‘Get better at retaining staff’, hospitality firms told

High levels of employee turnover in the hospitality sector are resulting in the industry being 58% less productive than the likes of retail and manufacturing, according to new figures. 

Analysis from workforce charity People 1st found that per employee, the hospitality and tourism workforce contributes only £21,600 to the industry. This is 53% lower than an employee in retail at £46,000, 39% lower than someone working in construction (£35,000) and 58% lower than a manufacturing worker (£52,000).

The People 1st ‘Skills and Productivity Problem’ report said that increasing productivity by just 1% would drive an additional £1.43bn revenue to the industry each year. It calculated that 993,000 new staff are needed by 2022 although the vast majority (870,000) will replace existing employees.

Simon Tarr, managing director at People 1st, said: “The causes of low productivity are complex and diverse. It is clear that parts of our industry are trapped in a revolving door of high turnover, increased skills gaps, and reliance on resorting to further transitional, non-permanent staff, to plug those gaps.

“We believe diversifying recruitment to include older workers and maternity returners as well as putting in place strategies to reduce turnover with a greater focus on career progression, will have a positive impact on productivity.”

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The report urges employers to improve their staff retention by:

• Offering more development opportunities for staff that make them want to stay with employers, and a clearer view of the career progression and promotion prospects
• Employing apprentices which are proven to provide a return on investment to employers
• Recruiting more maternity returners and older workers into the sector – two key groups that often need flexible jobs – as opposed to relying too heavily on seasonally available employees at this time of year.

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