the subject.
After the literature review, qualitative research methods were chosen to get insights from both, future employees and HR professionals. Data was generated by conducting semi-structured interviews for 5 graduate students and 4 HR professionals from the Dutch hospitality industry. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the gathered data.
The results of this thesis conclude that organizations are right to focus their attention on training courses as Generation Z is looking for development, growth and opportunities. Training courses in the hotels interviewed are either accessible to all or specialized for certain groups next to the mandatory training. Professionals emphasized the importance of freedom at their job and to make sure actions fit the generations wants and needs.
The students interviewed had limited experience with actions regarding engagement and retention and were prone to job hop. Their need for growth both personally and professionally was clear as well as a need for freedom/flexibility, collaborative approach with HR and want for a desirable atmosphere.
Recommendations made is this paper are to conduct in-depth research on wants and needs of younger employees, implementing more advanced technology, increasing the focus of organizations on engagement and awareness around it and to have a collaborative approach between the HR department and young employees.
The main objective of the thesis was to study and understand the context and conceptions of both HR professionals and Generation Z around engaging and retaining Generation Z in the Dutch hospitality industry. To meet the objective, three research questions were formulated to guide the research. What are the conceptions of HR professionals in the Dutch hospitality industry on their organization’s present actions on employee retention & engagement and generation theory? What are the expectations and experiences of graduate hotel school students in The Netherlands on retention and engagement in the Dutch hospitality industry? What recommendations can be made to organizations in the Dutch hospitality industry regarding engaging and retaining Generation Z? The research has been limited to a specific industry and country to better understand the complexity of the subject.
After the literature review, qualitative research methods were chosen to get insights from both, future employees and HR professionals. Data was generated by conducting semi-structured interviews for 5 graduate students and 4 HR professionals from the Dutch hospitality industry. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the gathered data.
The results of this thesis conclude that organizations are right to focus their attention on training courses as Generation Z is looking for development, growth and opportunities. Training courses in the hotels interviewed are either accessible to all or specialized for certain groups next to the mandatory training. Professionals emphasized the importance of freedom at their job and to make sure actions fit the generations wants and needs.
The students interviewed had limited experience with actions regarding engagement and retention and were prone to job hop. Their need for growth both personally and professionally was clear as well as a need for freedom/flexibility, collaborative approach with HR and want for a desirable atmosphere.
Recommendations made is this paper are to conduct in-depth research on wants and needs of younger employees, implementing more advanced technology, increasing the focus of organizations on engagement and awareness around it and to have a collaborative approach between the HR department and young employees.