How Hospitality Hiring Managers Can Slash Turnover Rates

High turnover rates are detrimental in any field, but are particularly damaging in the hospitality industry, where experience and relationships with clients go a long way. If you’re a manager in this field, you’ll want to spend time thinking about what you can do to retain your most talented team members. Here are some highly effective ways to slash turnover rates and keep the day-to-day happenings within your organization smooth:

Think about who you’re hiring in the first place

It takes a special personality type to excel in the hospitality field. The person must be outgoing, customer-focused, patient, and energetic. Because a certain personality type is required, it’s even more important that a hiring manager actually considers the person they’re hiring and not just the resume they’re looking at.

While it’s wonderful to bring someone with years of experience on board, you also want to verify that this individual is going to represent your organization well. How will they treat clients? Will they really make it a point to learn the area so they can recommend restaurants and activities to guests? Will they take pride in your company? Ultimately these traits matter just as much as experience and training, as this kind of pride and dedication can’t be taught.

Understand that your employees are people too

The hospitality industry can be demanding; that’s no secret. Employees are often asked to work long hours, and may be scheduled to work during holidays. Because of the level of commitment required from staff members, a manager must be sensitive to employees’ needs and desires. It’s easy to forget that employees can get worn out, but paying attention to this prevents burn out from occurring and can drastically reduce turnover rates. Of course you need your team members present and working hard, but realize that allowing them time to be with their families and participate in hobbies and interests outside of work leaves them refreshed and more excited to work.

Make the environment a rewarding place to work

Employee engagement is a key requirement in order to reduce turnover rates. To keep your team members engaged and excited, you’ll need to create a dynamic and energetic workplace. This includes giving them incentives to keep them focused on their performance. If your company has opened a new property in an exotic part of the world, for example, why not put together a contest where your top talent gets to visit the new property? Maybe they’re selected based on sales, or perhaps it comes based off of reviews from guests. Either way, this kind of incentive is enough to keep your entire team motivated and excited when they come into work each day.

Take employee suggestions

Particularly when you’re managing a large property, it’s easy to lose track of the details involved in making that place a pleasant place to visit. For this reason, you’ll want to rely on your employees to keep you informed. They’re deeply involved in the various areas of the property every day and probably have a strong sense of exactly what’s going on. By taking these suggestions seriously you can drastically improve your business. Additionally, when team members know that their voices are being heard, they’re more apt to be invested in the organization.

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