“Development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” is how the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 defined sustainable development. The constant quest for economic independence can feel like a rat race, one where healthy practices, consequences, and frugal use of resources are afterthoughts. In Saint Lucia, we have one industry where the race is tight and the competition fierce. That industry is hospitality. The backbone of Saint Lucia’s hospitality industry, like most places, is the concrete walls that line beachfronts and where visitors lounge during vacations and trips. When it comes to hotels, operating one is the equivalent of powering a complex machine by keeping the wheels of several moving parts spinning—one misstep can cost the livelihoods of hundreds. What’s most important, however, is the current that keeps these wheels in motion, and for hotels, that current is the workforce.
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly set 17 global goals as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The purpose of these goals is to forge a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” via the facilitation of several best practices aiming to establish and maintain a good quality of life for the global population. Amongst the UN’s 17 goals, work and the workforce are directly mentioned in goal number eight; Decent work and economic growth. The UN believes “sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs.” Additionally, the UN intends to achieve this goal by hitting 12 broad targets one of which is; “By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.”
Analysis of the global business landscape reveals that in the hospitality industry specifically, sustainable development has always been more of a necessity than a welcomed recommendation. This is so not only due to how vital a flourishing human resources pool is for the sector’s success but also because, according to researchers in the Sustainability and the Tourism and Hospitality Workforce: A Thematic Analysis study, tourism has the potential to “impinge on the land, water and wider rights of communities and families with respect to economic activity, employment, education, health, recreation, and environmental concerns”. Put simply, the effects of tourism are too far-reaching to not ensure all bases in its sustainability are monitored and sufficiently managed.
Unfortunately, studies conducted to analyze the presence of sustainability practices within the global tourism sector have revealed that habitually little attention has been given to the workforce. Such realities have caused field experts like Dr Jithendran Kokkranikal and Tom Baum (long-time tourism and work organization professors and researchers) to argue, “Both from the development and preservation angle, HRD [Human Resource Development] holds the key to sustainability.” Their words came before the emergence and spread of Sustainable Human Resource Management in tourism, which focuses on the organization at a macro level and the effects of practices on individuals. There is now widespread understanding that human resource management must consider sustainability in its practices to secure the future of the sector. But how will this look for a country like Saint Lucia?
Some local hotels have already taken up the mantle on sustainable human resource management by encouraging a good family-work life balance. The Saint Lucian owned and operated hotelier Bay Gardens Resorts, for instance, allows paternity leave to fathers, which is a fairly unpopular practice in local work culture. The company also offers staff a complimentary night stay at any of their properties each year and has implemented a ‘WOW Bucks’ incentive program whereby managerial staff award line staff who’ve accumulated “WOW Bucks” for work done well. These WOW Bucks can be traded in for prizes like free lunches, dinner, Splash Island Water passes and night stays at one of their properties.
Meanwhile, other resorts have taken a different approach by prioritizing staff wellbeing and comfort with free access to wellness facilities. A prime example is the Adam Stewart Rejuvenation Lounge facilitated at Sandals Grande St. Lucian-All Inclusive Resort & Spa. Equipped with massage chairs, La-Z boy recliners, beds, a library, and a television, the lounge remains open for employees to use between shifts. “The management team recognizes the dedication and hard work of all team members. As such the innovative idea of providing a lounge for staff – not just to relax but to indulge in massages, get peaceful rest or just kick back and have a quiet read – was born,” said the resort’s Human Resource Manager, Marsha King. Sandals Grande also has an on property gym which its staff can access for free, a barber shop, hair Salon, nail tech and tuck shop equipped with local food grocery items, are all within reach so as to lighten the load on staff working various shifts. The company also holds an annual health symposium during which staff have access to free medical services.
The Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association also recently joined forces with Sterling Insurances and the Beacon Insurance to offer health and medical insurance to the hundreds of employees working within the member companies within the association. The insurance provides access to an impressive schedule of benefits covering vision and dental services as well as medical care including but not limited to private duty nursing care, hospital room and board, prescribed drug benefits, diagnostic (X-ray and lab) benefits, psychiatric services (out of hospital), physiotherapy benefits, chiropractic benefits, radiotherapy/chemotherapy, airfare and emergency air ambulance, congenital birth defects, AIDS or AIDS related Illnesses and preventative care benefits. Speaking to the reason for this addition, SLHTA’s Chief Executive Officer, Noorani Azeez says, “Our team members are our greatest allies in growing our industry, it is therefore imperative that our Association negotiates the absolute best medical insurance access for our member employees and their families. Our group medical insurance plan must be second to none.”
The aforementioned are few of several notable efforts in a local pursuit of establishing effective occupational sustainable development amongst the hospitality workforce. An all-encompassing approach across the sector, however, could maximize the benefits for the future of workers—benefits of which include only in part: better mental and physical health, increased productivity, job satisfaction, speedier progress, industry longevity (even when other sectors begin to thrive), and more. If that were not enough, with the efforts put forth by the UN and the 190 world leaders who have committed to pushing for sustainability across the globe, buyers (which includes travelers) will be encouraged to acknowledge and become more conscious of the importance of patronizing businesses and markets which have adopted noticeable sustainable development practices. Ideally, Saint Lucia should be one of them.
