There’s more to hiring a good leader than finding someone with relevant experience: Finding someone with potential and betting on that person’s skills and passion is equally as important, says Vered Schwarz, COO at short-term rental software provider Guesty, where she makes a point of establishing diverse management teams.
Formerly the COO of Fiverr, Schwarz has seen the specific challenges women face in the work place - particularly at technology companies - but she believes women in hospitality are uniquely positioned to break down the gender imbalance in travel technology.
She shares her views with us below.
What strategies does Guesty implement to ensure it hires diverse teams?
I’ve found that in many cases, once you begin hiring a diverse management team it impacts your hiring and creates a more diverse team overall.
There is indeed a trickle-down effect here. Since the interviewers are of different backgrounds, they encompass different points of view about candidates.
At Guesty, I’m proud to say that our employees come from every continent across the globe. We’ve also made it a point to hire people who don’t always hail from the travel tech space in order to maintain a fresh perspective on our ecosystem.
As a result of our hiring practices, Guesty not only encompasses several employees that would perhaps not be the classic fit on the surface but have been very successful with us. Today I’m also proud to note that Guesty is comprised of 40% women, including in upper and middle management positions.
How would you say the short-term rental industry is performing, overall, in advancing women to leadership roles? One statistic to emerge from Phocuswright’s Women in Leadership events is that it’s believed one out of 10 women in leadership roles is enough. What needs to happen for that perception to change?
Women are over 50% of the population, so why shouldn’t they be 50% of leadership?
Companies’ management teams and boards should fairly represent the consumers they are serving or selling to.
Perhaps if a company is selling a product to men only, it would be easier to stomach there being more men in management, but currently there are many companies selling women’s products with very few women in management.
To combat this obstacle to female success, we must focus on education. For instance, I just read an article about how in the ‘70s, programming was considered a feminine role. Today, that field is dominated by men. This change in perception must be combated by ongoing education, equal education for both men and women.
What specific challenges does the travel industry face around gender parity that perhaps don’t exist in the same way in other industries?
There are many women involved in the travel industry - it’s just about getting them to the top. In fact, according to a 2017 World Travel and Tourism Council report, the tourism workforce is 50% female, with about half of director-level employees at hotels being women.
Perhaps if a company is selling a product to men only, it would be easier to stomach there being more men in management.
Vered Schwarz - Guesty
I believe it’s when you view travel tech specifically that you begin to see the disparity, as you do in the tech industry as a whole. There are far more men than women in tech roles, particularly in R&D.
However, considering women dominate the hospitality industry, transitioning into travel tech is an obvious step for those already familiar with the space. Ultimately, women entering travel tech can help break down the gender imbalance in tech as a whole.
What about in short-term rentals specifically?
When it comes to hosts, the numbers do the talking. If we look at Airbnb specifically, female hosts have earned nearly $20 billion on the platform, making up the majority of home hosts (55%) and 50% of Experience hosts worldwide.
But we don’t see this same level of success when it comes to raising funds from investors, as statistically, women are not as successful as men. Case in point: In 2018, funding for female founders stalled at 2.2% of VC dollars.
With women making great hosts - and in terms of short-term rentals, great entrepreneurs - they should be able to play a larger role in an industry that impacts them.
It’s been widely discussed that men, as well as women, need to be part of changing the conversation. Over the course of your career, how have you seen (or not seen) men come around to issues of women in leadership?
I think it is becoming more common to see men rise to the occasion and talk about diversity. Stakeholders want to invest in women and make room for female partners. CEOs understand that a diverse company is a better company, and event organizers want to feature colorful panels of speakers to keep things from getting stale.
It’s still not enough, but there is far more acknowledgement of the problem at hand than there was 10 years ago.
Why are soft skills (leadership, innovation, creativity, etc.) becoming more important in leadership? And do you think there’s an argument to rethink what we call these skills?
I do indeed believe we need to rethink how we refer to these skills. The term “soft” makes these skills seem less important, when in all actuality, they are critical capabilities that are just more difficult to measure.
Predictions about the future of the workplace, such as many of today's positions being made obsolete by artificial intelligence and machine learning, have given today’s youth reason to deeply consider the career and education paths they choose.
But we must keep in mind that robots cannot replace professions built on these so called “soft” skills, such as creativity and the ability to inspire. These traits very much have room in the future.
There’s no need to look that far ahead to see the value of less quantifiable skills. Even the most capable employees these days are not promoted to a managerial position without the skills to lead, hire, motivate and provide constructive feedback.
What’s your take on active listening and how that can foster career growth?
To me, active listening is simply the right way to manage. You cannot be a good manager if you don’t listen to - or care about - your employees’ expectations, concerns and aspirations.
As managers, it is our responsibility to be there for our teams and welcome continuous dialogue, beyond what we see in reports.
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Of course, this does not apply only to direct managers. It applies to colleagues who need to collaborate, to HR teams, and to anyone in a position that can give a voice to those within the company.
I personally make it a priority to always listen and provide guidance to any employee in my organization, as well as others in the tech ecosystem.
What are the first steps an individual or company can take to establish initiatives to increase diversity?
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. The first step is deciding you want to invest in diversity, understanding the positive impact it will have on your business and then educating your entire team on the matter.
You want your team to hire and promote without bias because it’s the right thing to do, not because it’s what they’ve been told to do. Any policies and processes to increase diversity will only work if everyone’s heart is in the right place.
How has the sharing economy opened doors for women to make money through a side hustle?
One example, which is incredibly relevant to Guesty, is how new technology in the short-term rental arm of the sharing economy is providing people a means for making a living managing properties, where they otherwise might not have been able to do so.
Because the experience of using platforms like Airbnb eliminates income disparity based on gender, short-term rental industry technology opens the door for women around the world to turn what used to be a typical "side hustle" into a robust career, sans any need for initial capital investment.
Can you explain a specific leadership program or mentoring experience that assisted you in your career?
I was very fortunate to have managers throughout my career that believed in me and helped me grow, mainly by allowing me to take on more responsibilities and expand my role.
By way of example, when my manager at MediaMind asked me to take on the role of vice president of global operations, in addition to my role as general counsel, it gave me a chance to develop a broader perspective of the business and become involved in more strategic processes within the organization.
That is why I always believe in potential, and betting on skills and passion, and not only what might be viewed as relevant experience.
Mentorship programs to promote women were not common at all when I began my career, so I had to find my own mentors without the help of social networks. I believe women today have more opportunities to find mentors, even if they can’t find them in their direct managers.
What roadblocks have you hit in your career on your path toward leadership positions?
I began my career as a lawyer, focusing on IPOs and mergers and acquisitions. When I decided to leave the firm I was at, I was offered a partner role, but I explained it was too late and that promotions should not be offered as a last resort.
After I left, they offered partner positions to a couple of talented young lawyers, one man and one woman. I believe it was a result of the mistake they made with me, and it taught me a lesson about ensuring employees I manage feel appreciated.
Fast-forward to my first role in a tech company, I had to convince the CEO I should be a part of upper management, as I could contribute to strategic discussions and decision making. I had a few cases where I had to fight to “get a seat at the table” when I thought my opinion should be heard.
And as I mentioned, over 20 years ago leadership programs and mentorship programs were not as prevalent as they are today. You had to learn a lot on your own or build relationships with mentors who could provide you with the appropriate guidance.