Maximizing Talent Retention in the Hospitality Industry

In today’s environment where restaurant and hospitality businesses are experiencing an increase in consumer demand, managing employees in this uncertain period must include defining strategies that attract and keep the best workers. Those workers have the upper hand when considering employment options.

It’s important to further establish why talent retention is so important in the hospitality and restaurant industries, given that a high rate of turnover is normal. Why spend time training a top-notch employee only to lose that person to another restaurant or hotel – or another industry?

Although the full impact of the Omicron variant on the hospitality industry is not yet known, brands are again looking ahead with an expansive lens. Crisis always brings with it opportunity — and despite the incredible challenges the sectors faced during the past 20 months, a range of new opportunities are emerging.

For one, travel demand is again surging, requiring hospitality companies to rapidly hire and retain workers who are eager to utilize their skills in an accelerating global industry. The industry’s embrace of digital technologies and innovation is driving an increasing need for expertise in these fields. Additionally, the benefits that the hospitality industy offers​ — and have been innovating to become more competitive — will help attract and retain talent. Businesses that understand how to appeal to this emerging labor base through new working models and the right culture and values will find themselves well ahead of the game for 2022 and beyond.

Because the pandemic led many workers to leave these industries for good, this trend created the challenge of both attracting and retaining talent. Demand for workers is so intense that many restaurants are offering various incentives to attract and retain talent such as sign-on bonuses, 401(K)s, paid vacation, time off, and more flexible hours. A number of restaurant chains have announced wage hikes for employees, while government support is also continuing in some cases.

Yet amidst these opportunities, these same organizations also must contend with growing competition for qualified talent, along with challenges related to shortages of qualified workers. How will they cope?

It is suggested that hospitality and restaurant leaders focus on three talent attraction and retention strategies: Career development and training, compensation and rewards and employees’ perception of the organization – its values and culture.

Addressing all three of these strategies requires a level of transparency and engagement about company matters that can be uncomfortable for some leaders. To effectively manage employee attraction and retention efforts, corporate communications and leadership should be clear and consistent, including clear expectation-setting. If any change is to occur, employees should feel like they are part of the change instead of it just happening to them.

Good employees are going to respect and appreciate that approach, and they’ll want to stay for the company’s journey because they are a part of it.