Keynote speaker, Hans Van Grieken offered a fascinating illustration of the forward-looking human resource policies adopted by consultants Cap Gemini.  He told delegates that managing employees� knowledge would provide a key asset as the industry moves into the next millennium.  �Balance sheets don�t show the value of human capital,� he said, yet people must be considered less as a cost, and more as an asset.

According to his philosophy, �managers need to think in terms of roles rather than functions, take the �coach approach� to leadership, and put the employee in charge of their own destiny.�  His company lets employees create their own career paths, select remuneration and salary components, and offers a choice of 250 employee training courses.

In its quest to be a knowledge-based, web-enabled company, Cap Gemini�s website provides employees with access to work profiles for everyone in the firm - so they can pinpoint who has what knowledge within the company, and re-use it instead of re-inventing the wheel. Through the web, employees have access to the jobs or projects available throughout the company and can ask for alternative assignments in order to gain the training and experience they require. Van Grieken warned hospitality leaders that this model was setting radically new standards in how companies compete for staff in tomorrow�s labour market.

Summarising the findings of four IH&RA think-tanks on human resources held earlier this year, John Guthrie, vice-president of human resources for Hilton International described �the human aspect� as �fundamental�, despite technology�s increasing role in the industry.  He drew attention to the changing nature of the workforce in terms of aspirations, composition and structure.  �Tomorrow�s employees,� he said, �look for mutual respect, fairness, opportunities for advancement and learning, a focus on skills and multi-skills, and competitive levels of earnings�.  Meanwhile, the structure of the workforce is evolving due to the impact of technology, fewer layers of management and supervision, more outsourcing, and flexibility.

He called for radical changes to be made to a traditionally �conservative� industry, which faces a critical shortage of well-trained, quality employees.  Leaders should �abandon the old style �command and control� environment, and recognise that changes in human behaviour and ambition are just as powerful as IT changes.  We must manage with the heart and with a passion for service, but also with the head - and acknowledge that we need brains too.  Our industry needs the best of tomorrow�s generation.�

Nicole van den Dool, a graduate of the Paris-based Institut de Management Hôtelier International and, at 28, the youngest person ever to have made the congress speaker list, told hoteliers that the industry must act fast to close the gap between the jobs the industry currently offers to �Generation X�, and the rising career expectations typical of her peers.  �Generation Xers are increasingly reluctant to work in the hospitality industry on a long-term basis,� she said.

People of her generation are looking for experience above financial reward, and a healthy balance between work and private life.  Most human beings, she said, whether �Xers� or not, are motivated by basic things like clearly set goals, challenging work, accurate and timely feedback, praise for a job well done and solid and tangible rewards.  Generation X just puts more emphasis on these things in their job search.

�It�s not rocket science!� she said, warning delegates that �if you as a company or an industry don�t offer them, they will move on to somebody who will.�  To retain the brightest and best, she called on hoteliers to �Start practising what you preach!�, referring to the wisdom dispensed by human resource professionals on the platform.

Norah Bolton, principal of consultancy Dynamic Thinking, gave a thrilling demonstration of what it means to be creative � and how employees� creative potential can be unlocked.  �We are all born creative,� she said.  The problem is that creativity cannot be thought about or learned, it must be practised.  She warned managers against wanting the fruits of creativity �without cultivating, seeding, watering or weeding�, and urged them to create the right conditions by aligning policies and rules for creativity, unleashing self-initiated activity, placing value on the unexpected, providing various stimuli, eg. by rotating people or sending them to visit other companies, and improving internal communication.

In a closing session with plenty of local flavour, delegates found themselves stalking lions �on safari� with ex-game ranger Ian Schubach of consultancy Pride Power, who drew analogies between the lion pride and successful business teams.  Lion behaviour and tactics offer a great model for businesses that want to survive, he said.  They have strong communication skills, a flat and flexible organisation, a commitment to confidence and trust building, an objective- and incentive-driven culture, powerful selection and training procedures, and the ability to create synergy between strong individuals. They have great strategy - but it succeeds principally because of the strength of the whole team, he insisted.

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is a global network representing over 750,000 hospitality operators, associations and suppliers in more than 150 countries.