Organizational Psychology

The IT revolution has caused a re-engineering of business processes in virtually every sectorof the economy, including the expansion of digital skills of employees in the tourism and hospitality industry. However, the very nature of hospitality determines the fact that digital skills cannot replace traditional soft skills. Purpose. This study aims to identify the level of development of soft and digital skills of frontline employees in Russian hotels. Methodology. The methodology includes a desk-based phase and a survey of frontline employees, conducted in spring 2021. The sample consists of 151 hotel employees managed by the Russian management company. The data was analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Survey tools included several content blocks aimed at testing both digital skills and soft skills in demand in the hospitality industry. Findings. According to the results the levels of digital skills were higher than those of soft skills; at the same time, the levels of soft and digital skills were not associated with each other. This is of concern to HR managers of industry companies as it reduces the ability to deliver quality services to customers. Previous researchin this area has predominantly been conducted using foreign rather than Russian data. Value of results.The present research focuses on the employees of Russian hotels, who directly work with customers. The results provide an opportunity to develop a set of recommendations for hospitality companiesto improve HR processes, considering the level of soft and digital skills of employees. We recommend several possible directions for improving HR management practices in companies in the industry: improving recruitment and selection processes, and training companies’ employees.