New Workforce Model in Hospitality: Managing Skills, Not Positions

Is a receptionist in a hotel merely an employee who checks guests in? Is the value of a server in a restaurant only measured by taking orders? What career paths can a person working in the kitchen pursue beyond becoming a chef?

The discussion about human resources in the hospitality sector is shifting from "how many employees can we find?" to "which skills of the employee can we utilize and develop?".

Prof. Robert O’Halloran, Director of the East Carolina University School of Hospitality Leadership, argues in an assessment published on Hospitality Net that the industry needs to rethink its workforce through skills, cross-training, career paths, and technology-empowered human labor instead of classical position definitions.

This approach is not solely driven by artificial intelligence. Salary expectations, working hours, generational shifts, training needs, and high employee turnover are also challenging existing organizational models.

The Need for Humans in Hospitality Does Not Disappear

One important aspect of O’Halloran’s approach is that it does not confine the technology discussion to the binary of "human or AI?".

According to him, automation and artificial intelligence can reduce some repetitive tasks, but human interaction will continue to be at the core of hospitality service. Mobile check-in, automated messaging, predictive systems, or AI-supported planning tools can redirect employees' time to different tasks instead of completely eliminating them.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2025 report also shows that the changes in the business world are not just about "job loss". Employers participating in the research expect that approximately 39% of employees' core skills will change by 2030. It is anticipated that while AI and information processing technologies may eliminate some roles, they will also create new tasks.

For hospitality, this means that while some tasks may decrease, employees' skills in using technology, problem-solving, guest communication, and inter-departmental collaboration may become more valuable.

“What is your position?” vs. “What can you do?”

The skills-based organizational approach does not define the employee solely by their job title.

A front office employee may possess knowledge of the reservation system, strong guest communication skills, foreign language proficiency, and revenue-enhancing sales skills. The same employee could later be evaluated in sales, reservations, guest relations, or revenue operations.

An employee working in a restaurant may be strong not only in service skills but also in wine knowledge, POS usage, team training, or inventory management.

Deloitte defines the skills-based organization as one where hiring, promotion, and task distribution decisions regarding employees are based not only on title and seniority but also on current and developable skills. This model aims to direct talent more flexibly to different jobs as needs arise.

In hospitality businesses, this does not have to mean a completely departmentless organization.

A more realistic implementation is knowing which additional skills the employee has alongside their primary task.

Cross-Training Should Not Be a Temporary Patch for Staff Shortages

Hospitality businesses often remember cross-training when staff is short.

However, when used correctly, cross-training can provide both employee development and operational resilience.

For example, having a front desk employee learn the reservation process, a server master the basic bar operations, or kitchen staff working at different stations knowing each other's tasks can provide flexibility to the business during peak times.

Hilton’s 2026 employee culture study, prepared using research from Ipsos and Morning Consult, also highlights the importance of personalized development and mentoring in terms of employee expectations. In the study, 74% of employees found mentoring opportunities important, while 75% stated they were more likely to stay with a company that invests in their personalized development. It should be noted that the study was commissioned by Hilton.

Therefore, cross-training should be designed more systematically than the application of "who can cover the table today because we are short on waitstaff?".

If the new skills an employee learns do not translate into career advancement, increased responsibility over time may be perceived more as an additional workload than as development.

The Issue of Pay and Shifts Cannot Be Solved by Cultural Discourse

Business culture is important; however, describing employee experience solely through "belonging", "purpose", and "team spirit" falls short.

Mercer’s research examining retail and hospitality employees shows that pay, benefits, flexible working, and career development remain fundamental issues. The study indicates that the unmet expectation for predictable and flexible shift work among hourly employees is associated with burnout; it also notes that the proportion of those who believe they can achieve their career goals within their current companies is limited.

This point aligns with O’Halloran’s emphasis on competitive pay. He notes that the hospitality sector does not find good employees solely by competing with other hotels or restaurants within its own industry; retail, healthcare, finance, and other service sectors are also vying for the same skills.

The ability of hospitality employees to transition to other sectors during the pandemic was a strong example of how skills are more transferable than we think.

Therefore, the message of "we are a family" cannot replace issues of pay, working hours, and career opportunities.

Employee Turnover is Still an Operational Issue

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employee mobility in the accommodation and food service sector remains high. JOLTS data indicates that the sector is among those with high voluntary turnover rates.

This is not just an HR department problem.

Each departing employee creates costs for new job postings, interviews, onboarding, uniforms, training, and adaptation. It also takes time for a new employee to reach operational standards.

Increased room preparation times in housekeeping, recipe deviations in the kitchen, decreased product knowledge in service, or more frequent issues being escalated to management at the front desk are among the hidden costs of high turnover rates.

Therefore, employee engagement should not be seen as a "employee satisfaction project" but as an indicator of operational efficiency.

AI Should Integrate into Workflows, Not Replace Employees

One of the key points O’Halloran emphasizes is the collaboration between AI and humans.

The important distinction for businesses here is between asking, "Can AI do this job?" and "Which part of this job can technology take over so that the employee can focus on more valuable work?".

Standard questions at the hotel front desk can be answered automatically; the employee can then deal with complex guest issues.

The HR system can analyze shift requests; the manager can discuss with the employee and determine a fair solution.

The kitchen system can track temperature and stock data; the chef makes quality decisions.

In Hilton's research, 52% of employees expressed concern about the impact of AI on their jobs, while 55% expected their employers to provide AI tools, skill development, and training.

Failing to integrate technology into the system and train employees can create a new skills gap instead of making a productivity investment.

Career Paths Should Not Only Mean “Becoming a Manager”

Another issue in hospitality career planning is that advancement is often equated with management roles.

A good bartender is expected to become a bar manager, a good chef to become a kitchen manager, or a good receptionist to become a front office manager.

However, a strong technical employee may not always want to manage people or may not succeed in doing so.

O’Halloran argues that career paths can also be built around expertise.

This approach is particularly meaningful for hospitality.

An employee should be able to create a more valuable and higher-paying career by deepening their knowledge in coffee, wine, pastry, revenue systems, sustainability, training, or guest experience.

Otherwise, if the only way to advance is through management, the business may lose both its good specialists and create an unwilling manager.

Where Can Businesses in Turkey Start?

A skills-based organization does not have to be a large technology project.

A hotel or restaurant can initially document which skills their employees possess alongside their main tasks.

Who speaks a foreign language? Who can train new employees? Who is proficient in the POS system? Who wants to develop in wine, coffee, or revenue management? Which employee has the basic knowledge to take on a role in a different department?

These skills can then be matched with training programs and career options.

The important thing here is not to turn the skills map into a "who can we shift where in a crisis?" list.

The employee should also see that their new skill brings them more responsibilities along with more career, pay, or development opportunities.

Stafflink’s Perspective

One of the easiest mistakes in the discussion about the future workforce in hospitality is to see technology as a project to reduce the number of employees.

In our view, the more valuable question is: Can the same employee remain more competent, efficient, and stay longer in the business with technology and training support?

If a hotel employee is using only two of the five skills listed in their job description, they may already be leaving a significant portion of their human resources idle.

However, the skills-based working model should not turn the employee into a limitless pool of tasks. If there are no pay, development, or career opportunities in response to the statement, "You can do this too," flexibility becomes one-sided.

A good system creates value for both sides.

The business gains a more agile team. The employee sees a real career where they can learn and advance beyond their current job.

AI will not solve the entire employee issue in hospitality. It will likely require changes in pay policies, shift design, management quality, training, and career paths to occur together.