Onwards And Upwards: Hiring Trends In Hospitality For 2021
- By Harri Insider Team | April 13, 2021
As hospitality businesses prepare to reopen over the coming weeks and months, many are gearing up for their first major boost since restrictions began over a year ago. And that means getting the right people in place — whether it’s hiring new staff or bringing existing employees off furlough.
It’s promising to see that recruitment has increased by almost 40% this month alone, a trend that’s set to continue with job search engine Adzuna (a Harri job board partner) reporting 18,000 catering and hospitality roles currently available nationwide.
But what are the key trends, and how will that impact industry players? Here, we discuss this rise in hospitality recruitment in more detail.
Strong Signs of Growth
It’s hardly surprising to see that hiring activity is up by around 157%, (according to Adzuna) compared to June 2020 when there were just 7,000 industry roles advertised.
This is welcomed news for an industry that lost over 600,000 jobs in 2020. It also follows predictions that 68% of travellers will prioritise a UK staycation this year due to fears of being stranded abroad. So, while a substantial increase in bookings may sound daunting to some, it could have a positive knock-on effect on job creation throughout the sector.
However, this doesn’t take into account the number of workers who have left the industry throughout the pandemic. With many placed on furlough, existing staff may not want to return to such an uncertain industry.
Will Staff Want to Return to Hospitality?
We conducted a survey  among those in the hospitality industry to analyse the impact Brexit has had on employment status, schedules, flexibility, and confidence in returning to work. What we found was quite remarkable.
Of the 1,600 respondents, we discovered that 78% would return to work once lockdown is lifted, whether that’s this year or next. Of the 22% who said they wouldn’t return to the hospitality industry, 33% were interested in moving to the retail sector. What’s more, 25% said they were interested in pursuing a career in an office, while 13% would like to move into healthcare.
While the uncertainty of the current situation is likely to be the main reason for many wanting to take up a different role, it highlights the need to improve your recruitment strategy. Fortunately, that’s where Harri can help.
Technology Is Key to Reopening Successfully
According to new insights from CGA’s Business Leaders Survey, three quarters of UK industry professionals will recruit new staff members and grow their teams this year. Responses specifically revealed that 44% will recruit to the same, or an even greater level than in previous years. The survey also revealed that 95% of business leaders believe that technology will be important in their operations once lockdown ends this summer – and we couldn’t agree more.
2020 was a year of rapid adoption—a lot of it driven by necessity.
How Harri Can Help Hospitality Reopen
As lockdown lifts, businesses reopen, and people begin to return to the workplace, now is the perfect time to consider your staffing needs. With Harri, our technology will assist you with everything from high-volume hiring, talent acquisition and applicant tracking. Our recent series of Recharge webinars will showcase every recruitment tool to help you recruit the best talent in record time from video interviews to online onboarding.
With recruitment sorted, our platform will also help you train and organise your employees so you can improve workplace performance. Want to learn more? Simply head to our homepage and request a demo. Our friendly and professional team will be in touch soon.
