The skills profile of the hospitality supervisor in South Africa

The hospitality industry in South Africa is faced with challenges such as increased competition – nationally and internationally – economic recession, downsizing, the need to work smarter and not necessarily harder, but most of all, the challenge of managing diversity. The aim of this study was to determine the skills profile of the supervisor according to their own experience. A survey research approach was followed and research was conducted through self-administrated questionnaires that was based on competencies (core performance dimensions) related to the managerial aspects of a supervisor, namely – managing others (operational). Convenience sampling, comprising a population of hospitality supervisors working in hotels in South Africa was used. Six major hotel chains participated in this study. Responses were received from 141 hospitality supervisors. The researcher relied on descriptive and inferential statistical procedures to analyse the quantitative data. Results show that the performance dimension Guest and relationship is ranked as the most important performance dimension/attribute. This is not surprising as the responsibilities of the hospitality supervisor include a guest-focused culture