14 October 2024 - 4 min read
Megan Lipscombe
Head of Marketing
In the hospitality industry, having a reliable team that meshes well is key to success. But high staff turnover continues to give operators sleepless nights; so, what can you do to tackle it? If you run a restaurant, bar or other hospitality establishment, you might be concerned about the impact staffing is having on your day-to-day business operations. Perhaps you feel that customer service levels are suffering, or maybe the cost of continually recruiting new employees is taking its toll on your budget. If the thought of current staff leaving has you feeling uncomfortable, then it could be time to make some positive changes.
Here at Rotaready, we’re all about people. We work with, and are trusted by leading UK brands who use our award-winning intelligent staff rota software to optimise their people management. We frequently talk to our customers about their staffing challenges, which has given us a great insight in staff retention in hospitality, and how to maximise it.
In this article, we’ll look at actionable measures you can take to improve employee retention, giving you practical tips on how to strengthen your business where possible. We’ll look at why retention might be a challenge in your business, and what you can do to tackle it.
It’s no secret that when staff turnover is high, it has a noticeable impact across operations. Ultimately, if staff are constantly coming and going, you cannot deliver the customer service levels that your customers deserve. It also leaves remaining employees burnt-out and frustrated, as they grapple to go over and above to keep standards as high as possible.
You might also notice a drop in staff morale, as they try to navigate additional duties delegated to them after a departure. With the added pressure of trying to adapt to more tasks on their to-do list, they might encounter more frustrated or impolite customers who expect optimum service. This can have a knock-on effect, as employees are working much harder, increasing the chance of them eventually leaving.
From a managerial perspective, high staff turnover means a lot of time spent recruiting and training new employees instead of driving the business forward. And all the while, there is the possibility that their new employee won’t stay for long.
In order to tackle high staff turnover, we need to get to the bottom of why it’s such a big problem in the first place. It’s true that it has always been a challenge but in recent years, the problem has only gotten worse.
There could be a few reasons why your staff aren’t sticking around for long, including:
When a job role is unclear, or employees are unexpectedly burdened with additional tasks, it can become a significant source of stress. If employees expect to perform certain duties but find themselves doing something entirely different, or if they’re given unexpected responsibilities that they don’t necessarily have the training to do, dissatisfaction is likely to follow. This uncertainty can also make them anxious about potential future changes.
Transparency and communication are key in avoiding problems like this.
Knee-jerk hiring can be tempting when you need someone to fill a role urgently, which is why lots of employers bring someone in who isn’t necessarily the right fit. This can be costly in terms of time and money, and can lead to disappointment for other team members, who are feeling the strain of not having enough team members to manage the workload.
Make sure that you’ve set out a proper job spec that outlines exactly what you’re looking for in terms of skills and experience before you start the recruitment process.
Hospitality roles are generally not known for high pay, but it’s important to be mindful of how your wages compare to those of your competitors. Cutting costs by paying less than the going rate can be a false economy when staff are lured away by better offers elsewhere, leading to higher turnover and additional recruitment costs.
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) notes that hospitality and retail sectors consistently have the largest number of workers earning the minimum wage. This makes it crucial to ensure your compensation is competitive enough to retain your best employees.
While shift work can be appealing to many, a chaotic schedule can lead to an unhappy workforce. To maintain a fair work-life balance, employees need, and deserve, to know their work dates and times in advance. That’s where effective rota management can make a huge difference.
Surprises should be kept to a minimum where possible. Of course, if a colleague is unexpectedly absent, employees might be asked to cover a shift, but this possibility should be communicated and agreed early on.
Excessive uncertainty or last-minute scheduling is likely to cause stress and, ultimately, may drive employees to leave.
Stress is one of the leading factors that contributes to the high staff turnover in the hospitality sector. We know that the industry, by nature, can be a high-pressure environment, and it’s not suitable for everyone, but if you can mitigate stress where possible, you’ll have a better chance of keeping your staff. Be open to feedback about how to do this, and look for ways to make processes more efficient to cut down on unnecessary work. It’s also worth considering what measures you can take in order to improve customer satisfaction, since happy customers will treat staff better.
When staff don’t feel supported by their managers, it can amplify feelings of being overwhelmed and underappreciated. A lack of connection with the senior team only adds to the tension, creating a more uncomfortable work environment.
A strong working relationship between management and staff is essential for a pleasant workplace and for building productive teams. Without this support, employees are more likely to feel disengaged and dissatisfied.
A lack of a clear career path can make it difficult for employees to envision a future with your organisation. If they don’t see a plan for their growth, they might assume you don’t value their long-term potential.
Recent research highlights that career development prospects are a top priority for young professionals in the UK. According to H&C News, 58% of them place great importance on opportunities for learning, development, and training. Providing these opportunities can be key to retaining talent and fostering loyalty within your team.
Happy staff are more productive, more engaged, and ultimately more likely to stick around. By taking some time to make sure that your employees feel happy in their roles, and can take pride in the work they do, you improve your chances of keeping them in the business. And the good news is that there are so many ways to enhance job satisfaction among hospitality employees.
Pay and benefits are always going to be big factors in how happy your staff are in their jobs. In addition to making sure you’re paying a rate in line with other hospitality businesses in your area, think about what benefits you could offer to make employees feel valued and rewarded for the work they do.
Recognising and rewarding employee achievements will go a long way towards making your team feel valued. Whether it’s a simple ‘well done’ as you pass each other, or a mention in a meeting, it shows you recognise the effort they’re putting in. If they’ve gone the extra mile and it warrants special acknowledgement, consider a rewards or incentive scheme. They’re easy to use and everyone can work towards shared team objectives.
Giving staff the tools and training they need to do their jobs properly is also a huge factor in promoting a sense of job satisfaction. There’s nothing worse than feeling as though you’re falling short of expectations or doing a job poorly despite your best efforts.
Create a brand that they can be proud to represent. It’s a lot easier to feel satisfied in a job where you feel proud to work.
Be fair in scheduling rotas and handing out work assignments if you want everyone to feel that sense of job satisfaction equally.
Providing opportunities for career development will also help to build a sense of security and satisfaction among your employees. If you show them that you’re invested in their future, they’re more likely to picture that future with you.
The importance of creating a supportive and rewarding work environment that meets the needs and expectations of employees cannot be underestimated; it can significantly reduce turnover rates.
Fostering a Positive Workplace Culture
Cultivating a positive workplace culture where employees feel valued, respected, and engaged is critical if you want to keep staff.
You can do this by building a strong team dynamic, where everyone brings something to the table and works well together. Encourage open communication to make for a happy work environment; everyone needs to feel comfortable passing on necessary day to day information and expressing their concerns, opinions and ideas.
Be seen to promote a healthy work-life balance. When you show staff that you’re invested in their happiness and wellbeing, you build a healthier culture across the business. Creating a space where your employees are empowered to balance their job with their home life can make a huge difference, like being able to switch a shift to make sure they don’t miss out on an important family event, or limit their working hours to fit around caring responsibilities.
Effective Management Practices
The role of management is vital in setting the tone for the right workplace culture. Leading by example, you’ll get the very best from your people.
Supportive leadership is invaluable when it comes to creating an environment where people want to work, and reducing staff turnover. When staff feel seen and listened to, they’re more likely to feel invested in their job, and the business.
By setting clear expectations and providing a structured process for appraisals and mentoring, you can help your staff to achieve more. Should they need additional training because they’re not meeting your expectations, explain the change in practice and subsequent change in results you’re looking for.
Offering Career Advancement Opportunities
Providing clear career advancement opportunities will help you retain ambitious and talented employees. Initiatives like promoting from within and structured training programmes will show them that you’re serious about their future with you. According to caterer.com, career progression is even more important to hospitality staff than salary when it comes to staying in a role long term. And according to research carried out by CGA on behalf of Access Hospitality, employees in hospitality who see a clear career pathway are 52% more likely to stay in the industry.
Personalised career pathways and apprenticeship schemes are great ways to build structured opportunities for progression.
Regular Employee Engagement and Feedback
If you haven’t already, you might want to consider implementing an open-door policy so employees have a way to speak to managers about issues they are facing, and you are able to address issues promptly. It’s a fast way to boost morale and give the workplace a lift.
Do everything you can to keep communication flowing in both directions. Regular meetings, and employee engagement and feedback sessions can be invaluable. You may also want to look into a good Learning Management System for hospitality that offers easy options for communication across the whole organisation.
And don’t forget, when it comes to understanding why your turnover rate might be higher than you’d like, there’s no one better to ask than those who are leaving. An exit interview is a valuable tool for finding out if there’s anything you can do to make improvements in the future.
The right software can be a huge help to hospitality operators who want to boost staff retention. The most important thing is effective people management, and if you’re working across a large business this can be a real challenge without the right technology in place.
When it comes to staff rota issues, a good hospitality staff scheduling software can eliminate headaches, reduce paperwork, and empower staff to have some control over their shifts. Choose a solution that allows you to carry out demand forecasting, and you’ll be so much less likely to end up short staffed at busy times (which causes high stress levels and unnecessary pressure on your team).
You may also want to consider a great hospitality LMS to help you offer structured training programmes, personalised career pathways, and easy communication.
In this article we’ve explored how to go about retaining staff in the hospitality industry. We’ve looked at the reasons behind the high turnover in the sector and the strategies you can put in place to keep talented and promising staff members with you for longer.
Rotaready’s hospitality rota software simplifies and optimises rota scheduling, wage spending, recording attendance timesheets for payroll, and so much more; it makes people management easy. If you’d like to see for yourself, you can request a demo, or get in touch with our team to find out more.
“Rotaready is that rare thing: a tech company that has kept its promises and made an immediate positive impact.”
Warner Leisure Hotels – James Johnson
If you’re ready to find out how we can help, get in touch or request a demo to see the software in action.
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