[Foundations] People Relevance (During)

Why observing people — both employees and customers — is essential to making the most of an internship. From evaluating empowerment and leadership styles to understanding service recovery systems and emotional intelligence, students are encouraged to pay attention to how human behavior drives the guest experience. It’s a call to elevate awareness and prepare for leadership through active observation.

Key Takeaways:

• Interns should observe both customer behavior and employee empowerment, noting how people and processes shape service quality — especially in the post-pandemic context where labor and culture challenges are heightened.
• Service is inherently human-to-human (H2H) — students should notice how companies support both sides of the service equation and how systems react when things go wrong (e.g., service recovery and guest review responses).
• Observe decision-making authority at the front line — is empowerment real or symbolic? Can employees make service decisions without multiple layers of approval?
• Leadership matters: interns should watch for managers who show a service vision, belief in others, passion for the business, and integrity — the four qualities of service leaders based on Leonard Berry’s model.
• Regardless of personality type, success in hospitality hinges on respect, empathy, and people skills — and students should model the behaviors they most admire in effective leaders.