How I Am Empowering People in Hospitality - Stacia Harvey-Randall, Black Women of Hospitality

Josiah The mission of this podcast is to inform and inspire you, and our guest today, Stacia Harvey-Randall, does both. From her dual capacities as the Director of Human Resources at the Whitley Hotel (an HEI Hotels property), and as the co-founder of Black Women in Hospitality, an amazing network for women of color to mentor, advance, serve their communities, and be their best selves. In this episode, you'll learn about how she empowers those around her, from helping them see the opportunities in hospitality as a career to helping them overcome barriers. She also speaks about how to take care of yourself and protect your mental health if you're feeling stretched thin and burnt out, which, unfortunately, I'm hearing from a lot of people these days. If you want to learn how to empower yourself and those around you to provide hospitality, you're going to love this episode.

Stacia I always say that hospitality is definitely not a career. It's a calling. What I have been seeing is that individuals want to return to the industry because they weren't really returning after COVID because of the uncertainties. So what I have experienced is very experienced individuals are returning. And I think that is because they have went out to discover other job, career opportunities, but they found something missing. The hotel industry was like in their spirit and they miss the hustle and bustle and the fast pace and the turnarounds and the six-day stretches and the fun environment and the celebrations that it sends them back to a place of I think hospitality is my calling and they want to return. So I've been gracious and blessed to be able to be amongst that work pool when I'm interviewing, and I see that they have experience. And I'm like, yes, welcome back to the industry. I thank you for choosing the Whitley. You could have chosen any other hotel, but you chose our brand, which is a luxury brand. So I have really been getting some amazing candidates. And I've had some that are taking looks at the industry and saying this is something that I think I want to try. So right now ,we're in stages where we have to get creative. and show people why hospitality is important, why it's needed, and also how you can be successful because there are many different paths that you can take. So I kind of want to be that advocate. So, you know, if someone is on the fence about hospitality, let me close the deal because I can definitely win them over.

Josiah Well, let's hear the pitch. It's fascinating that you say that because I'm hearing from people across the country, from all lines of work, all ages, all backgrounds. It's interesting. I'm hearing this now more than ever, whether they're looking for meaning, whether they're looking for that excitement that you're talking about, what they're looking for. new opportunities. It seems, and this is kind of surprising, many people are more interested in the career opportunities in hospitality. But I want to hear you close the deal from your side. If you have somebody who's kind of on the fence, wondering if they should work in hospitality or somewhere else, what do you tell them to convince them to work in hospitality?

Stacia Well, first of all, I'll ask them, have you ever thought about the benefits of working in the hospitality industry? When you come work for a hotel, no matter what brand, every brand has its own stay program. So whether it's a Hyatt where you get 12 free comp nights in a year, or whether it's a Hilton where you get to stay at all these different properties in the Hilton brand, or even Marriott, which is what Whitley is a part of. Not only that, we are part of HEI, which is an investment company. So HEI owns properties, so you get the best of both worlds. You get to stay with HEI properties at their discounted rate and you get to stay at a Marriott with their discounted rate as well. We offer tuition reimbursement. At HEI, you can contribute to your 401k on the first day of hire. Up to 5% at 100% investment. I don't really know any employers that are doing that. They're making you come in and prove yourself and put in the hours. But the minute you hit the Whitley doorstep, you are able to invest in 401k. Not only that, hospitality is not just front desk or cleaning a guest room. Those are entry-level positions to help you decide what path you want to take. But there are several different departments and avenues that you can go from finance to sales, to front-of-the-house operations, to human resources. We even have corporate positions that are focusing now on remote roles. If you just want to recruit or you want to do accounting and have multiple properties report to you. Or if you want to be a part of project planning where you are dealing with acquisitions of acquiring other properties. Like we're starting to touch bases in every different field. So if you feel like you love talking to the customer, you feel like you're all about service, then hospitality in hotels is definitely the place that you need to be, and it's worth the risk.

Josiah I love it. I love it. So there's so many reasons to work in hospitality, to work at, you know, your hotel, other hotels across the country. There's a really strong case there. I think I want to hear a little bit on your perspective. You've talked on other interviews around overcoming no's, right? So let's say, let's talk to somebody who's going through maybe thinking about a career transition. You know, sometimes that's tough, right? And you've talked a little bit about resilience and overcoming no's. How do you encourage people that are listening to this? Maybe they, let's talk to the people working in hospitality. What have you learned about building resilience and overcoming barriers as you're thinking about your career and as you're thinking about your journey?

Stacia You know, you are going to get some no's sometimes. And I think some individuals are under the impression that sometimes every time they ask for something, they're gonna get a yes. And it's okay for you to get no's because sometimes those no's have to happen in order for you to appreciate your successes. Now, if you're getting a pattern of no's, that does not mean to change who you are. That means you may need to change where you are. So as far as resilience, I feel like if you have someone that really believes in you and is invested in you, showing you different ways or paths to get to where you want to be, it's worth staying and getting that constructive criticism as long as they have a plan for you and the plan looks like it's reachable and they're following up with you. But if you are just constantly receiving feedback that is not leading to any type of how to do it, when we're gonna do it, when this is gonna take place for you, then you may have come to a dead end. And I tell individuals all the time, sometimes when people do not get the promotion that they want in that particular area, then they start applying for jobs all over the place. I know because I was that person. When I got told that first knowing human resources, then I started saying, OK, maybe I should be a director of housekeeping. Maybe I should be a director of front office. And I knew that's not what I wanted to do. It was like I was settling because I had to feel like I was elevating at some point. But it's not about elevation. It's about finding your passion and your purpose. So if you know that it's something that you're passionate about, stick with it. But you need to find you someone at work that is willing to open the door for you, to advocate for you, to put you in rooms where you are spotlighted. Everyone has flaws, including myself. But you need to make sure that your strengths overcome your weaknesses.

Josiah It's great feedback and great advice. And it's one of the reasons I was excited to talk with you because you're very inspirational on what's possible. And you made the case for why you should work in hospitality. A lot of opportunities. But part of your job is also coaching people, helping people think about how they do career planning. I wonder if we could talk a little bit about Black women in hospitality and what you saw as the opportunity to help people, to empower people, to reach the next level of their careers. Tell us a little bit about the founding of this organization and what you're thinking about.

Stacia When I met my founder, we met at a vision board party. And at this vision board party, it was tons of businesses that were already up and running. None of them were nonprofits. They were all focusing on either the beauty industry, travel industry, maybe like a travel agent or photography business. But there wasn't anyone in the building that could relate to the careers that we were in. We both had 20 plus years in hospitality And we instantly connected when we found out we were both in hospitality. And we said, hey, why don't we do something together, you know, where are our women of color in the industry, we are at a point in our lives where we have reached our goals and now we need to be at a part of our lives where we're giving back and we're sharing the knowledge because we didn't have that network when we were coming up. So that's when we decided we wanted to develop a network that women can come into an organization and have a safe space to just talk about everything. Talk about how they're tired of six days being scheduled, coming back and doing turnarounds, tired of the turnover in their departments and they can't retain associates. don't know where they want to go in their career. Some people work for leaders that are not really exemplifying what leadership looks like, so they're not learning from them. And we wanted to create this where people can come and connect with other individuals that are experiencing the same thing. and they share their stories and then we help them navigate through all of the opportunities that they have. We tell them all the time that it's confidential. You will not have to worry about us calling your property and saying, hey, this is the issue. You don't even have to tell us what brand you work for because that doesn't matter to us. What matters to us is that you are a woman in hospitality and you want to get to the next level, whatever brand that may be for, but we want you to be your best. So we're offering. Some individuals have never had the opportunity to just even participate in community service. They feel like maybe that was only for certain departments or certain levels. We're going to offer community service where you could come and serve with one another with women like you that are climbing up to the next level. We're going to have mentorship programs where we will pair you with a woman that is in your dream job, so you can ask how did you get there so they can give you tools so they can say, let's look at your review and see why you were weak in these areas. You could either be a mentor or a mentee. This group is for everyone. There's work to do and there's people that need the work of it. And it's just about awareness and getting people to understand that when you have conventions, if it was not for hoteliers, your convention would not be successful. So when are we going to get highlighted? When someone is going to advocate for us and say, thank you. Thank you for just giving us the service that sometimes we don't even deserve when we be rude to individuals, when we're rude to the room attendant, when we're rude to the front desk of the bellman or the valet parker. It's all about building this network so women can come out strong. And hopefully that will show attraction for people that are outside the industry to say, that is something that I want to be a part of. It's a sisterhood.

Josiah I love it. I love it. I think the confidentiality piece is really important to this, but I wonder if you can just anonymously share a story of an individual that you've worked with through this organization and what they've been able to do as a result of being a part of this community. It sounds like an incredible mentorship and support opportunity.

Stacia So I had a lady who kept questioning if hospitality was for her. And she was saying, I'm seriously considering leaving the industry because this is not for me. And I was like, you are in a high-level role. This position is definitely for you. You are just running across a lot of obstacles right now that it sounds like you need more support and you're not getting it. So why don't you showcase yourself and maybe you need to look at another brand. And that's what they did. And I told them, you know, maybe the property that you selected was too large because sometimes we can over commit and under deliver. I was like, you have to look at the different types of brands, the different sizes of hotels. And sometimes, you can bite off more than you can chew. And that's okay. So if the hotel was too much for you, find a smaller property that you can excel in and come out swinging and then start advancing yourself to a larger convention property. And that's what they did. They took a step back, but a higher role, but a smaller property. and they felt so much better. So they went to be a GM versus being a director of an operation at a larger property, and they went from like 1,100 rooms to maybe like 300. The key about it is when you're going to a large property, it has to be structured right. You have to have the right people and the support has to be there. If not, these people end up getting burned out quickly because they're doing everything at such a large capacity without the support. So if they can't fill these positions that can give them focal points where they can oversee and they end up becoming the desk agent or the housekeeping supervisor and not being the overseer, they become defeated. And that's when they question, am I in the right job? You are definitely in the right job. You just need more resources and you may have gotten to the point where you've burned yourself out that now you have to change where you are. But sometimes they get tired of communicating the needs and the needs are not being followed up on. And that's when they become disengaged and starting to second guess themselves. So I coached this person on finding something smaller. And the reason why I did it was because of the mental health piece, which is another part of the organization that we are helping women with life balance and finding things that can help them find joy in their lives while they're in hospitality. This individual was at a breaking point. And when you're at a breaking point where, you know, you feel like your mental is being affected, you have to change where you are. It's only the right thing to do.

Josiah I want to ask you a little bit more about this and then follow up on the organization. Just because I'm hearing so many people talk about feeling burnt out, feeling at that breaking point. You talk about finding joy in our lives. I wonder if we could just spend a couple of minutes talking to someone who's there because I'm hearing more and more people, unfortunately, that find themselves there. What advice do you have for people that feel like they're at that breaking point and are just so stressed out or their mental health is not good right now?

Stacia And that's because they're not taking a break for themselves. They're putting the job first. And look, I'm all about the job. But the order that operates my life is God, family, and work. And if it does not go in that order, I am not going to be good to you at work. And it's going to start with people learning to prioritize and not bend on it. There are some things that you just can't bend on. But if you communicate, if you set yourself up to be organized, if you have strengthened your delegation skills, you can have the work-life balance. It's all about setting yourself up to have that. And that comes with hiring the right people, identifying the right person to be on your team, knowing where your team is weak, making sure that when you hire people, it's a balance. You don't want people that have the same strengths on your team because something is going to lag and you're probably going to end up being the one that's doing it.

Josiah I like that you're thinking about this on a high level. Think about the priorities. Think about how you're spending your time. It's not just the symptom that you're looking to solve. You're thinking those from the top down. But you also mentioned something that caught my attention of how do we find joy in our lives? And I imagine it's hard to find joy when you have no time. So that's an element of it. But how else have you found useful to find joy in our lives as hospitality providers?

Stacia Find something at work, like at my workplace, we have a calm room. This is for individuals to step away from their work areas, and they can come lay in the massage chair, listen to music, have snacks and drinks, read a book. It's for you to have a woosah moment, me. I like to take a walk when it's time for lunch. That's what I do to keep myself together. I used to be that individual that when I get stressed, it shows because I did not know how to mask my emotions. So I used to be high-strung all over the place. And then I had to realize when you start leading people, you have to change that because people are watching you. And if you are high-strung and all over the place, that makes them nervous and they can't perform. So now when I feel like I'm getting antsy, nervous, don't have life balance, I stop and ask myself, why? And I really, really dissect what has got me in overload. Why am I overloaded? And is it really necessary for me to be overloaded? Sometimes we don't. We just let the work just pile up, pile up, pile up. And then the next thing you know, it's, I don't think hospitality is for me, or I'm burned out, and I just want a Monday through Friday. You could be burned out with a Monday through Friday. It doesn't matter what schedule you work. It's how you work. And finding joy is before I come to work, I ride the train. Guess what I do? I journal. I journal. I write about my day, how it was. That's relaxing to the mind. Some days I like to just turn on my gospel music and just listen to praise and worship. It's setting me up not to be stressed out. And sometimes we don't do that. We are hustling, bustling from the time we go to work to the time we get off and go to bed at night. And then we're back turned up again, waking up in the morning, checking emails. It could wait. It can wait. Because if something happens to you today or tomorrow, guess what's going to happen? Your email is going to be delegated to the next person and they're going to check them. So why overload yourself and stress yourself out to the point where you have a mental breakdown? It's not necessary. So when I talk to my leaders and they say, oh, I'm stressed out. And I'm saying, you have five agents, why? You have three supervisors, why? You have two front desk assistant managers, why are you stressed out? Because it looks like if you're going to be stressed out, then why do you have all those people working for you? Because you're doing the job anyway by yourself. And they stop and they think about it. And I say, this is who you hired. When I told you that that wasn't the right decision, you said that you were going to develop them. And I trusted you because you were a leader. So now you can't have life balance until you develop them. And that's the thing. People want to hire people, take the trainer wheels on and throw them out there. And then they want to go on vacation. No, it doesn't work like that. You have to invest in them. Then you can talk about a vacation.

Josiah Yeah, I appreciate you kind of walking through that because it's not just, you know, for people that maybe are really stressed out and at that place, it's not just about you and taking care of this, taking actions. It's not a selfish thing, as you pointed out. It's a sign of a leader, right? To take care of yourself so that you can help others, right? So it's almost a selfless thing. But I want to pick up on something that you mentioned there. You have to invest in them. You have to train. I love what you're doing in general in the industry, but specifically with Black women in hospitality. I want to be sensitive to your time. I know we're close to the top of the time that you scheduled, but I wonder if we could just spend a couple minutes talking about what it will take to get what you're doing and empowering people, Black women in hospitality out to serve more people, because there's a whole range of people that listen to the show from owners and investors to general managers to corporate executives. You've seen the industry from so many different angles. I'm curious, you know, for our audience, what would you tell them about how they can work with you or kind of engage with you to take this program and use it to help more people?

Stacia We have a lot of women that really need to get exposure to workshops, seminars, conferences, just to be invited to attend would keep them engaged. And a lot of companies that a lot of my women work for, it's just not in the budget. for their properties to pay for them to go and get this. And this is why their level of engagement is low because they feel like my company is not investing in me. So that's why this organization is important because if you cannot get what you need from the workplace, you should be able to get it through the organization. And in order for us to provide them and send them to workshops, conferences, work on certifications, return to school if they want to, We need funding to be able to give them those opportunities. If they need a Dress for Success course, if they need a management course, those courses aren't free. I mean, I could develop one and I can do it, but they hear from me all the time. Sometimes they need to go sit in a classroom setting with an expert, with different views and not just seeing their co-founder all the time. I'm doing as much as I can, but I could do so much more if we had the funding. We have a pineapple awards brunch coming up next year. This is to highlight our women that are doing such an amazing job at their properties. That's going to take money for me to host that. It's going to take sponsors. We're going to need sponsors to make sure that they have a wonderful meal, that I'm able to get beautiful trophies to provide them. If anyone wants to donate stays, this is not just for hoteliers either. This is for restaurant industry and the airline. So we are covering the whole leisure travel umbrella.

Josiah I love it, Stacia. Tell us a little bit more about where people can get in touch with you and learn more about the organization.

Stacia So I am very active on LinkedIn almost four or five times a day because I'm watching and I'm always looking for the person that needs me, that needs the organization. So you can find me on LinkedIn under Stacia Harvey Randall. You can send me a note. You can also find me. We have Black Women of Hospitality LinkedIn page. We're on Facebook. We're on Instagram. We're on TikTok under Black Women of Hospitality. And then we have our website, which is blackwomenofhospitality.com. So I'm easy to find.

Josiah I love it, Stacia. Thanks so much for taking some time to chat with us. I hope we can do this again soon. I want to bring you back on the show.

Stacia Yes, I would love that. Thank y'all so much for watching and listening.