In hospitality management training, it is important to know the different kinds of qualities each employee can bring to the table. Some are helpful in the progress of a restaurant or organization while others may hinder growth. We often learn about different employee personality types one may encounter within a career in hospitality management. For example, one type of person is known as an “innovator.” An innovator is a person who is earlier than others in his or her organization to adopt a new idea or change initiative. This person is usually a bit more venturesome and quick to try new ideas. Oftentimes they are characterized as a risk taker. In fact they may not even be included in the social network of the organization, a little bit on the outside. Some employees may not understand the innovator’s ideas and actions.

Another type of person that you may often come across in a career in hospitality management is known as an early adopter. An early adopter is a respectable member of a business. Usually this person is a recognized leader, is connected to the social structure. It’s a person whose opinion is valued in matters when making decisions. Typically he or she is regarded as more mature in their judgment than the innovator, is typically more integrated into an organization’s culture. Potential adopters like to look to the early adopter for advice and information about the change. This person is a role model. His or her adoption of innovation is generally done in a prudent, cautious, and successful manner.

In hospitality management training we often learn how to identify different personality traits and groups. Another type of personality is common in a group known as the “late majority.” The late majority are very slow to adopt a change. They don’t adopt until almost everyone else has done so. They are mostly motivated by peer pressure and by the opinions of the early majority. Adoption may in fact for them be an economic necessity; they may have few other options for employment. They often are skeptical and cautious, and like the early adopters, the late majority makes up a large percentage of the workforce, again about 1/3.

The last group is known in restaurant management training as “the resisters.” The resisters are the last people to adopt a change. In fact many will never adopt the change. Resisters often don’t fit into the broader social system either. They tend to look to the past and wish things could return to the “good old days.” In a career in hospitality management, this group can distrust and reject change because they feel the new ideas may be in conflict with their own values. This way of thinking may be harmful to the growth of a business because resisters are more traditional and may not recognize a good idea because it is too new or different for them. In restaurant management training it is important to understand that resisters may not be conducive to advancing your business.