Post date: 05-06-2024

In the years after the official end of the coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions, Greece has been recording an ever-increasing volume of tourist arrivals every year. Forecasts for 2024 accordingly claim that it could be one of the best years for Greek tourism ever, with over thirty million visitors expected to flood the country's islands and cities. According to data from the Civil Aviation Service, passenger traffic at the country's airports is already more than 12% increased since 2023 during the first quarter of the year, while similar growth trends are also observed in indicators such as reservations and capacity statistics of hotels and short-term homestays.

However, despite the economic optimism brought by this evident tourism boom, hospitality businesses seem to be facing a serious understaffing problem. According to information from the Panhellenic Federation of Food and Tourism Workers (POEET), 80,000 vacancies were confirmed at the start of high season by the employers' organizations (SETE, GSEVEE), of which 53,000 concern hotels and 30,000 concern caterers. The most affected roles are reported to be kitchen, service and cleaning staff. In fact, this phenomenon seems to follow an upwards trend; according to the same data, vacancies were estimated at around 60,000 each year from 2021 until 2023.

Looking for the causes

When such a distortion is observed in the labour market, it makes sense to begin looking for the causes among the main participants of that market, employees and employers.

According to tourism workers, the problem seems to stem from issues of inadequate pay, non-compliance with sector-wide contracts, work intensification and alleged employer delinquency. In a recent statement by POEET regarding the issue of understaffing, the workers proposed several courses of action, such as the observance of the sectoral contracts, the implementation of the digital labour card, the upward adjustment of wages, and the restoration of the state’s unemployment fund duration to pre-memorandum levels. As for how they perceive the current situation, statements by tourism trade unionists mention gruelling hours, poor living conditions, and cases of employer delinquency such as withholding customer tips from employees.

On the other hand, representatives of employers' associations claim that the phenomena of overtime work and employer delinquency are only encountered in a very small percentage of companies. A representative of the restaurant business association BARECA, for example, commenting on these views in his statements to the press, speculated that “95% of employers comply with all the laws, but there also exists a 5% of them that are not so compliant and we are all punished for that”. Another opinion expressed by some employers is that the pandemic negatively affected the job supply in the tourism industry, as many workers were forced to change careers or go abroad to find work. At the same time, a perennial problem that is often mentioned by employers' associations is the lack of specialized personnel for critical roles for the tourism industry.

But beyond the dynamics between employers and employees, there may be other causes that contribute to the growing issue of understaffing in tourism. For example, according to a recent study by the Institute of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (INSETE), in the years from 2014 to 2023, employment in Accommodation and Catering registered an increase of 28.8%. The same study states that this rise coincided with an increase of inbound tourism by +36.7% (from 22 million in 2014 to 30.1 million in 2018). Therefore, perhaps this general increase in the size of the Tourism sector is also one of the factors that pushes the number of vacant jobs upwards, especially since the general job market supply does not seem to follow a similar course: during the corresponding period, according to ELSTAT, the unemployment rate in Greece had been decreasing.

Facing the challenge

At the state level, some initiatives addressing the understaffing problem include requests for redeployment of workers from third countries (about 11,000 are already planned for this year), as well as efforts to match the supply and demand of labour in the tourism sector by technological means like software platforms.

Still, it's not yet clear whether these moves will be enough to tackle the problem as a whole. Thus, it is reasonable for a business experiencing staff shortages at the beginning of the season to be willing to take initiatives in order to avoid disruptions to its smooth operation during the crucial period of the summer season.

Considering that some of the aforementioned employee allegations have been undermining the employer credibility of tourism businesses as a whole, a company's effort to recruit staff could be significantly enhanced by an appropriate investment in its corporate image (brand). Through a corporate branding strategy, the company could position itself in the labour market as an attractive and trustworthy employer that stands out from the competition.

Also, an overhaul of business processes, especially in areas like recruitment and human resources management, could significantly mitigate the effect of understaffing. Initially, the adoption of solid standard practices and modern recruitment systems would allow the company to move faster in the labour market, to more easily identify the best candidates, and to more effectively evaluate the CVs it receives. In this way, it could end up hiring competent, high-quality employees ahead of time, before the start of the season.

An entrepreneur could then invest in defining and nurturing a sustainable and efficient business model, which meets the expectations of employees, highlights their skills, and motivates them to maximize their performance for the common benefit of both the company and themselves. Thus, not only the problem of understaffing could be addressed, but also another related problem that has traditionally threatened businesses of a seasonal nature: that of the premature employee churn before the end of the season.

Encompassing many years of experience in supporting hospitality businesses, Strategy Lens consultants are ready to assist any entrepreneur facing issues like understaffing. In addition to optimising corporate strategy, Strategy Lens also collaborates with its clients towards the adoption and customization of technological solutions that speed up the process of hiring the right staff and make it more efficient. Feel free to send us a message, or request a proposal, or simply ask us to call you to discuss your case.

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About the author: Nick Kanellis is a Market Development Consultant at Strategy Lens. He supports the process of launching new products and services, liaising with clients at every step from the initial design, up to market entry and promotion. You can reach out to Nick at nkanellis@strategylens.com or by phone at +30 2614 409 251.