Emerging trends in employee competences in Polish therapeutic tourism enterprises

ABSTRACT

The aim of the paper is to identify employee competences crucial for the development of therapeutic enterprises in a changing environment. Methodology typical of qualitative research (focus group) was employed. Focus group conducted with 16 representatives of top management in therapeutic and tourism enterprises indicate that problem-solving skills, creativity and cooperation/collaboration with other people will be the most useful soft skills for the future operation of therapeutic enterprises, whereas implementation of new IT solutions, building and maintaining relations with clients, and writing blogs and activity in social media are hard skills that will require the most rapid changes. This is of key importance for the process of adjusting the product and the quality of therapeutic and tourism services to the ever more demanding commercial tourists, whose number is growing in therapeutic enterprises. The competences listed above have important implications for scholars, allowing them to understand the specifics and character of competences used in therapeutic enterprises, as well as for managers of European therapeutic enterprises.

KEYWORDS:

• Employee management
• health tourism
• competences
• therapeutic enterprises
• Poland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was financially supported by AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow [grant number 16/16.200.396].

Notes on contributors

Diana Dryglas

Dr Diana Dryglas is researcher and academic teacher at the Faculty of Management at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. Associate Professor of economics in the field of management sciences (based on a dissertation ‘Designing a health tourism product structure model in the process of marketing management’). Author of numerous scientific and popular science articles in economics and management of tourism, health tourism and spa resorts, including monographs, chapters in monographs, articles in Polish and international journals (e.g. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management), co-author of numerous research projects.

Katarzyna Klimkiewicz

Dr Katarzyna Klimkiewicz is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Management at AGH University of Science and Technology. Doctor of economics specializing in corporate social responsibility and human resources management (HRM). Her research interests include assessment of HRM systems in terms of its sustainability, analysis of HRM in sustainable supply chains, the analysis of social effects in the global supply chains as well as monitoring the social impacts of HRM systems towards organization’s stakeholders. Scholarship holder of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst Foundation, laureate of the Verba Veritatis competition for the best work in the field of business ethics.