As more college degree holders flood the job market, others are returning to college to advance their current job position or to pursue a career change. These college graduates vary in age and are pursuing a career within the hotel industry. Unfortunately, the hotel industry exhibits a high rate of employee turnover and within six years of their graduation, about 70% of all graduates resign from their jobs in the hotel industry. In the last eight years, the annual employee turnover rate in the hotel industry in the US is 15% (average) higher as compared to the entire private sector. Considering the heavy costs involved in selection, recruitment and training of new employees, hotels should rather try to keep their existing ones by ensuring their job satisfaction. Some previous studies have claimed that with rising numbers of Generation Y having good education entering and baby boomers retiring from the hotel industry workforce, hotels are finding it difficult to keep their employees satisfied. Being part of the College of Hospitality and Tourism Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota Manatee, we tested this argument by working together on a project to determine the satisfaction of hotel employees of all ages who committed themselves in achieving higher education. A total of 197 hotel employees over the age of 18 with various education levels were surveyed, where 42.1% of the employees had a bachelor’s degree and 82.2% of the participants were 18 to 39 years old. Contrary to what many claim, the differences in employees’ job dissatisfaction have less to do with age and educational levels and more to do with job-related issues such as prestige of the job, recognition, remuneration, possibilities of promotion and task autonomy/empowerment. Specific exploration of the data indicated that for employees aged between 18-39 years and having either an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, the top job satisfiers include (1) relationship with colleagues, (2) usefulness of the work, (3) professional development and (4) health care, while job dissatisfiers include (1) relationship with supervisors, (2) prestige of the profession, (3) recognition and (4) remuneration. Nonetheless, it needs to be understood that elimination of dissatisfiers does not guarantee employees’ job satisfaction. Rather, hotels must investigate the environmental factors of employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction separately and try to eliminate the dissatisfiers and retain and enhance the satisfiers to retain their employees. A simpler and easier way for hotels to start would be to periodically distribute anonymous surveys and get feedback from their employees. Treat their feedback the way you treat your customers’ feedback. Use every opportunity to ensure that employees’ feedback is well-received and acted upon, since that is the most influential in driving satisfaction and retention and this is where hotels can get it right.

Dr. Faizan Ali is an assistant professor in the College of Hospitality and Tourism Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Dr. Ali’s research interests are in the areas of hospitality and tourism industry, service performance and quality, customer satisfaction and behavior. He has authored more than 60 research articles published in academic journals and has presented at numerous international conferences. Clarissa Stafford graduated with a master’s in hospitality management from the College of Hospitality and Tourism Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in May of 2017. She has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, accounting and human resources. 

When David Wyant’s grandmother first drove him to a Sarasota Scullers practice, the Sarasota teenager brought little interest in joining crew. “She basically forced me to go,” Wyant recalls. Weighing about 100 pounds entering his sophomore year in high school, he couldn’t imaging rowing vessels thousands of meters. But when coaches quickly figured that an athlete his size could make a perfect coxswain, helping navigate and steer the vessels, he soon found his space on the boat.

He would ultimately continue with the sport through high school and college, and nearly 20 years later, Wyant, now an attorney at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, prepares to bring his love of the sport to a microphone at Nathan Benderson Park, where he will serve as one of the announcers for the World Rowing Championships from Sept. 24-Oct. 1.

It won’t be the first time the attorney calls a rowing event. He’s announced for such events as the Florida State Championships at the Sarasota venue, ultimately working about five events per year for the past six years. Nothing compares to Worlds though. “Absent the Olympics, this is the top level of rowing,” he says. “It’s the most important regatta I’ve ever announced. It’s cliche, but it’s kind of a dream come true.” 

And as a Sarasota native who's loved the sport since 1998, well before officials envisioned the potential of turning the bottom part near Interstate-75 into the most celebrated rowing course in North America, he’s been excited to see his hometown become the epicenter of rowing. During his days as a coxswain for Wesleyan University in Connecticut, he got to compete at the most celebrated of venues in the US at the time, and none of those offered the same experience to both athletes and spectators that Nathan Benderson Park provides, he says. He’s seen major courses in Mercer, New Jersey, Worchester, Massachusetts and Sacramento, CA, but all have drawbacks in fairness for crews and in viewing ability for anybody that wants to watch more than the last 300 meters of the race.

The relatively young venue in Sarasota helped bring the World Rowing Championships to the US for the first time in 23 years. That’s exciting, but Wyant also likes being involved with the sport at a much more amateur level. He still volunteers as a coach occasionally for Sarasota Crew, offering advice to budding coxswains. “I feel lucky this is in my hometown,” he says. "It cements that there’s no other place I would rather ever be.” 

Photos: Wyant with Wesleyan University in '05; Wyant with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick today.

Nominations for Manatee County Outstanding Agriculturalist and Agriculture Hall of Fame are now being accepted. These awards honor those who have contributed to the success of Manatee County’s agriculture industry. This includes farmers, industry representatives, crop consultants, agriculture educators, etc. The Outstanding Agriculturalist must be a current member of the community and will be honored during the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton Farm City Week Luncheon on Nov. 14, 2017. Nominees for the Manatee County Agriculture Hall of Fame may be living or deceased and will be honored at the Palmetto Historical Luncheon on Nov. 9, 2017.  Photos of both recipients will be placed in the Manatee County Agricultural Museum and the Hall of Fame in Palmetto. Nomination forms and award guidelines may be obtained online at the website below, by contacting Joann Larson at the Manatee County Extension Office or by stopping by UF/IFAS Extension Manatee County office at 1303 17th St. W, Palmetto. Nominations must be submitted by August 31. 

Manatee County UF/IFAS Extension

Sarah Wertheimer, associate executive director of Embracing Our Differences, has been chosen as a member of Leadership Florida Connect Class VIII. She joins a select group of young professionals who were chosen to participate in this statewide leadership institute, which is designed to educate, engage and inspire Florida’s emerging leaders. The program convenes each class in some of Florida’s major cities over a 10-month period, during which members learn about key issues impacting the state and its residents. Leadership Florida Connect is a program of Leadership Florida, a nonprofit committed to enhancing the knowledge and leadership abilities of Florida’s leaders through educational programs and collaborations benefiting the state and its residents. Wertheimer joined Embracing Our Differences as associate executive director in 2014. Prior to that, Wertheimer served as director of development for The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, and as development coordinator for Children First, Inc. Wertheimer currently serves as the chair of the diversity and inclusion committee for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and as a volunteer and event chair for Planned Parenthood of Southwest & Central Florida, Children First, Inc. and the American Cancer Society. 

Leadership Florida Connect

Grapevine Communications, one of the area’s leading full-service advertising, marketing and public relations agency, has announced the promotion of three key staff members. Britney Guertin, who has served as the company’s public relations and social media associate since March 2016, was named director of public relations and social media. Heidi Cook, formerly the agency’s special projects and events manager, was named the director of operations. Tammy Dumer, who joined the company in 2008 as bookkeeper, was named the director of finance. A graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in public relations, Guertin has extensive marketing, PR and social media experience with a range of industries, from retail and dining to real estate. In her new role, Guertin serves as the media point of contact and leads the public relations and social media team in developing, implementing, and monitoring content on behalf of Grapevine and its clients. Cook brings over three decades of agency experience in production management, media planning/buying, client relations, project management and office management. As director of operations, she manages the implementation of the company’s new automated systems, evaluates procedures for efficiency and accuracy and ensures Grapevine’s team upholds its top-performing business processes. Dumer has an accomplished career in finance and accounting that spans more than two decades. As Grapevine’s director of finance, she manages the agency’s accounting processes, financial-related activities and reporting systems. 

Grapevine Communications