Employee Retention in Hospitality Industry

When managing in restaurants, hotels, reorts, casinos.... our number one goal is simple: attract customers and repeat customers because that drives our bottom line.

What makes it not so simple is creating the framework for this customer focus. One thing we know is that we depend heavily on the retention of management staff. Who wants to incur the loss of their management team's experience, education and indepth knowledge of the company brand?

According to Lori McInerney, hospitality employment expert with Careerbuilder.com, "hospitality organizations will need to upgrade retention strategies ...to keep their top performers, and their guests, from checking out early."

Hospitality is an industry that is prone to high employee turnover rates. Two in 10 hospitality workers have worked for 10 or more employers. In a nutshell, employees leave when the cost of staying exceeds the reward of leaving. This cost can be a broad range of compensation factors but the main pillars for candidates are challenge, responsibility and actual financial gain.

A retention program that targets financial gain, responsibility and challenge will up your employee retention rate. McInerney recommends the following hospitality employee retention tips:

* Define a clear path for upper mobility with training and development opportunities. Employees are more likely to invest in their jobs if they feel the company has invested in them.

* Communicate often. An informed employee is a connected employee who will feel a personal stake in the success of a company.

* Implement the "Three R's Rule": Recognize, Reward, Repeat. Pat your employees on the back for every job well done to continually reinforce your appreciation of their performance.

* Ask them about their day. Measure employee satisfaction with the same conviction applied to measuring guest satisfaction as the first will determine the latter.

Fresh New Look At Banff

I forogt how beautiful the Banff area was. This clip makes me want to go back and visit....especially on moped!

Did Your Psychic Tell You To Call In Sick?

How many of us can honestly say we’ve never called in sick under dubious circumstances? Not too many. Approximately 30% of workers have called in sick over a given year, at least once, when they’re perfectly well and taking their golf clubs to the course. How likely would your company be willing to provide that “sick” day if you didn’t make up a false excuse? Some employees and smart companies are realizing the benefits of workers being able to have the occasional mental health day.

In the hospitality industry, where we must provide customers with the utmost respect, professionalism and positive attitude at all times, this is especially relevant and could show some big dividends. We often feel the effects of a “revolving door” with frontline and management staff in this industry. Hotel, restaurant or Club Managers work longer hours than other industries that clock a 9-5 day, in a demanding, high paced, customer-driven atmosphere and then often take the paperwork home!

Many companies are aware that careful attention to the work/life balance of their employees boosts the bottom line. If an employee has time to attend to family, personal goals, exercise, their spirituality, and social network then they are going to be more alert, creative at work, more productive and more loyal.

Why not pay workers to pursue a creative hobby, or for mental health days? IBM, for instance, initiated a program in 2004 that actually paid workers to exercise. It’s a proactive approach instead of a reactive one to prevent real sick time off that can become very expensive for a company paying health benefits, covering flu shots, providing diabetes and high blood pressure tests and so on. Not to mention the various costs involved when you must hire and train new staff.

As with IBM, "more companies today are moving toward a Paid Time Off system, giving employees more flexibility in how they categorize time away from the office” says Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com.

However, if you find the company you work for does not seem open to the concept of a more balanced work/life, you might try one of the following true excuses from CareerBuilder’s survey:
· Employee didn’t want to lose the parking space in front of his house.
· Employee hit a turkey while riding a bike.
· Employee said he had a heart attack early that morning, but that he was “all better now."
· Employee donated too much blood.
· Employee’s dog was stressed out after a family reunion.
· Employee was kicked by a deer.
· Employee contracted mono after kissing a mailroom intern at the company holiday party and suggested the company post some sort of notice to warn others who may have kissed him.
· Employee swallowed too much mouthwash.
· Employee’s wife burned all his clothes and he had nothing to wear to work.
· Employee’s toe was injured when a soda can fell out of the refrigerator.
· Employee was up all night because the police were investigating the death of someone discovered behind her house.
· Employee’s psychic told her to stay home.


Source: For IBM Employees, Healthy Habits Pay Off, Literally, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, May 17, 2004. Source: One-Third of Workers Called In Sick with Fake Excuses in the Last Year, CareerBuilder.com’s Annual Survey, October, 2008.