We all know that the hospitality industry was hit hard by COVID-19. Even though it sometimes feels as if it's "over" now, the sad reality is that the hotels are still recovering. One of the biggest challenges for hotels right now? Hiring employees.
The answer to this problem seems straightforward. First, hire back employees who were let go during the crisis and get them back into their old positions. Unfortunately, the reality isn't as simple as this. Terms and expectations have changed, both for hotel management and staff.
A survey commissioned by HTR Revue shows that only ⅓ of Swiss ex-hotel employees are considering returning to the hospitality industry.
According to the same study, the number 1 factor that would make positions in the Swiss hospitality sector more interesting is higher wages and more flexibility.
The industry and the employers are in a quandary here, as many companies cannot (yet) afford to raise wage levels in the current situation.
However, there are other ways to make positions more attractive. We've devised our top two ideas on how technology can become the solution to your staff shortages:
Empowering Small Teams Through Mobile Automation & Communication
Intuitive mobile technology can be a game-changer in the management of housekeeping teams. Compared to traditional methods like landline calls to the front office or paper clipboards, a cloud-based operations system can automatically delegate tasks according to the availability and capacity of the housekeeping team member. This maximized efficiency and reduced the emotional pressure of the fast-paced housekeeping environment.
Hotels with larger teams can integrate with an operations manager to further save time and improve communication while increasing transparency and productivity.
Expand your hiring base and facilitate training
With a smaller labor market than ever, hoteliers need a way to hire, train and leverage new employees as quickly as possible. A technology-based approach to training can broaden a hotel's hiring base to as many diverse sources of talent as possible.
Hotel operations systems that use easy-to-understand user interfaces can dramatically reduce employee training time and allow hoteliers to hire candidates with less experience in the hotel industry.
For example, a room cleaning SOP can be documented in a step-by-step, icons-based mobile interface. As a result, the time a new housekeeping employee needs to get on the job can be reduced immensely, while service quality is increased at the same time.
In times like these, no hotel should turn a capable, enthusiastic, and service-oriented candidate away because they couldn't operate a clunky and outdated on-site platform.
Final Thoughts
In a tight labor market, hoteliers should be able to hire whomever they want, train and get them on the job quickly, and empower them with technology that will facilitate 一 and not burden 一 their interactions with guests. Mobile technology is known for employing colorful and intuitive user interfaces (UI) and leveraging advanced interactions such as 'drag-and-drop' and 'select-and-click' technology. Mobile UIs are aesthetically pleasing, dramatically reduce employee training time, and allow hoteliers to hire candidates without a background in technology. No hotel should turn a capable, enthusiastic, and service-oriented candidate away because they couldn't operate a clunky and outdated on-site platform.
About Hoxell
Hoxell Quality Operations is a digital platform capable of optimizing the daily tasks of different hotel departments in real-time, designing an efficient workflow while reducing costs.
The Hoxell Hospitality System takes hotel communication systems to the next level by making important information, tools, and resources easier to access for frontline and back office staff. This ultimately makes hotel teams more productive, engaged and connected while creating more positive guest experiences.
Sources: https://www.htr.ch/story/gastrobranche-steht-vor-erhoehter-personalnot-33604.html