- Email: [email protected]
Student expectations of hospitality jobs
Student Expectations of Hospitality Jobs This study identifies some of the basic expectations of students before being recruited by hospitality companies by Matt A. Casado z
CONSIDER THESE statements taken from a well-known hospitality-industry magazine: 1 • "Hospitality schools are guilty of overselling themselves." • "Schools of hotel and restaurant management create false expectations that contribute to job turnover and damage the food industry's image as an employer." • "Educators must pass on to the students realistic expectations for the initial stages of food-service and hospitality careers." 'Restaurant,~ and lnstitution~. "Schools, Companies, Grads Create False Expectations," December 1989.
While not exonerating the recruiting companies, industry writers are suggesting that hospitality schools are to blame for creating false expectations in their students regarding working conditions and compensation. The study described in this article was conducted to obtain first-hand data on hotel and restaurant students' expectations of their first job in the industry. The results of this survey, reflecting the job expectations of a sample of hospitality-administration students at Northern Arizona University, show that these students have fairly realistic © 1992, Cornell University.
80
expectations before they graduate. Most of them expect to be offered trainee positions, are willing to accept salaries below $25,000, and are ready to work well over 40 hours per week. It is important to both educators and recruiters that students have M a t t A. Casado is a lecturer at Northern Arizona University's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Casado is certified as a hotel administrator by the AH&MA and the Ministry of Tourism of Spain. He holds a Master's degree in educational administration and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree.
THE CORNELL H.R.A. QUARTERLY
realistic expectations about their prospective entry-level jobs. The number of companies sending recruiters to Northern Arizona University increased from 201 in 1978 to 317 in 1989. The recruiting process is a substantial expense to corporations, representing over $2,000 per individual hired in some cases. The cost of recruiting and inducting employees may cost a firm over $40,000 a year per position until the time when the new employee is able to contribute enough to offset this cost. One source of problems in the hiring process is if applicants come in with false expectations, whether they are created by the learning institutions where they obtained their degrees or by overeager recruiters. On the other hand, some professional recruiters who are unable to reach their recruitment quotas may blame "the high expectations" of students as the cause of their recruiting failure, when in fact the cause may be that their representation of the company is weak in the students' perceptions. My research question, then, was based on the comments reported in the trade magazine referred to in the first paragraph. Do students have "high expectations" of what hospitality companies will offer with regard to positions, salaries, and working hours? This survey was conducted on a convenience sample of students in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management (SHRM) at Northern Arizona University. SHRM is a free-standing hospitality-administration school with 850 students enrolled in the spring semester of 1992. The school offers a rigorous academic program with 51 credit hours required in the hospitalityadministration core, 9 hours of support core, 12 hours of hospitality-administration electives, and 46 hours of liberal studies. The program includes on-campus laboratory practice, one full year of
AUGUST 1992
EXHIBIT 1
Survey Findings The expectations by students were as follows: Expected position to be offered by recruiting companies when first interviewed: MALE
Manager Trainee Assistant Manager Manage r General Manager
52% 26% 18% 4%
FEMALE
80%
13% 7% 0%
Degree of importance given by students to expected compensation for their first job: VERY SOMEWHAT NOT NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
Job security Good salary Excellent benefits Challenging position Opportunity for promotion
7% 23% 4% 43%
9% 22% 15% 17%
17% 31% 15% 16%
26% 20% 35% 10%
41% 4% 31% 14%
23%
38%
22%
8%
9%
Expected salary offer at the time of graduation: MALE
$16-20,000 $21-25,000 $26-30,000 $31-40,000 $41,000+
10% 70% 14% 4% 2%
FEMALE
35% 56% 9% 0 0
Expected weekly work hours on first hospitality job: MALE
Between 30-40 Between 41-50 Between 51-60 Between 61-70 Over 71 hours
hours hours hours hours
0 35% 47% 10% 8%
FEMALE
2% 48% 43% 7% 0%
Level of confidence to perform as assistant manager on first hospitality job after graduation: MALE
Not qualified Somewhat qualified Fairly well qualified Well qualified Very well qualified
81
0 10% 22% 35% 33%
FEMALE
2% 14% 31% 41% 12%
EXHIBIT 2
Survey Questions 1. (Please circle one) Male Female 2. (Please circle one) Sophomore Junior Senior 3. (Please circle one) What position do you expect to be offered when you graduate? • Manager trainee • Assistant manager • Manager • General manager 4. (Please number 1 to 5, in order of importance to you) Your expectations of the company that will hire you will be: • Job security • Good salary • Excellent benefits • Challenging, interesting job • Opportunity for promotion 5. (Please circle one) Which Salary range do you expect to be offered on your first job after graduation?
foreign language, a thesis that must be defended before the faculty, and 800 hours of offcampus work in hospitality establishments. SHRM students are recruited on campus by many of the country's leading lodging and restaurant companies. For the purpose of this study, four classes were selected out of a total of 51. Of the 96 students queried, 50 were male and 46 were female. There were 16 sophomores, 38 juniors and 42 seniors represented. No freshmen were enrolled in the classes surveyed. The questionnaire was designed to ascertain the basic expectations of students before being recruited by hospitality companies. In addition to questions of gender and academic class, questions asked about the position level at which students expected to be hired, remuneration preferences for their first job (e.g., salary versus a challenging, interesting job), expected salary range on their first job, and
Between $16,000 and 20,000 Between $21,000 and 25,000 Between $26,000 and 30,000 Between $31,000 and 40,000 Over $40,000 6. (Please circle one) How many hours per week do you expect to work on your first hospitality job after graduation? 30 to 40 hours 41 to 50 hours 51 to 60 hours 61 to 70 hours Over 70 hours 7. (Please circle one) How qualified do you think you will be at graduation to assume an assistant-manager position? • Not qualified • Somewhat qualified • Fairly well qualified • Well qualified • Very well qualified
* Most students considered themselves "well qualified" to undertake a work assignment of assistant manager. • The degree of importance given by most students to work compensation was as follows: Very important Important
Challenging, interesting job Opportunity for promotion
Somewhat important Good salary No t important.....4' Excellent benefits Not at all // important I Job security
Expectations The results of the survey are summarized on the previous page (Exhibit 1). On balance, the students' expectations regarding working conditions were realistic. Their youthful aspirations and idealism showed through, however, in their choice of a "challenging, interesting job" as the top compensation consideration. The following are the highlights of the findings: • Most students expected to be hired as manager trainees. • Most students expected to be offered yearly salaries of between $21,000 and $25,000. • Most male students were ready to work between 52 and 60 hours, while most female students expected a working week of between 41 and 50 hours.
Ask Why The purposes of this survey have been descriptive rather than normative. The survey found that students at NAU possess realistic expectations for the initial stages of a career in food service or lodging. The findings are limited to students of one hotel-restaurant school in a university in the southwestern United States. More research is needed to compare these findings with analyses from other universities nationwide. I hope, nevertheless, that this observational study, though local, has provided hospitality companies with information helpful for improving the fit between future college graduates and jobs available to them. The question for educators and recruiters alike is, why do college graduates, who seem to have realistic expectations of their first jobs, become turnover statistics? These findings leave open the possibility that recruiting companies might create false expectations during interviews about future promotions or the exact nature of the job, or that some industry companies may lack an adequate induction program once the students are hired. This area would provide a logical next step for researchers, c o
82
THE CORNELL H.R.A. QUARTERLY
expectations of hours to be worked. A final question attempted to assess how confident students felt to perform as assistant managers.
Highlights of Student
CONSIDER THESE statements taken from a well-known hospitality-industry magazine: 1 • "Hospitality schools are guilty of overselling themselves." • "Schools of hotel and restaurant management create false expectations that contribute to job turnover and damage the food industry's image as an employer." • "Educators must pass on to the students realistic expectations for the initial stages of food-service and hospitality careers." 'Restaurant,~ and lnstitution~. "Schools, Companies, Grads Create False Expectations," December 1989.
While not exonerating the recruiting companies, industry writers are suggesting that hospitality schools are to blame for creating false expectations in their students regarding working conditions and compensation. The study described in this article was conducted to obtain first-hand data on hotel and restaurant students' expectations of their first job in the industry. The results of this survey, reflecting the job expectations of a sample of hospitality-administration students at Northern Arizona University, show that these students have fairly realistic © 1992, Cornell University.
80
expectations before they graduate. Most of them expect to be offered trainee positions, are willing to accept salaries below $25,000, and are ready to work well over 40 hours per week. It is important to both educators and recruiters that students have M a t t A. Casado is a lecturer at Northern Arizona University's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Casado is certified as a hotel administrator by the AH&MA and the Ministry of Tourism of Spain. He holds a Master's degree in educational administration and is currently pursuing his doctoral degree.
THE CORNELL H.R.A. QUARTERLY
realistic expectations about their prospective entry-level jobs. The number of companies sending recruiters to Northern Arizona University increased from 201 in 1978 to 317 in 1989. The recruiting process is a substantial expense to corporations, representing over $2,000 per individual hired in some cases. The cost of recruiting and inducting employees may cost a firm over $40,000 a year per position until the time when the new employee is able to contribute enough to offset this cost. One source of problems in the hiring process is if applicants come in with false expectations, whether they are created by the learning institutions where they obtained their degrees or by overeager recruiters. On the other hand, some professional recruiters who are unable to reach their recruitment quotas may blame "the high expectations" of students as the cause of their recruiting failure, when in fact the cause may be that their representation of the company is weak in the students' perceptions. My research question, then, was based on the comments reported in the trade magazine referred to in the first paragraph. Do students have "high expectations" of what hospitality companies will offer with regard to positions, salaries, and working hours? This survey was conducted on a convenience sample of students in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management (SHRM) at Northern Arizona University. SHRM is a free-standing hospitality-administration school with 850 students enrolled in the spring semester of 1992. The school offers a rigorous academic program with 51 credit hours required in the hospitalityadministration core, 9 hours of support core, 12 hours of hospitality-administration electives, and 46 hours of liberal studies. The program includes on-campus laboratory practice, one full year of
AUGUST 1992
EXHIBIT 1
Survey Findings The expectations by students were as follows: Expected position to be offered by recruiting companies when first interviewed: MALE
Manager Trainee Assistant Manager Manage r General Manager
52% 26% 18% 4%
FEMALE
80%
13% 7% 0%
Degree of importance given by students to expected compensation for their first job: VERY SOMEWHAT NOT NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
Job security Good salary Excellent benefits Challenging position Opportunity for promotion
7% 23% 4% 43%
9% 22% 15% 17%
17% 31% 15% 16%
26% 20% 35% 10%
41% 4% 31% 14%
23%
38%
22%
8%
9%
Expected salary offer at the time of graduation: MALE
$16-20,000 $21-25,000 $26-30,000 $31-40,000 $41,000+
10% 70% 14% 4% 2%
FEMALE
35% 56% 9% 0 0
Expected weekly work hours on first hospitality job: MALE
Between 30-40 Between 41-50 Between 51-60 Between 61-70 Over 71 hours
hours hours hours hours
0 35% 47% 10% 8%
FEMALE
2% 48% 43% 7% 0%
Level of confidence to perform as assistant manager on first hospitality job after graduation: MALE
Not qualified Somewhat qualified Fairly well qualified Well qualified Very well qualified
81
0 10% 22% 35% 33%
FEMALE
2% 14% 31% 41% 12%
EXHIBIT 2
Survey Questions 1. (Please circle one) Male Female 2. (Please circle one) Sophomore Junior Senior 3. (Please circle one) What position do you expect to be offered when you graduate? • Manager trainee • Assistant manager • Manager • General manager 4. (Please number 1 to 5, in order of importance to you) Your expectations of the company that will hire you will be: • Job security • Good salary • Excellent benefits • Challenging, interesting job • Opportunity for promotion 5. (Please circle one) Which Salary range do you expect to be offered on your first job after graduation?
foreign language, a thesis that must be defended before the faculty, and 800 hours of offcampus work in hospitality establishments. SHRM students are recruited on campus by many of the country's leading lodging and restaurant companies. For the purpose of this study, four classes were selected out of a total of 51. Of the 96 students queried, 50 were male and 46 were female. There were 16 sophomores, 38 juniors and 42 seniors represented. No freshmen were enrolled in the classes surveyed. The questionnaire was designed to ascertain the basic expectations of students before being recruited by hospitality companies. In addition to questions of gender and academic class, questions asked about the position level at which students expected to be hired, remuneration preferences for their first job (e.g., salary versus a challenging, interesting job), expected salary range on their first job, and
Between $16,000 and 20,000 Between $21,000 and 25,000 Between $26,000 and 30,000 Between $31,000 and 40,000 Over $40,000 6. (Please circle one) How many hours per week do you expect to work on your first hospitality job after graduation? 30 to 40 hours 41 to 50 hours 51 to 60 hours 61 to 70 hours Over 70 hours 7. (Please circle one) How qualified do you think you will be at graduation to assume an assistant-manager position? • Not qualified • Somewhat qualified • Fairly well qualified • Well qualified • Very well qualified
* Most students considered themselves "well qualified" to undertake a work assignment of assistant manager. • The degree of importance given by most students to work compensation was as follows: Very important Important
Challenging, interesting job Opportunity for promotion
Somewhat important Good salary No t important.....4' Excellent benefits Not at all // important I Job security
Expectations The results of the survey are summarized on the previous page (Exhibit 1). On balance, the students' expectations regarding working conditions were realistic. Their youthful aspirations and idealism showed through, however, in their choice of a "challenging, interesting job" as the top compensation consideration. The following are the highlights of the findings: • Most students expected to be hired as manager trainees. • Most students expected to be offered yearly salaries of between $21,000 and $25,000. • Most male students were ready to work between 52 and 60 hours, while most female students expected a working week of between 41 and 50 hours.
Ask Why The purposes of this survey have been descriptive rather than normative. The survey found that students at NAU possess realistic expectations for the initial stages of a career in food service or lodging. The findings are limited to students of one hotel-restaurant school in a university in the southwestern United States. More research is needed to compare these findings with analyses from other universities nationwide. I hope, nevertheless, that this observational study, though local, has provided hospitality companies with information helpful for improving the fit between future college graduates and jobs available to them. The question for educators and recruiters alike is, why do college graduates, who seem to have realistic expectations of their first jobs, become turnover statistics? These findings leave open the possibility that recruiting companies might create false expectations during interviews about future promotions or the exact nature of the job, or that some industry companies may lack an adequate induction program once the students are hired. This area would provide a logical next step for researchers, c o
82
THE CORNELL H.R.A. QUARTERLY
expectations of hours to be worked. A final question attempted to assess how confident students felt to perform as assistant managers.
Highlights of Student