Career Development Plan in Hospitality Industry

This article discusses the significance of a career development plan in the hospitality industry, specifically in the front office department. It explores the importance of self-awareness, the steps to develop a successful career, and the need to stick to the plan. The article also highlights the challenges and rewards of working in the front office and emphasizes the importance of work-life balance.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
PLAN
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TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Learning about oneself.................................................................................................................3
Developing the career..................................................................................................................4
Sticking to the plan......................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Career development plan is basically the list which is in the written form which includes
the long term and short term goals which are pertained by the employees to their current as well
as future jobs. It also contains the planned sequence of the informal as well as formal
experiences for assisting the employees in order to achieve the goals. It is considered as the
personalised strategy by using which the employees can achieve their goals (Ladkin and Kichuk,
2017). The goals of the individual must be linked to the strengths and the potentials of the same
individual. Hospitality industry in Australia is one of the rapid growing industries in UK. It
employs more than 2.9m people which makes it the fourth largest industry in the country. The
report will shed light on developing a career development plan related to an individual working
in the hospitality industry of Australia. It will also help in sharing the experience of the
individual regarding the course learnt. It will also mention the ways in which career can either be
changed or either developed in the same industry. The report will cover all the aspects of the
career development plan related to the hospitality industry.
MAIN BODY
Learning about oneself
During the course and after its completion, I got to know that I have strong
communication skills as working in the department of Front Office. I also realized that I have
good command on my English over the other preferred languages. These skills helped me in
achieving my personal and professional goals till now and also will help in future for achieving
my future goals. The course also helped me in realising that I have a strong ability to remain on
my feet for long hours which do not made me feel tired anytime and I can address all the
complains and queries of the guests and the tourists coming from all over the world. The
negative thing which I realised is that I am not much capable of multitasking and managing the
time. This sometimes created various problems in doing more than one task at a time and I got
delayed in doing some tasks. This decreased my image in front of others as I have presented my
inability. But on the other hand, I had no fear of decision making which helped me in taking
quick decisions due to which I do not had to depend on others and can quickly make decisions on
my own. I also possess strong personality which does not made me feel feared in addressing any
guests. I also has good telephone skills especially related to looking after the telesales. This
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helped me in communicating with the tourists and also attracting them by clearing all their
enquiries. During the module, I got many opportunities to analyse the skills which I have and
also my weaker areas where I needed to improve myself (Cassel, Thulemark and Duncan, 2018).
I also realised during the module that I also had diplomacy and communication skills which
helped me in handling the emergencies and the complaints in very level-headed manner. This
will help me in achieving my short term goals which are is the operator which will be achieved
in almost 6 months. By improving in the weaker areas, I will be able to achieve my mid- term
goals which is the Front Office receptionist which is to be achieved in not more than 2 years.
Developing the career
After attending the module, I realised that I have a keen interest in the Front Office
department of the hospitality company and I do not want to change my career instead I want to
develop it in the same department. In order to take the responsibilities of the Front office and to
achieve my goals which are starting from Operator to Front Office Receptionist followed by shift
leader to Assistant Front Office Manager and then finally the Front Office Manager. In not more
than 4 years, I need to achieve my goal (Tsai, Hsu and Hsu, 2017). So, I need to improve my
skills such as grooming and dressing, out of box thinking, enhance my communication skills and
also need to remove the fear in talking to the strangers from other countries. I also need to learn
some of the other languages other than English because the tourist comes from many other
countries along with Australia. I will also try to make my personality more pleasant and cheerful
so that the guests become motivated to have the stay at the hotel.
Sticking to the plan
I need to stick to my plan as I will attend many online workshops and training sessions in
order to improve and enhance the skills which will help me in becoming the Front Office
Manager of the hotel. In not more than 6 months I need to become T/operator. Through this, my
communication skills will be increased and I will become able to communicate with many
people. Also, in almost 2 years I need to become the Front Office Receptionist of a hotel so that I
become aware of the policies of the hotel and the ways in which guests are addressed and
welcomes with positive gesture (Atef and Al Balushi, 2017). Then, my goal will be to become
the shift leader in not more than 3 years. This will give me motivation and encouragement to
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present myself and I will come to know about the people involved in performing the different
operations of the hotel. In not more than 4 years, my goals will be to become the Assistant Front
Office Manager where I will be trained under the Front Office Manager. This will help me in
making relations with the people involved in the hotel and where my goal will be to carry out the
responsibilities of the front office manager. I will stick to my plan till I achieve my final goal to
become the Front Office Manager in not more than 5 years. Sticking to my plan of enhancing the
skills will help me in achieving my goals in the front office department.
In front office the life is very hectic and the timing is never fixed of an individual. The
hospitality industry tries their best to provide the balance between professional and personal life
so that there are going to be higher satisfaction which is present in individuals. I have felt that
there is a lot of emotion and well being of individual which is over looked and the clients are
more focused upon. Emotions is not going to be helpful in the work place but understanding the
customers needs and demands is going to be understood well if the feelings and emotions of
human beings are understood well in the company (Dashper, 2020). Managers have to be
sensitive for the customers but at the same time the manager must have the right strictness as
well which has to be present in them so that they would be able to guide and improve the
working of the back space of the hotel. Understanding the employees is also improve which is
present in me and would be helpful as well to make sure that the employees are receiving their
expectations making the satisfaction level be higher and make the right operations in the
company as well. There is a standard which all the businesses in the market have for themselves
and they have to be maintained in order to be able to gain a competitive advantage and front
office manager is the one who is going to take care of the customers and their issues are also
going to be resolved on time. Customers needs have to be fulfilled and that is possible when they
are heard so that there is going to be higher operations and working that is present (McGinley
and Martinez, 2018). More tasks have to be taken in hand so that work is going to occupy the
emotions and make the working of the individuals be higher.
Front office manager can be called for duty anytime therefore it is very important to find
an on duty call manager who is provided with stay in the hotel premises so that they can get in
higher working. Feeling of not being home is present all the time in a hospitality industry which I
felt and missed home a lot. For finding a balance the working has to be good so that there is
going to be higher operations and working which is present. There has to be present of
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satisfaction and well being of the individuals working in the hospitality industry (Cassel,
Thulemark and Duncan, 2018). Balance is going to make sure that there is right measures and
improvement that are going to take place in the hospitality industry so that there are right actions
and measures. Whenever there is a holiday which is going to be required the individuals will
have to make sure that they have the right skills and balance in life and also make sure that they
have the right methods to do that as well. Human resource is going to help the front office
manager to be able to get in that balance so that the productivity and operations are not going to
be affected. Individuals must be able to find the right balance because that is going to make sure
that they have their own time as well and the pressure on the manager can be reduced which is
going to be great to be able top grow in the market as well (Lee, Lee and Dopson, 2019).
I have the right skills and knowledge to be able to lead the employees which are present
in the organization because of the problem solving and higher functioning. Time management in
a front office manager must be there and make sure that there are effective functions as well
which are present so that there is going to be better operations. All the employees in a hospitality
industry are from different backgrounds and they have to find a common base which has to be
present so that there is going to be higher working (Ladkin and Kichuk, 2017). There has to be
good power of managers of front office so that there is going to be higher operations and
working that is present. And empowerment is essential which is going to be a great factor for the
overall working of the company. The scope of hospitality industry is huge which is why there are
lot of people who want to get in this field and is safe as well. Career goal has to be set effectively
in all the individuals and being the front office manager which is going to make sure that there is
effective working and performance that has to be there. Change in the plan for career options is
also going to require a good overall direction and measures which have to be taken so that there
are right actions and measures which have to be taken (Mooney, 2018). Finding balance is very
essential in any aspect or workplace because that is going to make the individuals be able to
operate effectively and be able to achieve their goals and achievement is going to be higher as
well.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that there have to be right actions and
measures which must be taken in order to be able to get the best outcomes. There has to be a
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good plan and development structure which has to be given to an individual so that there are
going to be higher operations and working that is present. Balance in life is very essential in all
individuals in order to be able to achieve the targets and goals which is going to make the
performance level be higher. Diversity is present in a work place and a lot of problems as well
which can rise and need to be solved so that there is effective working which would be present.
Plan has to be developed on time so that the achievement is going to be there and a clarity of
working as well so that there are higher outcomes.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Atef, T. and Al Balushi, M., 2017. Omani tourism and hospitality students’ employment
intentions and job preferences. Quality Assurance in Education.
Cassel, S.H., Thulemark, M. and Duncan, T., 2018. Career paths and mobility in the Swedish
hospitality sector. Tourism Geographies. 20(1). pp.29-48.
Cassel, S.H., Thulemark, M. and Duncan, T., 2018. Career paths and mobility in the Swedish
hospitality sector. Tourism Geographies. 20(1). pp.29-48.
Dashper, K., 2020. Mentoring for gender equality: Supporting female leaders in the hospitality
industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 88. p.102397.
Ladkin, A. and Kichuk, A., 2017. Career progression in hospitality and tourism settings.
Ladkin, A. and Kichuk, A., 2017. Career progression in hospitality and tourism settings.
Lee, P.C., Lee, M.J. and Dopson, L.R., 2019. Who influences college students’ career choices?
An empirical study of hospitality management students. Journal of Hospitality &
Tourism Education. 31(2). pp.74-86.
McGinley, S.P. and Martinez, L., 2018. The moderating role of career progression on job
mobility: A study of work–life conflict. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism
Research. 42(7). pp.1106-1129.
Mooney, S., 2018. Jobs for the girls? Women’s employment and career progression in the
hospitality industry. In Handbook of Human Resource Management in the Tourism and
Hospitality Industries. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Tsai, C.T., Hsu, H. and Hsu, Y.C., 2017. Tourism and hospitality college students’ career
anxiety: Scale development and validation. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism
Education. 29(4). pp.158-165.
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