Strictly speaking, it can’t (survive the talent crisis), since to survive is to get by on the bare minimum and that is simply not good enough. What’s needed is for the industry to up its game and compete for talent. Here are five ways it can do so:
Create valuable apprenticeship programs: the hospitality industry has been lazy in creating internal growth opportunities. It is time for businesses to invest in creating academies within their operations for prospective talent and not just rely on education establishments to prepare new joiners. Hybrid programs, in collaboration with learning establishments at a local level, are a brilliant method of working with the industry and professional educators to build new talent.
Spread the net wider: hiring has become more challenging than ever before, with expectations today higher amongst
the labor force. Social media and the expansion of motivational messaging has led to young people not content to enroll at entry level and work their way up the ladder over the years. They want it now! Looking outside the traditional pool and exploring the power of personality over skills, hiring actors, artists and aspiring entrepreneurs, will encourage innovation in the workplace and attract less traditional talent. This could include creating multi-skilled roles that combine different skill sets into one job.
Provide amazing benefits: many industries are developing multiple ways of rewarding their teams outside of the traditional salaries and insurance scope. Team activities sponsored by the business create team-centric thinking and increase employee retention. Partnerships with health providers, such as yoga instructors, gyms and fitness facilities, add tremendous value to a team member. There are many employee benefit apps out there today that provide wonderful online points-based rewards for teams, with discounts on important things like flights, hotel accommodation and shopping vouchers. These create a belief amongst teams that they are important to their employers.
Live the belief that our people are our greatest asset: there is a lot of talk about how valuable team members are to their workplace and yet frequently management speaks a different language. The old methods of the past decades of managing team members through warnings, evaluations and employee of the month programs are of little value to employees. Creating inspirational recognition within our industry is a must. Celebrating the internal and external successes of team members can inspire the perception of an organization as being a great place to work. While hospitality clings to the old ways, other industries are surging ahead with public online recognition through social media.
Expect greatness: make constant and never-ending improvement a desirable part of being on your team. Create personal development programs and sponsor team members in their personal growth by providing access to great learning that will result in their individual growth. Personal coaches and online learning programs abound and are easily accessible and affordable ways for organizations to encourage the growth of their team members and provide exciting incentives that will inspire new talent to join your organization.
Talking without action is a punishable crime, and is usually preceded by the words, “We should.” These words flow so easily from our boardrooms and management meetings, and yet so rarely result in powerful tangible results. The intentions are good, and yet the execution is often half-hearted, which results in poor outcomes.
– Commit to taking care of every single employee as though they were you!
– Dedicate time to knowing every team member.
– Determine that every manager must be qualified to lead others and exhibit high EQ (emotional intelligence).
Do this and you are well on your way to creating a business that will not only attract great people, but will also become a highly desired workplace where people thrive rather than survive.
It starts with you!
