Human Resources, Hard and Soft Skills, and Organizational Characteristics of Tourism and Cultural Enterprises in Crete, Greece

Abstract

This study investigates human resource management (HRM) issues in tourism enterprises and cultural organizations serving visitors in the Region of Crete, Greece. Despite the extensive HRM literature, empirical research on skills and staffing practices in tourism and cultural organizations in Greece remains limited. To address this gap, a primary quantitative survey among 287 organizational representatives was conducted in 2024. It examined organizational characteristics, the ease of finding suitable personnel and the skills considered in recruitment and retention, and it also addressed employment and labor relations. Univariable binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the factors associated with the reported ease of recruiting suitable staff. The key results are as follows. Most enterprises operate in the Regional Units of Heraklion and Chania, with hospitality and food service being the most prevalent. The majority operates year-round and seven days a week. The analysis revealed that the business type, operating period, employee overtime, and workforce size were significantly associated with enterprises’ reported ease of recruiting suitable staff during the 2024 tourism season. Soft skills emerged as the most important recruitment and retention criteria, particularly communication, collaboration and teamwork, alongside personal attributes such as courtesy, responsibility, integrity, work ethic, reliability and professionalism. The overwhelming majority of the businesses recognize that employees with the desired skills can enhance productivity and contribute to the achievement of business objective. Nevertheless, soft skills do not substitute for the technical and professional knowledge (hard skills) required to perform position-specific duties. Rather, the two skill categories are complementary, underscoring the need for an integrated approach to human resource selection, development and retention in the tourism and cultural sectors.