Dr Serafini participates as invited speaker in ‘Innovative Greek Tourism for the Future’ workshop series

Dr Giovanni Serafini, Assistant Professor in HRM and Hospitality Management at CITY College, University of York Europe Campus participated together with other distinguished speakers in the workshop series dedicated to ‘Innovative Greek Tourism for the Future’ that was organised by the British Embassy in Athens and OK!Thess, on 17 March 2021. 

In his insightful presentation he emphasised how HRM is vital for the sector, highlighting the need to recognise how the support of HRM and its functions by top management in F&B Operations is of utmost importance. For instance, when an organisation states that training is essential to service quality, then management walking the talk is critical towards ensuring that employees not only embrace training, but also apply what they learnt coherently and consistently.  

Dr Giovanni Serafini (top left corner) talks at the 'Innovative Greek Tourism for the Future' workshop series.

According to Dr Serafini, a key insight related to HRM in F&B operations is that managing people is the major part of most managers' job role. “The most common HRM issues are recruitment and selection, training and development, deployment, and motivation. Looking ahead, there is the need to answer the key question: Which are the principles onto which the future of HRM in F&B operations rest? There are three basic principles defining the future of HRM in F&B operations: diversity, empowerment, and results” said Dr Serafini.

During his speech Dr Serafini went on to explain that the true essence of the customer-centricity paradigm applied in F&B Operations rests not in how to sell products but rather on creating value for the customer, and, in the process, creating value for the F&B operation. These principles (diversity, empowerment, and results) point to the need for employees to be dedicated to the customers and their teams with whom they set targets. He also explained that this is because the linkage between employee and customer is imperative nowadays in forward-thinking F&B Operations, since information related to performance results and the what to do next come from the customer.

Dr Giovanni Serafini concluded by suggesting that HRM departments in customer-centric F&B operations should not consider their own employees as their ultimate customers. “Every department, including HRM, needs to become customer-centric, having the end customer in mind. As with other performance drivers - such as innovation - for every HRM process, be it recruitment, performance management, or culture, being customer-centric acts as a fundamental organizing and design principle” he said.

Dr Serafini is member of the teaching staff of our Business Administration & Economics Department. He has a noteworthy industrial background as HR professional with a rich experience of HRM application in multinational firms operating in the luxury segment of the hospitality industry. He is often invited as speaker in HR-related events in the Tourism sector.