Many regions are reporting difficulties in hiring and retaining hospitality staff as they reopen. According to a survey of job seekers by Joblist, more than half of US hospitality workers won’t return to their old jobs, and over a third aren’t considering re-entering the industry.

These former hospitality employees cited wanting higher pay, less physically demanding work and better benefits.

Low employee morale in the hospitality sector is often caused by:

• No well-defined culture
• No or few benefits
• Low job security
• No educational programs 
• No future career paths

And this has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As people begin to vacation once again, it’s more critical than ever to keep your employees happy, motivated and willing to return when your resort reopens.

Research by Siteminder shows that paying attention to employee happiness and satisfaction can lead to a 12 per cent increase in profitability in hotels and 24 per cent less turnover. Fewer hiring and onboarding rounds for the same position alone are enough to keep your budget steady.

Hospitality training company Typsy has some great ideas for keeping your team happy and motivated at this critical time.

1 Consider your company culture

The focus for many resorts is customer satisfaction rather than developing an internal culture that fosters employee happiness and satisfaction. However, experience shows that a culture where employees share ideas, are a cohesive unit and believe in your core values leads to an enhanced customer experience. It also:

• Improves brand consistency
• Reduced employee turnover
• It helps everyone work towards the same goal

2 Encourage collaboration

Superb customer experience is impacted if just one employee is feeling unappreciated and unhappy. This is exacerbated if employees are constantly compared with each other. They will forget about the customer and focus on being better than their colleague.

Instead, foster a collaborative culture where employees work as a cohesive team. It will make your employees happier.

3 Track employee happiness

Use technology to track the happiness, engagement and performance of your staff regularly. Data analysis and tracking can help improve employee interactions – fundamental if you have remote teams still in operation. It can also provide insights into when employees need support.

4 Ask your staff

Want to know if your staff are happy? Then ask them! Employee feedback surveys will help you understand employee happiness and identify ways to improve. 

Anonymous surveys will collect unbiased and unchecked opinions and suggestions. Polls will collect different views on solutions. Talk openly with staff members and encourage them to provide honest feedback on their situation – and how you can be a better leader. 

5 Provide support

As an employer, one of your priorities is to consider your team’s mental and emotional health. Research has shown that employers who made their employee’s well-being a priority during the pandemic have managed to preserve their success. 

6 Personalised rewards

Having a one-size-fits-all generic reward system doesn’t work and can alienate staff members forever. Incentives are essential and can be highly effective in building a bond with team members. Making an effort to personalise rewards shows that you are interested in them and recognise their needs. And your team will identify and appreciate the effort you make.

Employee happiness isn’t a quick fix, especially in the hospitality sector renowned for long hours, lower pay and demanding customers. But ignoring it can have a significant impact on your business. It is something we take seriously at Merlin Software.

Now is the time to take the principles and ideas of customer satisfaction and turn them inwards to help your employees thrive – and your business will benefit. Valued employees will be more loyal to your business, less likely to leave and more than willing to ensure your customers have the best possible experience.

Source: https://blog.typsy.com