The Worst Advice We’ve Ever Received About HR in the Hospitality Industry

HR in hospitality has its own set of challenges. Some might even argue hospitality HR management is an industry on its own. We’ve heard some whoppers when it comes to bad advice about HR management and approaches for the hospitality businesses. Here, we’ve provided an overview to help you avoid mistaking bad advice for good!

“Don’t Worry About Diversity.”

Pardon? The hospitality industry is built on welcoming people from all walks of life, cultures, and corners of the world under one roof. An inclusive, diverse workplace not only keeps your team happy but also shows familiar faces to the people who keep your business afloat. 

You will not only attract more people but also create a happier culture for your business. Inclusion opens doors, including: 

  • Leadership by example
  • Breaking down common staff silos
  • Stronger ideas thanks to a diverse mix of team members 
  • Better ability to meet the highly diverse needs of your guests, thanks to your diverse group of employees

Your business will be more adaptable when you include and welcome people from all backgrounds, opening up to a broader scope of talent.

“Who Needs Metrics?”

Yikes. If you aren’t paying attention to your employee’s performance, problems will be missed as well as opportunities. Workforce analytics provide you with valuable insight into how your workforce is doing. 

You can keep track of important issues, including: 

  • Absence and lateness
  • Employee satisfaction
  • Benefit use
  • Productivity
  • Rate of promotion
  • Turnover 
  • Training effectiveness and scheduling

With this data at your disposal, you will then be able to track trends, look for churn points for notable patterns, and come up with strategies to overcome problems. 

“Incentives? Nah!”

You know better than anyone that a bone of contention for the hospitality industry is and always will be the pay. When pay isn’t going to attract and help you retain good staff, you have to provide incentives that will. You might be surprised by what can provide an incentive for today’s fickle employee

Happier employees are a must because they are the face of your business. Hospitality is something that depends on a warm welcome, attention to detail, and sincere ability to show guests that you care. Incentive programs can include: 

  • Career development and training
  • Personal development
  • Flexible schedules
  • Employee recognition programs
  • Retirement/pension benefits
  • Health and wellness packages, not just health benefits
  • Bonuses based on customer satisfaction 
  • Extra time off 
  • Employee benefits
  • Free childcare

Consider some of the services you offer, and let employees enjoy these things for free or at a greatly reduced price. 

“Training and Education Waste Time.”

Oh, no. Not only are these important, but they also act as an incentive. Having training and development programs strengthens your team, improves customer service, and also increases retention

It can also be cost-effective. Using simple things, such as introducing mentoring plans, shadowing, and monthly sit-downs with management or HR members, allows people to learn more about the business while honing their own skills.

“We Don’t Need a Payroll System.” 

It’s a huge time drain when you don’t have an efficient payroll system to compensate people on multiple pay wages, schedules, and levels. A reliable payroll system ensures employees are paid the right amounts and on time even though you are balancing irregular hours, levels, and shifts. Having no mistakes on payroll means no need for HR to track them. That saves time. 

Your payroll system will: 

  • Stop the need for HR to maintain employee records
  • Empower staff to be responsible for their own information and hours
  • Simplify reimbursement 
  • Streamline pay delivery and statements

“Automation Has No Place in the Recruitment Process.”

With the challenge of high turnover, HR in hospitality absolutely needs an automated recruitment process. At the least, you will want to be able to find an easier way to track applicants.  

An inefficient recruitment process costs money and wastes time that’s best spent on more important things. Recruitment is important, but because so many applicants are sorted into the unsuitable pile, your efforts should be focused on interviewing and retention as opposed to reading resumes. 

Automating the recruitment process also makes you look like you are tech-savvy to applicants who might be concerned about a manual process. You will reduce the stress placed on your HR team who might be under the gun to find a quick replacement by streamlining the applicant process. You will zero in on the best talent, schedule your interviews efficiently, and also always have a strong selection of talent ready to access when you need it.

When you understand why those myths and pieces of advice are bad, you will see opportunities to adopt strategies that improve the efficiency of your hospitality HR management. 

About The Author

Kayla is the Marketing Manager at Paypro Corporation overseeing all inbound and outbound marketing and sales efforts. She has 7+ years of experience working within the B2B and SaaS based solutions space and thrives on creating messaging and campaigns that introduce products and services to those who need them most.

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