Bridging the Generational Gap in the Hospitality Industry: Reverse Mentoring—An Innovative Talent Management Practice for Present and Future Generations of Employees

Laura Cismaru and Ray Iunius
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Laura Cismaru: Faculty of Food and Tourism, Transilvania University from Brașov, str. Castelului, nr. 148, 500014 Brașov, Romania
Ray Iunius: École Hôtelière de Lausanne, Route de Cojonnex 18, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-38

Abstract: In the present generational context, talent management approaches and practices have evolved from the stage of “war for talent”, defined by competitiveness and elitism, to a more collaborative and inclusive “post-war stage”. Innovative solutions are increasingly important. In this framework, the main aim of the paper is to confirm that reverse mentoring, a talent management practice which appeared as a response to the necessity to bridge the present generational gap, can be considered a valuable approach in hospitality. Two case studies on the successful implementation of reverse mentoring in Swiss hospitality are presented: the Shadow Comex (Accor) and the ExCom-Y (Mövenpick). Results of a focus-group discussion on the topic of identifying the attitudes and opinions of Romanian employees regarding the implementation of reverse mentoring in hotels are further analyzed. Results support the idea that reverse mentoring has developed and offers great potential for innovation. The present study offers interesting and useful ideas to companies in hospitality on how to implement reverse mentoring. Results from the group discussion demonstrate that Romanian employees have high expectations and innovative approaches regarding the implementation of reverse mentoring, similar to the employees from Switzerland, but they lack trust in their employers regarding the real possibility to implement it.

Keywords: reverse mentoring; generational gap; talent management; Millennial generation; hotels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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