Time to look at the role of the HCIMA
The chief executive is gone (well, he's announced that intention); long live the chief executive. After six years, David Wood FHCIMA, FTS, MBA, MIPD has decided to pull back from the hurly-burly of running the Hotel & Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) and retreat from London to his home in Norfolk. He is going to spend more time with his family and also run the British Association of Hospitality Accountants on a "two-and-a-half-days-a-week basis" (don't you believe it).
Good luck, David. Six years is about as long as any chief executive of any organisation can be expected to stick around these days. The world moves so fast, situations change so quickly, that it takes enormous stamina to keep abreast of developments for longer. In an age of instant communication, where everyone expects to be included in the debate about anything, the pressure is enough to make anyone think about quitting.
Wood came into the job vowing to improve industry qualifications and encourage the use of information technology. To a large extent, those aims have been achieved, and it is probably best now to say: "Right! Done what I can here. Thank you very much. I'm off, goodnight."
The question is: where does his departure leave the HCIMA? What does the future hold for the organisation and, more to the point, what should the future hold?
This is not the place (and there isn't space) to arrive at a definitive answer. But the departure of a chief exec, any chief exec, is an occasion to regroup and reassess the work of an organisation. Now is the opportunity to review the role of the HCIMA.
There is no doubt that the association is an important part of the current industry landscape. That landscape may have become ragged with expansion, broken up and blurred around the edges, and there may be more than 200 organisations representing various factions and fractions of hospitality and tourism. There is still a need, however, for a strong voice to represent professionals in the business. And it is the word "professional" that is the key to what the HCIMA is about.
The HCIMA is an association for professionals; it is not a trade association. Its role is to raise the standards of qualification in the industry, to maintain those standards and to campaign effectively against the erosion of those standards. The essence of the association is to influence government to protect educational funding; to sustain a robust dialogue with higher educational institutions to provide a cohesive framework for professional qualification; and liaise with the membership to make sure that those standards are applied.
Focus is important, and it is probably a good time for the HCIMA to assess its activities in operational areas such as environmental control, publishing and information provision, and to consider more its work with other qualification-awarding bodies in the industry.
Whoever takes over from David Wood is going to have their work cut out. They will have to push aside some of the sediment layers that clog the workings of any organisation, and move forward with a clear vision. It's a tough call and, make no mistake, everyone will have an opinion about how the job should be done.
The chief executive has gone (almost). Here's to his successor - and the next six years.
