Investing in a positive employee experience is one of the greatest investments you can make to ensure the long-term growth of your hotel.
The Hilton hotel was ranked the second-best workplace in the world for two years in a row. It was also the only hospitality facility among the 25 competitor companies. And some of the greatest perks of working at Hilton include the culture, benefits, and travel programs.
It can be said that this recognition is a well-deserved one.
After all, the hotel chain is empowered by their employees and the hotel management treats them with the same hospitality the staff treats the hotel guests. Providing meaningful opportunities for both professional and personal growth also makes them competitive with major corporations.
The employee benefits the hotel offers are also noteworthy. Some of these benefits that their employees enjoy are expanded paternity leave, extended bereavement leaves, adoption assistance, and paid time off.
Hilton exceeds in recognition as well. They offer regular awards, events, and programs to acknowledge excelling team members. Needless to say, working well in Hilton never goes unnoticed.
Also, the company’s team member survey – with a whopping 92% completion rate – is one of the main contributors to their robust people program.
As you know, the rewards, acknowledgment, and education aren’t new ideas. But Hilton has found a way to do them incredibly well.
Hilton showed that so long as you keep your employees happy, your hotel business will thrive. They know that retention is vital in the hospitality industry.
As a hotelier, you invest time and effort to train your staff. You don’t want to be in a situation where you need to lose people constantly after all.
This article brings you five steps closer to making your employees happy by sharing five tips for employee retention.
The Five Tips
Tip #1 – Focus on Hiring People Who Align With Your Values
To retain people, you need to hire the right ones.
But how do you know you’re doing a good job in your hiring process?
For starters, you want to think bigger than regular one-to-one interview screenings. Search for leap-frogging behavior patterns. Has a candidate stayed in their previous positions for a short time, but they have the skills and experience you need? Mention it during the interview and learn more about their motivation.
Also, go for candidates whose career and life goals align with your team. Identifying the candidate’s aspirations early on makes a huge difference in curbing any concerns that may hinder their retention at the hotel.
But don’t stop there.
Have regular check-in conversations with new members. By doing so, you provide them with tools for success as well as the opportunity to make course corrections early on.
Tip #2 – Provide Means for Career Progression
Companies that care about their employees put serious effort into providing means for career progression.
Just like Hilton, Starbucks is a great example here. The company offers employees the opportunity to learn about culture, coffee, and leadership. They also provide ongoing development opportunities in terms of professional networking and personal growth.
Similarly, you may want to consider adding internal initiatives like leadership or apprenticeship programs to encourage the team players to stay with you.
Also, be transparent about career opportunities within the hotel and discuss the expectations and requirements with your team.
You may not always be able to provide a defined career plan. However, you can explore your employees’ areas of interest and come up with development tasks to help them enhance their professional profiles.
Tip #3 – Demonstrate Appreciation and Recognition Regularly
Hospitality workers mostly feel valued when they receive appreciation and recognition. Fortunately, it’s straightforward to start recognizing and appreciating your staff.
To start with, show your team you’re grateful for their work through your communication. For example, offering them words of encouragement, or even simply being polite to them during busy times can mean a lot to them.
Also, keep track of things someone did that was really helpful, then highlight the efforts at the next team meeting. This is a double win technique because it makes the person feel appreciated and, at the same time, it motivates others to get the same peer recognition.
Another approach is to learn about the team members’ personal interests. Invest a minute or two in personal chats every now and then to make the employees feel you care about them.
You can also talk to your team players directly and see how you can assist them. Maybe the restaurant staff would appreciate a free meal or drink during the break or after pulling a crazy night.
To formally recognize their efforts, you could also implement award programs, an employee of the month ceremony, prizes, or gifts.
Tip #4 – Offer Flexible Working Hours and Shift Patterns
Offering flexible hours helps employee retention. But how feasible is this option, given that many hotels remain open 24/7?
If flexible working hours aren’t on your agenda yet, you can start with simple steps. Ask the team to propose a flexible work schedule plan which fits both them and the hotel. By doing so, you’re also providing them with a great team-building activity.
Chances are, they’ll come up with a win-win solution. But if not, at least they’ll understand why their shift patterns must be the way they are.
Tip #5 – Provide a Quality Employee Experience
Providing a positive experience for workers can have a significant impact on retention rates. As an In-N-Out Burger operations president said, “Quality service requires quality employees with quality pay.”
Besides employment terms, you can also make the work environment more enjoyable for employees.
Some simple tips include revisiting hygiene factors, training everyone to abide by the health, and safety standards, or doing salary research to check if everyone is paid evenly and fairly.
You could also consider implementing additional perks, making sure the working schedule is fair, and double-checking that tips are distributed evenly across the team.
The Hilton example shows how offering travel programs, paid time-off, and similar perks can affect retention. See if there’s any way you can take inspiration from them to make your team’s work experience better.
Employee Retention is a Strategic Investment
All successful businesses need a solid foundation. And for hoteliers, that foundation is the employees.
So, consider staff retention as a strategic investment that converts into enhanced customer experience for the clients and brings higher productivity to the property.
Make the right step early on by hiring people who share the same values and culture and remember to recognize and acknowledge good behaviors. Finally, provide a positive experience for all.
Remember, every person on your team makes a difference and is key to promoting your hotel’s growth.
Interested in learning more about running a successful hotel? If so, check out our free book, The Industry Dominating Secrets of the Best Hoteliers in History.
