Staff shortages in your hotel? Discover new insights!

A common challenge in the hospitality sector is about finding enough staff. Staff shortages do not only lead to a big danger in the short term, the long-term consequences are often even greater. In fact, it is about much more: how do we keep the quality of service and the experience around the brand sufficiently high, when we are struggling to find enough people and there is also regular turnover in the team?

As an agency specialising in building strong brands in the leisure and hospitality sector, Effecty regularly notices something; many entrepreneurs are fishing in the same pond when it comes to personnel. And not insignificantly; in this pond, entrepreneurs are by now already satisfied with every fish they catch. In the short term, this sometimes solves the challenges, but in the long term there are also risks involved.

In this opinion piece, I get you thinking about other options and insights for finding and retaining the right staff. Not just in the short term, but especially in the long term. 

People like to work with people who are like them, who share the same goals, standards and values. But is it clear which goals, norms and values are considered important in your organisation? Do you have a profile of the ideal candidate who fits your organisation? Are you also prepared to say 'no' to someone who has the right experience but does not fit the above points? 

In the short term, this may mean you are fishing in a smaller pond. But in the long run, this often leads to less turnover, higher (employee) satisfaction and a higher chance of success with candidates who do fit your organisation perfectly; after all, they feel more at home. 

So by sometimes saying 'no' to people who don't fit, you say yes to a future where you create a cohesive team with the same principles. So knowing who you match with is a solid foundation for a corporate culture that people want to belong to! 

Increasingly, work is an extension of the life choices people make. Especially since the growing visibility of the millennial generation, you notice that the work and the employer chosen can be seen as a statement. So more and more people are also choosing employers that stand for something; a healthy work-life balance, less impact on the environment, connecting people or animal and human welfare. 

Increasingly, therefore, employees are choosing companies with a social purpose. 

After all, people want to make an impact and feel that they are part of a bigger picture or higher purpose. What is the story of your hotel? What do you stand for? How do you make an impact? And most importantly; how can others help you increase this impact? Make this part of your story and brand identity. Building strong brands pays off because people want to be part of it; whether they are future employees or guests. 

Most people are looking for a bit of appreciation in the workplace. Yet there is a perception that people are mainly looking for money and salary. How can this be? In many companies, appreciation is mainly shown in the form of salary. So in that case, colleagues automatically start looking for more salary. But is every company able to keep moving towards even higher salaries? Is that the only thing employees need? Are there no other ways to express appreciation?

What do you have to offer in terms of:

- Responsibility;
- Training & Education;
- Freedom and trust;
- Flexibility;
- Growth opportunities;
- Stability and firmness;
- Connecting and socialising;
- Being able to be yourself;
- Contributing to a higher purpose.

Are you also making all these other components of your offering sufficiently clear to existing and new colleagues? Is there perhaps more to be gained from any of the above? What other forms of appreciation do we overlook by constantly focusing on salary? Make sure you know what motivates your people! 

In a tight labour market, the details determine the difference. From a good first impression to turning your current team into true ambassadors and all the steps in between. Taking a critical look at your candidate journey often brings great opportunities to the surface. 

- Presenting; what are you doing to make your vacancies visible? What channels are you using? Is this where your ideal candidate is? 
- Orientation; how do you convince potential candidates? Do you enable them to make an ideal match with your company? Do you show what you stand for? 
- Applying for a job; what does your application process look like? Do you test for the right match? Do you ensure sufficient and adequate communication throughout the process? 
- Onboarding; are new employees only functionally inducted, or are they also introduced to the company culture and core values? 
- Retained; do we dwell on the employee's further development and needs even after the induction period? Do we really know our employees, during their beautiful moments, but also in their sorrows? Do we celebrate successes and reflect on the deep valleys? Or do we stick to a one-off performance review every year? 
- Spread the word; the biggest quick-win in labour market communication is your current staff. After all, they have already chosen your hotel and can often explain in great detail to like-minded people why it is fun to work there. How can we use this even better? How do we turn employees into enthusiastic ambassadors? 

The last insight is a short one. Because while success in labour market communication can certainly be predicted and managed, an agile and flexible attitude in particular is a recurring characteristic of successful brands. The (digital) media landscape is constantly changing, and with new generations of workers, other components in your offer and your story also become important. 

Are you able to go along with this? Do you dare to experiment with a new story, new channels or a new target group? Or will you stick with the old and dust off last year's vacancy text after all?     

About the author and Effecty.co.uk
Geert Buskes is owner of strategic digital agency Effecty. Effecty focuses on building and activating strong brands for the leisure and hospitality industry. These are brands that inspire both guests and employees. Brands that clearly show what a hotel stands for, and why a guest or employee should choose you!

In addition, Effecty has been successfully applying the above insights in its own corporate culture for years. Great responsibility combined with a lot of freedom and flexibility has ensured that, in a tight labour market, we manage time and again to fill positions that are difficult to fill with the right people and bind them to the organisation for a longer period of time.