They’re smart, they’re savvy, and they’re hyper connected. Today’s Generation Y – the first generation to grow up with internet and technology, classed broadly as those born from the eighties onwards – has much to offer to the work place. And as they make up the majority of the workforce in most of the region’s hotels, young people are also crucial to a hotel’s success.

 

But attracting Gen Y-ers is proving a challenge for HR specialists, many of whom are having to re-examine their traditional recruitment strategies in order to make their companies appeal to today’s youth.

 

According to a new report by talent management solution firm StepStone Solutions, recruiters in general are failing to fully exploit social media tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn to acquire new talent – despite the fact that 82% of jobseekers respond positively to contact via social media.

 

"Recruiters' interest in social media is growing - 96% of recruiters said that social media has a role to play in recruitment - because it's one of best ways to reach out to potential employees worldwide and build new talent pools, especially for high demand skills like mobile application developers or managers with experience in emerging markets. However, many recruiters aren't opening Twitter accounts or LinkedIn pages in the absence of clear corporate support. Red tape and a lack of understanding may be harming the uptake of social media despite the fact that recruitment tools with built in capabilities are there to support them,” notes StepStone Solutions CEO, Matthew Parker.

 

For the Asian hospitality industry, which has been well documented as facing a huge skills shortage, this is particularly pertinent, but evidence would suggest social media tools are still little used in hospitality recruitment. 

 

“Most [hotels] are still relying on traditional methods which only really work when there are more applicants than jobs,” says Debbie Ma, who heads the career network division for the Asia Pacific region for hospitality consulting and services organization HVS. “These days in most Asian locations these methods will only succeed in attracting those passed over by more preferred employers or applicants to their webpage, career events at schools and colleges, media advertisement, recommendations by existing employees.”

 

A few hotel companies are using alternative methods, however, she adds.

 

Inviting potential candidates to participate in fun and interactive activities with the companies’ management team is one example.

 

In the build up to the pre-opening of its W Hotel in Taipei, which opened earlier this year, for instance,W Hotels used an alternative recruitment approach as part of its strategy to source the 490 employees needed to staff its hotel. The hotel held a one-day event in a nightclub and potential employees were entertained with music and dancers whilst waiting for their one-to-one assessment.

 

W Taipei general manager Cary Gray said the event was a resounding success, attracting not only a large number of candidates on the day but also attracting additional interest by word of mouth.