Understanding the ROI of Employee Retention in the Hospitality Industry

A high retention rate is essential to workplace continuity and morale. Perhaps more importantly, employee retention is good for the bottom line. Retaining employees in the hospitality industry is inherently challenging simply because the industry is demanding and doesn’t always offer the same level of compensation and benefits as other employment options. 

Carefully craft and implement employee retention strategies and you’ll find your workforce attrition rate decreases as time progresses. Even a minor investment in employee retention efforts has the potential to offset the costs of elevated turnover rates. 

The icing on the cake is a higher retention rate bolsters additional business outcomes ranging from enhanced customer loyalty to better service quality and more.

Employee Turnover in the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry has an egregiously high turnover rate for several reasons. Hospitality work is inherently fast-paced and stressful. Add in the fact that the industry’s workers are typically paid an hourly wage as opposed to a salary and there is even more reason why turnover is high. 

Aside from decreasing employee morale, a high turnover rate also compromises the quality of service. Low-quality service sends customers fleeing to the competition where restaurant and hotel employees are more united.

By recognizing a high turnover rate is disruptive for your business,  you can proactively address the problem to improve consistency and your hardworking team will feel more engaged. Engaged employees return the favor to their employer by remaining in their roles for longer periods or even up until retirement.

Unpacking the Value of Employee Retention

There is a common misconception that employee retention is only important for minimizing hiring, onboarding, and training costs. The truth is there is a financial ripple effect to employees fleeing to potentially greener pastures. A high turnover rate disrupts workplace unity, compromises morale, and makes it difficult for employees to feel a sense of camaraderie with one another. 

Make a concerted effort to boost your employee retention rate and you will enjoy an experienced workforce that proves stable across posterity. The alternative is to proceed with the status quo and run the risk of your workplace becoming a revolving door that lacks unity and spirit. 

Strive for a higher retention rate and your team will feel unified to the point that they are a cohesive whole that is greater than the sum of their parts. Moreover, a low retention rate is contagious. Employees who rarely, if ever, see a hardworking teammate depart for another post tend to copy the example and also remain loyal to your organization.

Employee Retention Strategies for the Hospitality Industry

Your employee retention rate success hinges on more than financial compensation. Take some time to develop strategies to retain your hardworking contributors and they will recognize the effort and return the favor with loyalty. In particular, it will help to give your employees the freedom to have a little bit of fun while on the clock. Provide workers with a lounge where they can take breaks, socialise with coworkers and have lunch in private. 

Though handing out raises, benefits, and other perks has the potential to zap the bottom line, the occasional freebie on top of an employee’s hourly wage or salary is important.

Think about what your business offers – if it’s a hotel, can you provide a free night’s stay? If it’s a bar or restaurant, what about friends and family discount? 

Provide positive reinforcement for a job that is well done. Even a small reward or form of recognition goes a long way in making employees feel appreciated. Provide quarterly reviews, give raises when justified, and do not hesitate to provide verbal praise for meritorious employees.

Part of providing positive reinforcement involves opportunities for promotion. Communicate new job opportunities to the entirety of your staff as soon as those positions open up. Continue to train your team, dangle positive reinforcement as noted above and you’ll find your workforce is that much more engaged.

Employer flexibility boosts employee engagement in hospitality that much more. Be flexible and considerate when employees request time off for the following:

  • Vacations
  • Family events
  • Emergencies
  • Personal matters

Recognize the importance of work-life balance, respect the fact that your employees are human beings with families as well as hobbies, and empower them to take time off from work without feeling guilty. 

Employee experience automation is quickly becoming a more important part of the employee engagement hospitality puzzle. Automate as many aspects of work as possible, ranging from payroll to leave approvals, maximize efficiency in every regard and you’ll find your team is that much more engaged and loyal. 

Even something as minor as eliminating printouts in favor of digital transmissions will maximize efficiency and communication while reducing overhead costs.

Leveraging Technology to Boost Employee Retention

The right tech tools make employee retention that much easier. By leveraging technology you’ll find your new hires are more engaged and also more likely to remain with your business for years. Harri’s tech tools are here to facilitate effective workforce management, boost employee engagement in hospitality and help your business reach its true potential.

The hospitality industry’s leading organizations from Dunkin to Cafua and Blaze Pizza trust Harri’s platform for onboarding new additions and managing labor. We provide the industry’s sole optimized platform designed to solve contemporary labor challenges. 

Our tech tools make it easy for hotels, restaurants and retailers to create, manage and develop human capital. The best part is the entirety of the tech you need to seamlessly integrate new hires and maintain their allegiance is consolidated in one easy-to-use platform. This is your opportunity to eliminate tech confusion while maintaining compliance.

Harri’s Talent Attraction sources and attracts the top candidates through incentivization and ease of use. Talent attraction works even when your organization is only passively seeking new additions. Seize the opportunity to boost your reputation as an employer, ramp up your brand visibility and connect with that many more qualified candidates.

Our Applicant Tracking System facilitates candidate and workforce management with mobile devices, allowing for timely communications and the scheduling of interviews with minimal effort. Choose Harri for your restaurant, hotel, or retail store and candidates will find your applicant and workforce management experience enjoyable, largely thanks to the digitization of the onboarding process.

Carri Chat and Apply makes every application count. Carri provides potential additions with unbiased interactions, empowering you to hire faster, minimize manager time investment and add the right new additions to your team. 

Harri IQ provides actionable insights that benefit your company, your employees, and you as a business owner or manager. This next-generation platform for hospitality business analytics revamps how companies like yours analyze data. There’s no need for a data analytics degree thanks to Harri IQ. Our AI-powered analytics are searchable, providing accurate insights without the lofty salary of a professional data analyst.

Harri IQ is essentially a self-serve analytics platform that analyzes billions of pieces of data on your behalf in mere seconds with the use of complex algorithms. The result is insightful trend analysis that makes it easier to optimize labor, operations, and what matters most: sales.

Harri’s Intelligent Scheduling Software is an integrated approach to scheduling optimization that takes your unique hotel, restaurant or retailer needs into consideration. Our tech empowers you to establish rules specific to nuances such as individual shifts and employees. TeamLive makes it easy for team members to swap shifts in mere seconds. The result is a more positive experience for your hardworking employees that entices them to remain with your company for years or even decades. 

We even provide labor analytics that helps businesses like yours unlock the true potential of human capital. Working smarter as opposed to harder makes your team members more likely to remain with the business and also encourages satisfied employees to spread the word about your restaurant or hotel, ultimately making it easier to add new hires who genuinely want to work in the hospitality industry.

Unlock the Potential of Employee Retention with Harri

 The right technology enhances the return on investment of your investment in new human capital, and chances are your selection of Harri for onboarding and employee engagement hospitality will pay considerable dividends both in terms of employee morale and your bottom line.

Request a demo of the platform built by hospitality to solve hospitality labor challenges and you’ll quickly learn why the top hospitality companies trust Harri.

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