The road to recovery in Macau began with the reopening of borders to foreign tourists at the beginning of the year. Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the tourism and hospitality industry, however, with increased vaccination and changes in prevention policies, the tourism and hospitality sectors are gradually recovering.
Hospitality employees and employees play a significant role in the recovery of tourism, however, employee retention and high turnover in positions in this category is one of the main problems facing the hospitality industry, which directly affects its operations.
Studies indicate that most employee turnover occurs in the early stages of employment, especially during the trial period. As Gen Z enters the workforce, they will eventually become the hospitality industry’s main workforce.
The term Generation Z is the sociological definition for people born between 1995 to 2010.
Understanding millennial hospitality workers’ perspectives on turnover during the employment stage is a critical consideration for management.
This study aimed to explore the factors that influence the turnover of newly hired Generation Z employees, and to explore effective job retention strategies from the employee’s point of view, in order to improve hotel managers’ understanding of this generation and minimize your turnover.
The study collected a total of 12 individuals who met the necessary criteria to participate in the study and were invited to be interviewed.
Based on the interviews, 11 reasons emerged that explain the turnover of employees of Generation Z, such as work schedule, inability to relate to colleagues, difference in expectations, low wages, nature of work, company culture, work stress work, health conditions, work training, confusion in management and uncertainty in career prospects.
These factors have been found to encourage turnover, and strategies have been identified that help retain workers, including better pay, better working hours, and meeting job commitments.
This study also provided important information on possible measures to minimize or prevent new employees from changing jobs during the trial period.
First, during the recruitment and pre-employment phases, the potential employer should clearly explain factors such as work hours, workload and responsibilities of the position, so candidates can set expectations and be aware of the nature and details from work.
During the probationary period, it is suggested that those responsible reinforce communication with employees to better understand their views and concerns.
At the same time, it is recommended that managers provide guidance to new employees, allowing them to receive training and assignments appropriate to their level. In this way, new employees will be able to adapt better to the new company, the new work environment and their new colleagues.
Looking at the case of Macau in particular, in terms of retaining new Generation Z employees, hotel managers can resort to the retention strategies explored in this study, particularly when faced with a situation where an employee has asked to leave.
For example, in case Generation Z employees resign due to reasons related to working hours, the manager may consider providing the shift list well in advance so that they can organize their daily routine in advance.
If employees decide to resign due to unfulfilled expectations, the manager might, for example, consider reducing the employee’s current workload in order to give him or her time to adjust to the new work environment.
Written opinion within the framework of the 4th Mastering Cotai event, sponsored by Sands and organized by the Faculty of Business Management of the University of Macau on 9th November.
*Student, MSc
** Teacher advisor
