Tackling Turnover with Technology: Why the Hospitality Industry Needs Rapid HR Digitalization

In a complex job environment, the hospitality space must also consider a rethink. Here’s our top 3 tech levers for making a genuine difference.

The hospitality sector is in a state of flux, with a tightening labor market and employees eager for change and a value-driven compensation package, employers are looking at new solutions and alternatives. Technology can play a vital role in helping employers in the sector retain their employees by offering a more well-rounded and personalized employee experience.

However, a new survey by WorkjamOpens a new window – a Montreal-based employee relationship management platform – suggests that the F&B space, in particular, is yet to leverage the power of technology.

Around 57% of restaurants continue to depend on manual systems while scheduling employees. This leads to employee frustration with 56% employees saying that schedules are sent out a week or less than a week in advance. Among other concerns, the report extracted worries on the value of labor, the challenges of employees working on a 24/7 basis without receiving appropriate remuneration or recognition.

Also read: Deputy Launches AI-Driven Auto-Scheduling to Optimize Hourly Worker Shifts in a Single ClickOpens a new window

Along with that, also present was a fear of losing jobs and a restlessness about finding something better. Around 46% of the restaurants surveyed also suggested they were often understaffed. Turnover rate is pretty high for hourly employees (26%) with 33% of those surveyed suggest that the rate is rapidly rising over the last two years.

Clearly, the landscape demands a shift in approach and processes.

HR technology and why it could be the answer

Also read: Key Ways to Reduce Your Employee Turnover RateOpens a new window

Cost and growth. Timelines and quality. Most restaurateurs opine that in a complex regulatory environment, these are the primary challenges. Comprehensive workforce management systems that can manage everyday tasks, assignment scheduling & time management, staffing & hours maintenance, and hours records, are imperative for the industry.

Remember, today the cost of hiring and re-training employees can range from $2000 for blue-collar and manual workers, to $7000 for professional and managerial positions. The answer lies in state-of-the-art technologies such as automation, bots, and digital assistants. Here are some of the viable solutions that leading hospitality and F&B majors are embracing:

End-to-end scheduling solutions and integrated training modules: This is meant for hourly workers, analyzing availability and requirement to create a matrix of optimal timeframes that manages necessity while ensuring employees aren’t overworked or underpaid. Niche scheduling solution provider, HotSchedules, recently took this a step further.

Realizing that work patterns often reveal skills gaps and knowledge lacunae, the company wants to fix this with interactive training content. HotSchedules is now partner to learning content firm DiscoverLink. Opens a new window

Here’s what John Poulos, President, and Co-founder of DiscoverLink has to say: “Our proven content library has been vetted by hundreds of restaurant chains enabling us to provide interactive programs. These interactive programs positively impact key performance metrics like guest satisfaction, employee retention, and profitability with courses focused on the competencies needed to help restaurants thrive.”

Also read: Bringing Hotel Training into the 21st CenturyOpens a new window

A comprehensive hotel operating system: This would integrate the various elements that are necessary for a hotel to function effectively. Multiple systems, a plethora of services, and a wide pool of diversely skilled resources would be viewed and managed across a single, consolidated dashboard. Harri is one such comprehensive OS for the hotels businessOpens a new window and has recently launched a Facebook integration, making it easier for hoteliers to fill the talent gap.

“The competition for hospitality talent is fierce, and Millennial talent – which make up 83% of the hospitality market – needs to be approached differently. A key feature of the Harri Workforce OS platform is ensuring our clients can easily present their openings to the broadest possible network of talent,” revealed Luke Fryer, Harri’s CEO & Founder.

Robust hiring solutions powered by automation: Recruiters empowered by new and hyper-efficient hiring solutions can quickly assess capabilities, select the best-fit applicants, and place them in the most meaningful and rewarding opportunities.

You can look at industry-specific tools like Partech which comes with integration with state-of-the-art ATS, WorkpopOpens a new window . Workpop removes any need for manual intervention by offering a smarter alternative to standard CSV-based resume processing. In fact, the platform maintains all the records of past employees, current workers, and prospects on one platform, making hiring seamless.

The tedium of going through multiple resumes is contained, even as tools such as facial recognition helps accurately garner the genuine potential and interest of a candidate. Interviewers have to focus on creating a real communication with the application, reducing timelines and minimizing costs.

Also read: How to Simplify Mass Seasonal HiringOpens a new window

Technology is truly everywhere. In a dynamic global employment landscape, where demands are high, and expectations keep rising with every new change in the scheme of themes, the hospitality sector must also adapt to this transition and effectively leverage technology to create and enriching work-life balance for its employees.