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eCornell, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv unite to support Ukrainians

The Red University Building at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Through a new joint endeavor between eCornell and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukrainian citizens and refugees are completing Cornell certificate programs.

The collaboration grants scholarships to government employees, working adults, university faculty and students from Ukraine and the country’s refugees located around the world. The second cohort launched in March, and the first 150 learners are expected to complete their programs later this year.

“eCornell is committed to fostering skill advancement for those in Ukraine who are confronting significant obstacles. Our goal is to make a substantial impact in the lives of individuals and contribute positively to the broader Ukrainian community,” said Paul Krause, vice provost of external education and executive director for eCornell.

Read the full article on the Cornell Chronicle.

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5 essential tips for interviewers

Two men sitting across a desk from one another during a job interview. One is wearing a white button-up shirt and blue tie, and the other is in a black jacket. An open laptop displaying a resume is on the desk, facing the man in the black jacket.A company’s success is closely tied to the quality of its employees, but a flawed interview process can disrupt this balance and undermine overall performance. JR Keller, associate professor of human resource studies at the Cornell ILR School, identified five key strategies to conduct better interviews that lead to more effective hiring.

1. Reduce the candidate’s anxiety.

According to a 2020 survey conducted by JDP, 93% of Americans reported experiencing interview-related anxiety, with 29% ranking interviews more nerve-wracking than a first date or doctor appointment. To ease this tension, Keller recommends clearly communicating with a job applicant well before their interview.

Disclosing who will participate in the interview is beneficial as it allows interviewees to look up their interviewer on LinkedIn. Likewise, telling prospective employees the interview timeframe and whether it will be in person, over the phone or on a platform such as Zoom helps them prepare better and manage their expectations.

Another tip recruiters should consider is providing candidates with a set of interview questions in advance so that they can prepare their answers to showcase their skills and abilities applicable to the job. “In the 2020 JDP study, the number one thing people were nervous about going into interviews was answering a difficult question. They’re really worried about ‘gotcha’ questions, and there shouldn’t be ‘gotcha’ questions in an interview,” Keller said.

“If you reduce candidate anxiety, they will come into their interview prepared to speak confidently about their skills, knowledge and abilities, and they’re going to perform better in the interview,” Keller said, noting that the better the candidate’s recruitment experience, the more likely they are to accept a job offer.

2. Value the candidate’s time.

With the average corporate job attracting 250 resumes, recruiters can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of candidates they must interview. That said, interviewers should respect each and every interviewee’s time, as the way they treat applicants during an interview is indicative of how applicants will be treated as employees.

Prospective employees have limited information to help them choose which company they want to work for. Consequently, if a hiring manager is late to an interview, the candidate may view the tardiness as a forewarning of why they shouldn’t work at the company. Keller offers two tips to give candidates the time they deserve: Don’t be late and don’t be distracted.

“If you have a 30-minute interview that starts at 1 p.m., block your calendar starting at 12:45 p.m., so you have time to read through your questions and review the candidate’s resume,” Keller said. “An interview should not be the first time you look at a resume. That’s not the impression you want to give candidates.”

3. Create quality interview questions.

An interview question intended for a software engineer position is likely different from a question designed for an editorial job. However, Keller argues that the common characteristic of a good interview question is its ability to predict performance in a particular job.

Borrowing from Mark Horstman’s book, “The Effective Hiring Manager,” Keller suggests recruiters follow a three-step process to craft an effective behavioral interview question: the helpful lead-in, asking for an expansive answer and ensuring the question relates to a behavior the job requires.

The helpful lead-in is a statement preceding the actual question. Its goal is to give interviewees a realistic job preview by subtly implying what the job requires. Then, combine steps two and three to create an open-ended situational question — typically beginning with “Tell me about a time when” or “Give me an example of” — that allows the candidate to demonstrate the skill or ability applicable to the job.

In addition to knowing how to formulate a good question, interviewers should also know which questions to avoid. Keller strongly advises hiring managers to steer clear of illegal questions (marital status, religion, etc.), brainteasers and questions like “What’s your greatest weakness?” and “Where do you want to be in five years?” A valuable alternative to the latter question is, “What skills do you want to develop over time?”

4. Ensure consistency in your approach.

With 24% of hires made internally and 42% of workers obtaining their jobs via personal connections, it’s essential that hiring managers approach each interview — regardless of who the candidate is — with a standardized process. Not only does this ensure fairness and equity, but it also allows prospective employees to be evaluated on a level playing field.

Though many recruiters find structured interviews tedious, Keller explains they are the best predictor of performance in an interview setting. According to Keller, structured interviews are formatted so that a list of questions prepared in advance, which are tied to the knowledge, skills and abilities related to the job, are asked of all candidates being interviewed for a position: “The reason this is so effective is because you are collecting job-relevant information about each of the candidates you’re interviewing so you can make apples-to-apples comparisons when it comes time to decide who you want to hire.”

However, hiring managers should not be robotic and ask each interviewee the exact same questions in the exact same tone. “If that’s the approach you want to take, you can just use HireVue or some other pre-recorded video interviewing software,” Keller said.

The key to a lively structured interview is asking each candidate similar questions in a similar manner, allowing for variety across interviewers while ensuring that every candidate has a comparable experience within their interviews.

5. Develop a comprehensive evaluation plan.

After an interview concludes, it’s important to have a detailed evaluation plan in place. This includes preparing a rubric in advance to determine which aspects of the candidate’s performance will be evaluated, how they will be scored and how notes and data will be documented to facilitate comparison when making the final hiring decision.

Keller emphasizes the importance of rating candidates individually and avoiding sharing notes with team members to maintain objectivity. “Complete the rubric right away, before you’ve had a chance to talk to anybody on your team who might have interviewed that candidate. This way, your evaluations remain independent and aren’t influenced by the water cooler gossip that’s bound to happen later in the day,” he said.

Keller admits that completely avoiding the discussion of candidates is difficult in practice. For this reason, he encourages hiring teams to convene either on the same day as interviews or within the same week to ensure that teams gather information promptly and make timely decisions without the complications of evaluating candidates at different times.

By gathering everyone’s input within a short timeframe, teams can maintain consistency and coherence in their evaluation process, leading to more informed and efficient hiring decisions.

For more information on effective interview practices, experience the full Keynote for “Five Essential Tips for Interviewers: Connecting With Candidates and Making Smart Hiring Decisions” on the eCornell website.

Learn more in Cornell’s online human resources certificate programs, including the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Building a Diverse Workforce certificate authored by JR Keller. Be sure to also check out JR Keller’s previous Keynote “Internal Talent Mobility: Posting, Slotting and Hoarding.”

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Cornell online certificate trains leaders in health care compliance

A wooden gavel and a metal stethoscope lying side by side on an open book with visible text on the pages.

Critical decisions are made every second in health care, each undertaken with layers of both medical and legal considerations. A health care compliance plan gives providers guidance and processes to meet regulations and ethical standards.

Kristen Underhill, a professor of law and associate dean for faculty research at Cornell Law School, began her journey in public health research in 2004 and transitioned into law by 2011. With a robust understanding of the U.S. health care system and a keen understanding of torts and public health law, Underhill transfers her unique expertise to learners in the Healthcare Law certificate program from eCornell.

“The program focuses on domestic health care law, including the application of criminal law, non-discrimination law and data security and protection law,” Underhill said. “The certificate provides a broad overview of the different kinds of organizational obligations that apply to health care facilities.”

Underhill intends to help learners understand that health care professionals, executives, administrators and decision makers need more than just clinical expertise; they must possess an understanding of the legal landscape surrounding them.

This comprehensive program has five courses. In Obligations to Patients, learners investigate informed consent, research with human subjects and the protection of health care information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Each module in the course ends with a real-world scenario, putting the learner in the position of a health care executive or administrator who would identify a problem and take affirmative steps to solve it.

Other courses focus on specific laws such as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which outlines the obligations of emergency departments to screen and stabilize all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Each course immerses learners in authentic scenarios and equips them to approach challenges at health care facilities.

“Health care providers and administrators might not always be thinking about compliance – especially if they have a small practice – but regulation of health care is so thoroughgoing that you cannot operate a patient care organization without understanding the relevant laws,” Underhill said.

In the Healthcare Law certificate program, professionals can acquire the knowledge and skills to ensure every patient receives care that is medically sound, legally grounded and ethical. Learn more and enroll.

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Navigating DEI in a Post-Affirmative Action Landscape

Backlash against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives quickly followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to end affirmative action in college admissions. However, a recent poll from The Washington Post and Ipsos found that about 60% of Americans believe DEI programs are “a good thing” for companies to adopt.

In the recent Cornell Keynote webcast “DEI, Affirmative Action and a Politically Polarized Workforce: Where We Are, Where We’re Going and What Employers Should Do,” David Sherwyn, the John and Melissa Ceriale Professor of Hospitality Human Resources at the Cornell Nolan School, hosts Paul Wagner, shareholder and chief financial officer of Stokes Wagner, and Holly Lawson, Noble House Hotels & Resorts’ senior vice president of human resources, for a discussion of the legality and structure of corporate DEI programs.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to allow mixed-motive discrimination claims. What is mixed-motive discrimination, and how does it pertain to DEI?

Wagner: “The 1991 amendment took the burden of proof from race or another protected class being the sole motivating factor . . . to simply a motivating factor. Congress significantly lowered the bar so that if an employer made an employment decision and was influenced by a nondiscriminatory, nonprotected class-based reason — such as disciplinary action by the employee or something on their resume that caused them not to hire — but the plaintiff could show that race or gender or religion or any other protected class crept into their decision as simply an element, the decision was still unlawful.

Opponents of DEI scrutinize these policies under the same amendment. You can trace today’s backlash to overaggressive DEI policies of employers in the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s. Perhaps as written, they were lawful, but as implemented and interpreted by the person in the interviewing room making the decision, if they had a DEI policy that was encouraging the hiring of underrepresented groups, whether it be gender, race, et cetera, they took that and interpreted it as a mission to choose that underrepresented candidate, regardless of how they stacked up against the other candidates.”

Was this law intended to protect against all discrimination or just discrimination directed toward underrepresented groups?

Wagner: “Definitely the latter because if you look at the Civil Rights Movement in the ‘60s and beyond, it was clearly to address [discrimination against Black Americans]. However, the law was not written in a way that said only the groups that had suffered from historic discrimination are actionable plaintiffs and have standing to bring a claim. It protects all of us, whether we’re in a traditionally underrepresented or discriminated against class or not.”

Sherwyn: “I agree with you completely. The purpose of the law is clear. In ‘64, it was a way to open doors previously shut by law, but it was not how it’s being applied in this conversation. The law was written with the goal of a colorblind society, and that’s how it’s applied.”

How do you build a diverse workforce without creating problematic or easily attacked DEI policies?

Lawson: “If you create a program from a place of fear — whether from legal or internal or external backlash — you’re not going to get to the core of the importance of the program. Noble House is a family-led organization within hospitality; within a family, there is inherently a sense of inclusion. We really do feel like our true north is having a culture of inclusion and leaning into that.

Last year, our program was more training-based and discussion-based, whereas this year, it’s more goal-oriented and action-based. We are emphasizing diversity, recruiting and representation at leadership levels, and representation in our partners and vendors. Next year, we want to get to a place where we can measure that action.”

How can HR professionals open doors for more diverse job candidates?

Lawson: “A lot of us within hospitality are focusing more on historically Black colleges and universities and, in general, visiting a larger network of college campuses. There’s also a great organization called Tent, which the founder of Chobani started, that emphasizes assisting refugees and getting them lawfully working in the United States. Labor professionals are thinking, ‘Where were we not looking before? What were we not thinking of? Where were we not going? How can we get amazing talent from those partnerships and opportunities?’ It’s been amazing to see more people and connect with them.”

Are there any legal issues with these recruitment approaches?

Wagner: “As described, no. Opening up your potential sources of applicants to nontraditional sources to attract qualified applicants from those groups is great. However, implementation can be problematic if interviewers give preference to minority applicants to meet diversity goals. An interviewer must take meticulous notes during the recruitment process to prove they expanded opportunities for some underrepresented groups, brought in qualified applicants and ultimately hired the best person among the group.”

How do you respond to the criticism that DEI programs are forms of charity work, and what is the inherent value of these programs?

Lawson: “At Noble House, we’ve focused on the inclusion part to gather the diversity part. We want people to feel included. We want them to tell others about our culture and that they feel included. Naturally and organically, we want these people to bring others in who see themselves represented and continue to contribute to that because it’s the right cause. It creates a higher performing culture, and it’s not for any accolades or pat on the back or to check a box. If that’s your intent and purpose, I think people see through that, and you’re probably going to work backward in your process.”

Wagner: “My point of view is that the culture war scrutiny — mostly from the right — of DEI programs accuses them of being a charity case. That’s the way that group describes them and how it attacks them. But I agree with Holly that these programs have great value, and their goal is to reach out to, attract and ultimately hire qualified candidates from those underrepresented groups. If we do that under a modern DEI program and have the evidence to prove we’ve done it, we’re still okay, despite the accusations from the right saying that this is a charity case or somehow unlawful.”

How can labor professionals ensure that discussions and decisions on DEI initiatives are genuinely inclusive and representative of all communities, especially those historically marginalized?

Lawson: “You have to intentionally allow space for others to speak up and drive DEI programs. At first, we grappled with whether to ask certain individuals to make it very specifically diverse. In some cases, we have; in others, we’ve said let people speak up. We’ve intentionally created some space and drew some people in that we wanted their voices to be heard. I think the success of your program hinges on having a representation of the voices that champion this message.”

How do you ensure that employee resource groups (ERGs) promote inclusivity rather than exclusivity within an organization?

Wagner: “If you allow self-determination among employees to create ERGs and become exclusive, that leads to a lot of problems. I’ve seen a lot of very informal ERG policies at many of my clients’ companies and some that are structured. I like the ones that are more structured and intentional by the employer so that you are driving for maximum inclusivity. The groups can be specialized when it comes to certain things, like people who are interested in the safety committee.

But when it comes to these issues of DEI, I’d recommend and much prefer an ERG where inclusivity of anyone in the workforce is the principal maxim. I think you have to really look at it with a critical eye of how is this going to support my DEI program, how is this going to support my culture, and most importantly, how am I going to get my employees to feel good about it? We want them to participate in a positive way and not see this as a series of little exclusive country clubs.”

What does the forecast for DEI programming and affirmative action look like for the near future?

Lawson: “It’s really important to allow different voices with different perspectives to guide DEI conversations. I don’t know what our DEI programming will look like two years down the road because I want our actions to guide that. I want to hear from other people what’s working and what sticks and let that guide our next step. I don’t want to be marred down by the polarized world we live in where you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t, but rather continue to move forward and progress our policies without fear or concern.”

Wagner: “Traditional affirmative action means to go out and hire on the basis of a protected class to meet your goals or to redress past harms. Going forward, though, I predict that the executive order administered by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will be deemed unconstitutional. I would encourage employers to focus instead on DEI programs because, if designed correctly and monitored and implemented well, you’re going to continue to withstand the scrutiny and win lawsuits or hopefully avoid them. As much as there are forces from the right in these culture wars attacking these programs, there are forces in favor of diversity and a multicultural society. For instance, look at all of the gender pay equity laws that are cropping up all around the country. I want to make sure that my clients who want to achieve those diversity goals withstand the scrutiny and win at the game because it is a game worth winning.”

To learn more about creating an inclusive work environment, explore Cornell’s HR in Hospitality, Hospitality Labor and Employment Law or Business Law programs — all authored by David Sherwyn — or one of our Diversity & Inclusion certificate programs.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Experience the full Keynote for “DEI, Affirmative Action and a Politically Polarized Workforce” on the eCornell website.

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Certificate program bolsters NYS public health workforce

Gen Meredith, center, associate director of the Cornell Public Health Program, works with colleagues Zoe Wakoff, right, and Katie Lesser, left, in Schurman Hall.
Gen Meredith, center, associate director of the Cornell Public Health Program, works with colleagues Zoe Wakoff, right, and Katie Lesser, left, in Schurman Hall.

As a registered nurse and director of patient services for the Chautauqua County Health Department in western New York, Wendy Douglas conducted case investigations and monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience laid bare the disparities public health departments are designed to address but not all workers are equipped to encounter.

“Very few of our health department’s employees have any public health background when they start working here, and it sometimes shows,” Douglas said. “For example, there can be a lack of understanding of health equity.”

The issue is nationwide in scale. On-the-job experience is the only source of public health training for most professionals in governmental agencies. Only 14% of those workers have received formal higher education in the field. To close the skills gap that is, in part, responsible for the profession’s decadeslong workforce decline, a team of Cornell faculty members and researchers – led by Gen Meredith, an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Public and Ecosystem Health – partnered with eCornell to launch the university’s Public Health Essentials online certificate program.

Read more on the Chronicle.

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eCornell joins the Guild & Team USA Learning Network to support athletes

Laptop user sitting in hammock on the beach

By Molly Israel

Through the Guild and Team USA Learning Network, eCornell will be the preferred provider of professional education for Team USA over the next five years. The collaboration is designed to connect Team USA athletes—including Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls—with eCornell’s professional certificate programs that can help them build new skills off the field and propel their careers beyond athletics.

eCornell’s flexible, online certificate programs are uniquely suited to support Team USA athletes. 43% of Team USA athletes report working full or part-time jobs while training and the average age at which a Team USA athlete ends their Olympic or Paralympic career is 28.

“eCornell is proud to collaborate with Guild to support Team USA athletes,” said Paul Krause, vice provost of external education and executive director of eCornell. “Our professional certificate programs blend Cornell’s impactful education with online flexibility, empowering athletes to forge new career paths and transition seamlessly to what’s next.”

Read more on the Cornell Chronicle.

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Is It Time to Return to the Office?

Many Americans favor the flexibility that comes with working from home, a sentiment captured in recent surveys showing that more than two-thirds prefer remote work options, and nearly a third would willingly accept a lower salary to maintain this work style.

While introducing remote work or hybrid models can meet employee desires for greater autonomy, it raises concerns of potential disconnect, reduced team synergy and decreased retention rates. Employers are faced with the challenge of evolving a work environment that respects individual preferences and maintains the integrity and collaborative spirit of a cohesive workforce. Finding a balance is critical.

In a recent Keynote webcast, “Work from Wherever,” Nick Fabrizio, a distinguished senior lecturer at Cornell’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, shared his views on the return-to-office debate and key perspectives of both employees and employers.

What are the main causes for dissatisfaction among remote employees?

Fabrizio: “In a new Gallup survey, it’s stated that only 28% of workers feel connected with the organization and that is at an all-time low. Last year it was 32%. You would think that with a variety of different work arrangements, people would be really satisfied. But in terms of being connected with the organization, it’s not there. And that should be alarming to organizations.

People complain that they don’t really know what’s going on in the company. They know what’s going on with their projects and their responsibilities, but they often feel they are losing connection to the whole organization.”

Why do companies want employees back in the office?

Fabrizio: “There are a few things that are complicating this. One is the feeling of disconnectedness at work, one is retention and another one is losing bright young workers because there is no process for them to be evaluated, connected and advanced in the organization. Organizations feel like they can’t create those opportunities being disconnected.

A lot of these organizations now are paying a lot of money in real estate for empty offices. That can’t continue. Some industries are going to force people back because of that. While others are going to force workers back because they are working on recruitment and retention, and others will force people back because they have a hybrid arrangement strategy.”

How can remote leadership be practiced in virtual work environments?

Fabrizio: “As an organization, what you want to create is touchpoints. Managers must deliberately try to create connections so that remote workers can make connections with other people in the organization.

There are five or six different modes for us to communicate, and some workers are saying they feel overwhelmed by that. Organizations should pick one method and do that. It’s very hard even for the worker then to realize and look at a Teams meeting at 3 p.m., [a client Zoom meeting] at 2 p.m., something else happening at 4 p.m., so they start to feel disconnected because there’s so many different mediums to keep track of.”

How can employers encourage productivity among remote employees?

Fabrizio: “Certainly not more forced interactions, but I think it’s the employee’s responsibility to be deliberate about keeping track of what they’ve accomplished. Sort of your value to the organization. It’s like a personal self-inventory of what you have accomplished, what you feel like you mean to the organization, how the organization is a benefit to you.”

Which work arrangement will become the new standard in the future?

Fabrizio: “I’m very effective working at home. Now, [I’m] hybrid, so I have that client-facing part of my work, but when I come back to the home office, I’m very productive.”

I think we’re going to quickly go to a hybrid scenario where better-performing organizations will have to define what their work arrangements are for different business units within the organization. I think organizations will have to do a better job of defining within the same organization what roles [will] be five days a week in office, two or three days in office and what roles are going to be completely remote.”

​​Discover how Cornell’s remote leadership and hybrid work strategy online certificate programs can make you a better manager and equip you with the competitive advantage needed in today’s evolving world of work.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Experience the full Keynote “Work from Wherever” online.

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The Age of the Mompreneur: Empowering Working Mothers

Modern societal shifts and emerging trends in the startup ecosystem present new challenges and opportunities for women, particularly for mompreneurs – those juggling the responsibilities of motherhood and entrepreneurship. The success of early-stage enterprises founded and led by women depends greatly on dismantling systemic barriers, including the uneven distribution of venture capital.

In the recent Keynote webcast “The Boss of Me: Entrepreneurship and Motherhood,” Andrea Ippolito – CEO of SimpliFed, director of Women Entrepreneurs Cornell, and lecturer in the university’s engineering management program – shared her experiences as a mother and businesswoman, delivering compelling insights into what it takes for women to thrive as working mothers in today’s competitive, fast-paced labor market. 

How has the landscape of entrepreneurship changed for mompreneurs, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic?

“What happened is that by forcing us to be at home, we showed folks that we can be effective and efficient, despite what some CEOs are saying. We actually saw an increase of women starting companies. When you look at 2019 compared to 2021, in 2019, there were a whole lot less women starting companies, 28%. Whereas during the pandemic, 49% of new companies were started by women. It was a much more flexible work environment.

Before the pandemic, it was all about meeting in person or working through stakeholder meetings in person. My journey looked a lot different than someone that was in their 20s, pre-kids, that could hustle 24/7. And don’t get me wrong, I hustle 24/7. My effectiveness and efficiency of working has always been pretty “right on” with having kids. But the time horizon has taken me a little longer.”

What are some of the largest hurdles working mothers encounter when trying to found a startup, and how does societal infrastructure play a part in this?

“The infrastructure is not in place to help support [founders], especially parents, whether that’s paid parental leave, universal child care support. There are so many things that we need to do as a society to better support entrepreneurs getting their organizations off the ground.

Startups founded by women are more profitable, and they exit faster. If you are an investor, it’s in your best performance interest for your fund to invest in women. If we want to have a more profitable economy, and we know that startups are the engine for that, then we need more folks participating. And the biggest pool of people we’re not taking advantage of right now is women. We need to rethink the structures to help support them.”

What are your secrets to striking a healthy work-life balance that comes with being a businesswoman and a mother?

“One of the things we see often is, especially for women that are parents, is they feel like they have to hide different parts of their life. For me, I have a five-year-old. I have a two-year-old and a T-minus five-week-old. And I don’t try to hide it. There are times where, yes, I don’t want them around because I want to focus 100%. But I also don’t try to hide it.

There’s this big misconception that people are taking off in the middle of the workday, and they’re not focused. The reality is that by giving folks a more flexible schedule, you actually get more out of them. They value their work. They’re aligned with your mission. But you’re also respecting them as a human being as well.”

Can you share your insights on the bias in investment toward women-led startups? How does this coincide with major life events like motherhood?

“We know that women [are] seen as less investable. There are tremendous biases out there, no doubt. And the research has shown that. One of the things that I feel very strongly about is that by the time a woman gets enough experience, expertise, and confidence, it’s around the same time that she’s having kids. One of the challenges is how do you start a company when you have this crazy unpredictable life of being a parent.

Venture capitalists have to raise money from somewhere. They have to raise money from what are called limited partners, or LPs. And those limited partners are pension funds, college endowments, sovereign wealth. And so we need folks like limited partners, like college endowments, to actually invest more in women-led funds.”

How can businesses better support working mothers, particularly with regards to incorporating child care into their business models?

“I think more and more, we need to have universal child care as a federally-funded entity. The companies that find ways to support child care or maybe fund it as a benefit will do better. And so I think there’s a responsibility of larger organizations to have this as a benefit. And then for, say, small businesses where they don’t have, frankly, those types of funds or resources, I do think [we need] a government federal response. It’s good for our economy. It pays for itself. It creates an engine in our economy.”

In a rapidly evolving entrepreneurial world, businesswomen are breaking down barriers, mastering the juggling act of work-life integration, and shaping business models to include family needs. Learn how to navigate a tech career as a woman leader in Cornell’s Women in Product certificate program, designed by Andrea Ippolito or gain a better understanding of funding models in Cornell’s Startup Funding and Finance certificate.

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Navigating the Future of Hospitality Management

Labor market shifts and workforce issues continue to challenge the hospitality industry due to the lingering effects of global travel restrictions and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. With decreased interest in hospitality jobs, many people exited the industry, creating a need for new talent and a push to bring back those who left. The profitability of travel and tourism businesses relies on how well hospitality leaders can address these issues.

In the Keynote webcast, “The Next 100 Years: Hospitality Workforce of Tomorrow,” industry experts J.D. Barnes, vice president of global workforce innovation and optimization at Hilton, and Katherine Grass, CEO of Optii, joined Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration faculty J. Bruce Tracey, professor of management; Vincent Slaugh, assistant professor of operations management and Tashlin Lakhani, assistant professor of management and organizations, to share valuable insights on adapting and thriving in the evolving landscape of human resources in the hospitality industry.

How have pandemic-induced labor market shifts transformed the landscape of HR in hospitality? 

Barnes: “The emerging trends around greater flexibility, the reset from the pandemic, the rise of the gig economy – all of these considerations are things that are now impacting the labor market. At Hilton, we’re keen on embedding greater flexibility, choice and control, bringing in the best talent and modernizing some of the roles and assignments within our hotels to make them more appealing to different generations.”

Grass: “It’s all about how to keep these new entrants into hospitality happy. How do you train them? How do you make things very easy for them? How do you engage in ways that maybe, as J.D. was saying, they were used to in other industries and offering that flexibility. And sometimes the challenge of hospitality is offering flexibility in new ways because you don’t always have that work-from-home option.”

What are some ways hospitality HR professionals can attract and retain talent?

Barnes: “We have an ability to bring in students who might not have traditionally looked at our employment because they can’t give up an eight-hour shift when they’re working in between classes or managing a workload. For them what’s important is a four, five, six-hour shift, which is why they may have looked at gig endeavors. And then similarly, (we have) encore retirees and people who have left the workforce but want some level of flexibility in between their retirement to pick up a different level of work.”

Lakhani: “We really need to focus I think on the retention and the growth opportunities, telling the stories but also creating the stories, showing them that there are opportunities for growth and that they can see their colleague being promoted to positions, and that there is really a space for them to grow and have a lifelong career.”

Grass: “There’s all these different (talent) pools coming in who maybe are not familiar with hospitality, so how can you embrace them, how can you help them, how can you train them and bring them into the culture as quickly as possible?”

Which positions are first in line when it comes to redesigning work?

Barnes: “I do think that housekeeping, in particular, is one of the biggest areas in our hotels from a staffing perspective. If you look at the contribution that those team members make in terms of the guest experience and the amount of time they take in preparing a room, that experience is important.”

Lakhani: “Some of the most severe labor shortages are in housekeeping or in the back of the house – where we can’t create hybrid work.”

Barnes: “The more information we can gather ahead of the arrival of the customer, the more we can infuse that into the actions that our team members take in delivering that service and experience. Technology is playing a big part in making sure that it’s seamless, that it’s fast, and that the preferences are known.”

What are the influences of AI and other technologies on hospitality management?

Barnes: “We’ve incorporated AI from a training perspective in our ability to use virtual reality in helping team members understand what their duties are, how to personalize services, the sequence of steps and things like that. It’s really interesting for us to think about how we’ve morphed training across some of our hotels.”

Slaugh: “I think we completely miss frontline service work as a domain for analytics. There’s a lot of opportunity for growth. In recent years, I’ve worked on a hotel’s housekeeping scheduling problem. And that’s just a new model for our field.”

Barnes: “Things like text messaging recruiting. A lot of this AI technology is coming in here. Being able to schedule a candidate and say, hey, come in three days. We’ll be able to interview you in person. We’ve got to modernize a lot of that approach to recruiting.”

Grass: “Just even the diversity on the language front when you are managing departments: There can be a dozen languages spoken, so how does your software in real time translate conversations for them? We ensure that we do inline and real-time translations so that if a team leader is communicating something in Spanish, everyone is receiving that in their (preferred) language. All those communications are happening in real time. It’s giving that sense of community and ensuring that everyone has a voice and can make that voice be completely understood.”

How can leaders in hospitality increase the industry’s appeal?

Lakhani: “We’ve seen innovation. We’ve seen compensation go up. But I think there’s still work to be done in terms of changing the perception of what it means to work in hospitality.”

Grass: “When you have this personal connection and personal interaction, (you ask) how can the technologies help me eliminate or simplify the rinse-and-repeat that gets a bit monotonous, especially for people who are new to an industry and step in and say, ‘Oh, this is really kind of same-old, same-old every day.’ How can you smarten up and remove that monotonous bit to allow people to have more quality time to interact with the guest in better ways?”

Barnes: “The greater desire is for us to continue to emphasize that life doesn’t have to fit into work, that work should fit into your life. And so enabling that functionality, enabling that choice and control for our team members across all our hotels. It’s also the flexibility of allowing that choice and control for the team member and for them to inform us about what works for them.”

Explore Cornell’s hospitality certificate programs to gain an edge in today’s transforming industry and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. Experience the full webcast “The Next 100 Years: Hospitality Workforce of Tomorrow” here.

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Pre-college big data certificate offered free to Cornell community

Close-up of hands typing on a laptop

A new pre-college certificate program designed to help high school students develop data analysis skills complementary to a wide range of academic and professional fields will be offered at no cost to the children of Cornell faculty and staff and underserved students nominated by local high schools and other partners.

“Big Data for Big Policy Problems,” offered by eCornell in collaboration with Cornell’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the School of Continuing Education, is a rigorous, non-credit version of the course offered to Cornell students.

Read the full story on the Cornell Chronicle.