How to attract and retain talent within hospitality

Speak to any operator and the persistent challenge within hospitality remains staff shortages. According to recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), employment vacancies in hospitality have remained around 140,000 for five months in a row. Attracting talent is one challenge – but retaining them is also important if we are to lower this figure.

As highlighted by UKHospitality, hospitality is the UK’s third largest private sector employer, representing 10% of the nation’s employment. Yet, the sector has seen a continued struggle when it comes to recruitment and staff retention – perhaps in part due to a perception that the hours are long and unsociable, that the pay is low, and that there is a lack of career progression.

However, when employers invest in staff, look after them, support them and unify them, they can truly thrive, not only within their own career paths but also in the customer service they deliver – in turn, elevating the business they work for and the industry as a whole.

The hospitality industry requires highly-skilled, trained, motivated and happy staff. Our aim is to always ensure that we are not only showing how much we value our employees, but also to support the growth and development of future hospitality leaders.

Fostering a community 

The art of hospitality focuses on delivering exceptional service to our guests. But as an owner or operator, how focused are you on delivering an exceptional work experience for your team? Having happy and passionate employees is fundamental to delivering authentic customer service. 

Just as our physical assets have their own character and history, our staff are equally as varied and just as special. Each hotel is individual, and each team member is too. Individuality should be celebrated; hospitality’s great mixing bowl of people and experiences is what helps us deliver the best possible experience for guests. We strive to make our guests feel special, but also for our colleagues to feel they are part of a community.

This starts with new staff onboarding. We have launched an in-depth development programme during probationary periods, designed to help new staff settle into roles and build relationships with colleagues, managers and the wider business. By introducing this programme, we have reduced our ‘no show’ rate for roles and lowered active vacancies from 14.2% to 4.1% in last year.

Rewards and benefits 

Whether you own one hotel or lead a large hotel portfolio, rewarding your staff is more than providing a list of cookie-cutter employment benefits. At its heart, your policy needs to focus on what makes your team happy, and this will vary depending on where you’re located and the type of people you employ.

Post-Covid, people are rightfully more aware of the importance of a work-life balance. While we can’t ignore the operating hours and locations necessary to provide our services, there are ways to help teams feel valued that stretch beyond the mainstream ‘Work from home’ debate.

In September 2022, we implemented a £3 per hour pay rise for each of our employees, just as the cost of living crisis started to hit our consumers’ pockets. By moving swiftly, we remained true to our values and ensured our employees could see how much we value them.

Where possible, we have started to migrate ‘Casual’ team members towards part-time roles, providing greater job security for our colleagues. We have also crafted a ‘Four Days On, Three Days Off’ work pattern for kitchen teams which has increased staff retention and boosted employee satisfaction.

Training and development

Just like any community, it’s our responsibility as leaders to develop our staff. Training is key to retaining staff across the sector. Give someone the tools to do their job – and the belief they can do it – and they will know they are a valuable part of your business.

Developing colleagues can invoke a fear of losing the talent you have nurtured, but that’s when the community ethos comes to the fore. Imagine your star waitress is eager to begin a career in sales. You provide cross-training and external training, and then they move into a sales role at your property, leaving you with a hole to fill in F&B while adding important experience to your sales team.

But imagine you don’t develop their passion – they are more likely to not only leave your organisation, but the industry, taking with them priceless customer service experience and hospitality business acumen. Think outside the box in how you attract and train people for your business. 

For example, recruiting spa therapists was challenging, so we partnered with national provider Armonia Training  Academy on a new spa therapist programme. Those completing their apprenticeship are guaranteed a role within one of our spa hotels.

Actions speak louder than words 

Nearly every hospitality operator offers rewards and benefits such as meals on duty and special rates for friends and family of staff, so how can you differentiate yourself to attract and retain the sector’s best talent? It’s about valuing the individual. You can’t always deliver everything to everyone, but by fostering a culture of open and honest communication, staff will accept the highs and the lows.

Annual staff surveys are a great sense check for hospitality operators. Historically, like many independent groups, we ran ours in-house with self-analysis on the results. This was a slow process, so we now partner with Peakon, a new team satisfaction platform which provides deeper data analysis and actionable insights. By taking prompt action in response to our teams’ feedback, we can focus on activities which are central to improving the employee experience.

A hospitable work environment

A survey by Dreams estimated that the average British worker will spend around 13 years of their life at work. Creating a hospitable work environment, where each member feels valued and listened to, is key to boosting employee satisfaction. In return, hotel owners and operators will benefit from greater productivity, lower staff turnover, and – in time – a reputation as a place where people want to work, making it easier for your business to recruit and retain staff.