The HR Wheel Keeps on Turning

April 1, 2012

High turnover is expected in the hospitality industry and cruise ships take that principle even further. Not only are there the normal challenges of hotels and resorts but when you factor in many months in succession away from family without a day off it becomes even more challenging. Now complicate that equation by embracing the Celebrity approach of trying to hire established HR and training professionals into those two roles and you will understand the probability that the wheels of change will keep turning. Finally, factor in a growing fleet which needs to staff one brand new ship later this year and you complete your understanding of the challenge.

A major component of any HR or T&D conference call is to simply introduce the new players to the fleet-wide team so that we can at least connect a name with a ship. The last time that Laura and I participated in one of these calls together, we determined that there was a full third of the list that appeared to have been a new addition over the past three months. This is unquestionably a very real challenge for the team on shore that works to schedule coverage for each of the ships. It is as if you are trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle and people keep changing the size and number of pieces as you do.

With Laura heading off to Century and Tim to become the new HR Manager on Reflection when the new ship opens, the question that hovers is who will be the new HR Manager for Silhouette later this year. We received word that Pete would be coming to Silhouette when Tim left in June. But would he be the permanent replacement? At first the answer seemed to be yes, and then we heard that Becki, who I met on Summit would get the assignment after a short stint of vacation coverage by Pete. That plan seemed solid for about a week and then the answer was apparently up in the air, again. Pete, Becki, or someone new, the answer was as changing as the tides.

The same uncertainty appears to hover over T&Ds. Mary on Summit was awaiting the name of who would replace her so she could take vacation from Summit, even with her vacation only a week away. She subsequently heard that she would need to extend a couple of weeks in order to fill the void. Although I have a proposed sign off date, there is not a name of a replacement that accompanies that projection, which means that it is far from certain.  This is one of the less attractive sides of life onboard a ship. But how can an officer complain when our contracts even when extended are generally still shorter than the rest of our crew? This uncertainty and constant change appears to be just the nature of the beast. The HR wheel continues to spin and where it will stop nobody knows.

And the adventure continues . . .