How to Build a Better Hospitality Industry: Q&A With Lorraine Copes

Career advancement and development opportunities 

How can hospitality managers ensure that everyone who is capable and willing has access to opportunities for career development and progression?

We have produced an annual Inside Hospitality report and collected over 4,000 views and experiences. Regardless of background, the overwhelming majority of respondents believe that hospitality can be a long-term career prospect. However, we see disparities in who is able to thrive, and these are notable for those from an ethnically diverse background. Almost 18% of the industry is from an ethnically diverse background, and so this presents an opportunity for the industry to lead the way on inclusion and equity.

The two important areas of focus to support fair career progression are education and capability. Education is important because numerous studies have been conducted around affinity bias, where leaders recruit and promote in their mirror image. The only way to minimise the impact of biases as a leader is through ongoing education. This is not limited to formal workshops or training; so many resources are available in the form of books and podcasts, and the list is expansive. 

The second is leadership capabilities; more specifically, inclusive leadership skills must also be developed on an ongoing basis. In many industries, many are promoted based on the ability to do a job, but leadership skills need to be developed and nurtured alongside this. Doing both can transform leaders' approach to how they build their teams, doing so inclusively.

Equality, diversity and inclusion in recruitment 

How can HR and hiring managers ensure that they are attracting a diverse workforce?

The first thing hiring managers should not do is to look at hiring diverse candidates as a stand-alone component of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. If you think about it, irrespective of background, if you apply for a role or are approached about one, you will do your independent research by speaking to your peers, looking at the company’s social media, checking websites like Glassdoor, etc. The question that needs to be reflected upon is: What will someone find if they go looking? Does your organisation present a diverse, equitable and inclusive employer? If the answer is no, the work needs to start there – ensuring that the outward-facing mirrors the inward.

There is no shortcut to a diverse workforce. You have to do broader work within your organisation, especially if you want to recruit and retain diverse talent. By broader work, I mean initiatives like those Be Inclusive Hospitality often uses to support organisations: things like culture audits, data reviews and workshops. Scrutinise your current position as a business and make a plan to address it.

Equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives at work 

What are the key considerations for hospitality operators when it comes to embedding equity, diversity and inclusion into everyday operations and process? 

My three considerations for hospitality operators when embedding EDI into the workplace are:

1. Change starts at the top. EDI must be a strategic objective that the most senior leadership team within the organisation endorses, enacts and discusses regularly. If you were to consider the important areas of focus within your current place of work –– think about profit, guest service or mental health –– these agendas are all driven by the leadership team. It all starts there. 
2. Use data. For the most part, EDI is measurable as a statistic (diversity), how employees feel (inclusion) and who is progressing (equity). It’s all measurable, so use data –– not only to inform action, but also to hold your management teams to account. What gets measured gets managed, and what gets managed gets done.
3. Remember the importance of feedback. Deeply consider the mechanics you have in place to capture honest team feedback. Some of your teams might be comfortable providing open and honest feedback directly, while others might not. It’s important that you create numerous mechanics to capture feedback that caters to all levels of comfort. Ultimately, the best way to understand your culture is to ask your people about their experiences. Anonymity can be beneficial in encouraging more open and honest sharing. 

Creating a fair environment at work

What does a fair work environment look like in practice? What role does culture play in delineating which behaviours are acceptable/not acceptable?

I think it’s really important to start with the end in mind, and I encourage the industry to focus on the outcomes of a fair work environment. This focus is crucial because it emphasises impact and results. 

In a single sentence, I would say that a fair work environment is one where morale and productivity are high; employee turnover is low; diversity exists at all career levels; and employees feel like they belong. If, as an employer, you are working towards achieving this, you are on the right path.

About Be Inclusive Hospitality

Lorraine Copes is the Founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to advance race equity within the hospitality sector. Through research-driven initiatives, empowerment programmes and partnerships with organisations committed to inclusivity, BIH has produced four industry reports and supported over 2,000 ethnically diverse employees and founders with professional development. BIH also offers EDI consultancy across the hospitality sector and has conducted workshops for over 1,000 hospitality leaders to promote inclusivity and diversity. Learn more at the Be Inclusive Hospitality website.

Find more insightful pieces like this on our blog, or learn why ‘Treat Staff Fairly’ is one of the 10 key focus areas of the Food Made Good Framework here.