14 October 2024 - 3 min read
Megan Lipscombe
Head of Marketing
Team members that feel happy and secure in their roles are more likely to stick with their employer long term. But how do we create that security for new people joining our team? The onboarding process in your hospitality business will go a long way to helping get your team members feeling that sense of security, which can then be nurtured into loyalty to your brand.
Rotaready customers love using our software to connect with their teams from day one, fostering a community of crystal-clear communication which is such an important element in successful onboarding.
So, how can you improve your current onboarding processes to get the most of your teams? In this article, we’ll look at some of our top tips for onboarding new hospitality staff, and how to foster a supportive working environment for your whole team.
A structured and engaging onboarding programme will help you to create a positive experience that ultimately helps to boost staff retention, whilst also keeping you compliant. It’s a win from every angle, so you want to make sure you’re doing it well.
When it comes to getting your staff onboarding right, it’s very likely that you’ll find a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t, in fact, fit at all. Every brand has its unique culture, values, and operational demands, and each team member has different needs. That means that the best approach to onboarding in hospitality is often one tailored to your business.
Onboarding new staff into a hospitality environment has layers of complexity. It’s not just about making sure your new team member feels welcome and understands what’s expected of them (although these are incredibly important elements of a good onboarding strategy). You’ll also need to ensure that you’ve put all the necessary training in place for compliance, that they can easily access this training, and that you have an easy way to monitor this.
With all that in mind, let’s dive into some of the key practices that will help to ensure your onboarding process is successful.
The onboarding journey starts long before your new team member even walks through the door. With some thoughtful pre-arrival preparation, your new hires will feel wanted and welcome from the outset, and they’re less likely to feel as overwhelmed the first time they walk through those doors as a member of staff. Consider setting up their workspace in advance (if applicable). Get any equipment that they’ll be using in their role ready, and prepare onboarding materials in advance.
Stay in touch. There’s nothing worse than radio silence after accepting a job offer. Your new hire is much more likely to feel comfortable and prepared if you send a welcome email with essential details like dress code, schedule, and what to expect on their first day, and keep the lines of communication open in the run up to their first shift. This proactive approach shows you are invested in their success, and helps ease any anxiety they may be feeling.
It’s tempting to throw new staff in at the deep end; after all, you hired them because you need them, and the more quickly they get stuck in, the more helpful it will be to the existing team. But the first day sets the tone for the entire onboarding experience; when it goes well, your new team member is 69% more likely to stay with you for 3 years or more, so it’s worth making a little effort to get them settled in properly.
Orientation is your chance to introduce new staff to your company’s culture, mission, and values, so that they are better equipped to represent those values when they get to work. If they’ll be working in a customer facing role, this is a particularly important step in your orientation, if you don’t want to risk undermining your brand’s reputation.
Give your new member of staff a tour of the venue and introduce them to key team members and departments so that they feel confident in finding their way around and asking questions when they need to.
Make sure you’ve covered all the practical aspects and the need-to-knows, such as company policies, procedures, and essential health and safety guidelines.
As we’ve already discussed, regulations and compliance make training an essential part of any hospitality onboarding process. Make sure new starts have access to the right level of training for their role and they complete it in a timely manner.
Training shouldn’t stop at initial orientation though. Nor should it be restricted to those courses required by law. If you want to retain quality staff, it’s important to create a clear career pathway for them, and to put the right training in place to help that happen.
By investing in continuous development, you not only help employees to develop key skills, but you also show them that you are committed to supporting their long-term career growth in your organisation.
When you promote a culture of continuous learning, you ensure your team is always ready to deliver exceptional service, keeping your brand ahead of the competition.
A buddy system for new hires can be a great way to help them settle in quickly.
Assigning a mentor or buddy to each new employee gives them a dedicated point of contact for guidance, questions, and support, as well as helping them to feel more comfortable in their new role. It also helps them to adjust to the company culture, making everything go more smoothly.
If you’re going to put something like this in place, make sure you choose the buddies/ mentors carefully. Take into account personality types, experience levels, and their role within the business when matching them to a new employee.
Clear and open communication is at the core of any good relationship. So, it shouldn’t be surprising when we tell you that building strong professional relationships with employees requires great communication from the very beginning, and throughout their time working with you.
Make sure you schedule regular check-ins to discuss how they’re getting on. Invite them to share their feedback and look for ways to address any issues or concerns they might have. Likewise, be ready to share constructive feedback with them so that they can understand what they’re doing well, and what they could work to improve.
These conversations show that you’re invested in their success and open to input and suggestions, which can boost their confidence and commitment to the role.
Ultimately, it takes work to create a healthy culture where people want to work, and feel proud to be part of. An important part of this is making sure that new people quickly settle comfortably into the team.
Team-building activities, social events, and collaborative projects can help new hires to connect with their colleagues in a non-work context. These opportunities help build relationships and integrate new hires into the team, making them feel like valued members of your organisation.
In this article, we’ve looked at why effective onboarding is so important in hospitality, including how it can help you to reduce staff turnover, improve staff performance, and build a better company culture.
By sharing the best ways to welcome new team members into your business, we’ve hopefully given you some ideas for updating and improving your existing processes.
If you’re ready to transform your existing onboarding plan into a stress-free, streamlined process, our award-winning hospitality rota software is designed to put employee management right at your fingertips. Rotaready can help to take the stress out of organising tasks like payroll and staff rotas, and simplifies communication across your team. If you’d like to see first-hand the difference that our cloud-based software can make for you, schedule a demo today.
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