We’ve spoken before about the difficulties that the hospitality industry is facing when it comes to attracting and retaining talent.
Between the impact that the pandemic has had on hospitality, the Great Resignation, and widespread talent shortages, the industry is still in a period of recovery.
Many hospitality businesses will struggle with maintaining employee engagement and motivation through this period, even though this is essential for their retention efforts.
Employee engagement is also vital in terms of productivity and profit – put simply, an engaged employee is vital to any hospitality business during such a tumultuous time.
Here are 5 ways to keep your hospitality team engaged.
1. Revisit your company’s values and vision
It might sound non-related to engagement, as most companies will focus on vision and values primarily during the hiring process.
However, employee engagement often relies on employees feeling like they are a valued part of the team and a sense of alignment – what better way to align than through shared values and a shared vision?
No matter the wider company vision, each employee adds to this vision through their work and contributions.
This also plays into incentives as a form of recognition, as setting goals towards the company’s vision can give employees something to work towards that they can be rewarded for.
Company values are also a great way to engage employees by giving them the opportunity to contribute towards strategies and track their progress (e.g., diversity and inclusion efforts).
2. Give recognition and provide incentives
It might seem small but acknowledging your employees can show that you appreciate their hard work.
It’s hard for employees to have a genuine drive behind their work without consistent recognition, which can significantly impact employee productivity and motivation in the long term.
This recognition can be verbal (e.g., taking a moment to thank an employee for their hard work during a team meeting), or even more significant forms of recognition, such as career advancement opportunities.
This ties in with incentives, as these are also a key area in keeping employees motivated, engaged, and most importantly, acknowledged.
These incentives will vary from company to company, but could include:
- Flexible schedules
- Personal development opportunities (e.g. training courses)
- Health/wellbeing incentives (e.g. on-site wellbeing facilities or classes, such as yoga or swimming)
Research by Caterer.com has highlighted the three most commonly offered benefits in the sector:
- Paying above the living wage (90%)
- Offering flexible working hours
- Flexible shift patterns
These provide a strong foundation for employer value propositions, too.
3. Focus on growth
In the same way that recognition can allow employees to feel like a valued part of the company, offering them opportunities for growth is equally important as it shows you are willing to invest in their potential.
This also helps to motivate employees to be invested in the success of the company, as their success is aligned.
Professional development can be done in a number of ways, whether through training for a new type of technology used in the workplace or by courses and seminars for the entire team – primarily, you want to show employees that their job can progress and develop.
Many companies find that offering to reimburse costs of courses or industry certifications is a great way to boost employee engagement, though e-learning subscriptions and webinars are equally popular options for smaller businesses.
Focusing on growth can also significantly help your efforts to attract candidates, as offering professional development opportunities alongside other benefits is not only advantageous for them but can indicate their drive and career focus.
Long story short, your employees don’t want to feel as though they’re stagnating.
Being able to gain expertise and new skills can keep employees motivated and loyal to your company, rather than making them feel as though they need to look for opportunities elsewhere.
4. Streamline communication
No matter which branch of hospitality your company is operating in, communication is absolutely essential in keeping employees engaged and satisfied.
For example, if an employee has issues or concerns, do they know which person they should be going to speak to?
Open communication may seem like an element that should already be functioning, yet it can be streamlined considerably by giving clarity to employees.
For employees to be engaged they need to have a clear view of their points of contact and their lines of communication so that issues can be resolved smoothly, and so management can keep up to date with employees.
5. Create a positive company culture
We’ve discussed in a previous blog post how companies that are identified as having a ‘recognition rich culture’ experience 31% lower turnover rates than their peers, and how recognition increases employee engagement up to 60%.
These are elements of a positive company culture – appreciation and recognition are integral to the functioning of the business, and employees feel valued and appreciated.
Additionally, it is important that employers and senior managers set the tone for the organisation at large.
Employees will often look to the top of the company for a reflection of its values, goals, and culture – when leaders are enthusiastic and represent the values of the company, employees will likely follow suit.
This is a positive company culture, rather than a one-off gesture or event that employees will struggle to relate to or engage with.
In conclusion
A little recognition and appreciation go a long way.
Employee engagement is a major contributor to any retention strategy, making benefits and incentives just as important (particularly in such a competitive hiring market).
If you want to retain employees and increase productivity, job satisfaction, and even company loyalty, you need to start showing appreciation for your hospitality employees.
44% of hospitality workers state that being more respected by colleagues would make them feel more valued – shifting to a positive culture of recognition, support, and opportunity can make a world of difference to the usual challenges of hospitality.
Give us a call to find out how we can help you today.