Every single year, roughly five million people are separated from their jobs, either by choice or termination. It is estimated it costs roughly 20 percent of the yearly salary of any given employee to find and train his or her replacement. That puts the cost of replacing a $10/hour employee at $4,160. Every dollar of that is taken away from the bottom line of the property every time you let a staff member walk out the door for ANY reason.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the turnover rate in the hospitality industry was more than 70 percent in 2016, which is almost double the national average for all businesses, making any manager that can reduce turnover a rock star in the industry.
Why Is Hospitality Industry Turnover Higher?
Well, how long do you have? Seriously, there are so many problems throughout the industry, we would be here all day listing them. However, there are some very common problems that create most of the turnover. By addressing these issues, a property will be able to get itself not only below the industry mean but hopefully below the mean for the entire private sector.
In 2016, Melvia Edna Scott conducted a study for Walden University addressing this very issue. she discovered some of the most common problems found impacting employee turnover in the hospitality industry were, in no specific order:
- Employee training
- Employee needs
- Employee growth
- Departmental organization
- Leadership
Employee training
Think back over your years in the industry to how many times you were either thrown into the fire or threw someone into the fire without the proper training. It is just the nature of the beast in this industry, but it also happens to be one of the major reasons why we continuously lose both managers and line employees.
You MUST have a dedicated training program that does not release an employee as an actual scheduled staff member until he or she is fully ready to contribute. By not showing the commitment to train, you are already sending the staff member the message he or she is simply not worth the time and effort. In reality, you are not investing in that employee, so why would he or she invest in you?
Employee Needs
This is not about a higher hourly rate, as most think, but rather about providing employees with an acceptable work environment and the tools they need to do the job properly. For instance, if you have 10 housemen on to do a room flip requiring 600 chairs to be moved out of a room on a theater to dinner set but only have two chair dollies, how can they do their job?
This is also about providing them acceptable meals for their lunch and dinner breaks, not the scraps left over from other functions. Think about that… the alternative for the food is that it will be thrown out, so you give it to the staff. This is not to say you don’t utilize untouched leftovers, but is it going to kill the chef to turn mashed potatoes into a shepherd’s pie?
Think about their uniforms. Are you providing them with clean, comfortable uniforms or giving them hand-me-downs? The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, these little details are often overlooked… just not by the employee.
Employee Growth
As we stated before, there are employees for one reason or another that don’t want to be promoted, but that is generally the exception. People take jobs to make money. They start a career with an employer that will allow them to grow. If an employee can’t grow, they will eventually find that opportunity with another company, allowing them to benefit from the training you have given your employee. Then, you are left holding the bag with an open position and the need to train someone else from scratch.
Departmental Organization
There is nothing worse than working for someone that doesn’t have a clue how to get everyone from point A to point B. This is especially true in the hospitality industry where failure impacts other departments.
Everyone reading this has probably run across this scenario…
The front desk does not have enough agents on to handle a mass check in. With the guests being held up at check in, the opening session is delayed, which in turn sets the opening dinner banquet back. Because the front desk manager and sales manager did not organize the check in, every department in the hotel is now paying the price.
The problem described above leaves every line employee feeling as though they are working for people that simply have no idea what they are doing. When that happens too many times, they start looking for work elsewhere.
Leadership
There is no right or wrong management style. That must be developed individually. However, consistency is something that must be maintained regardless of the management style. This also works in conjunction with organization. Line employees must feel they are working for someone that knows what they are doing.
It is also important not to put yourself on some type of pedestal regardless of how high up the food chain you are. A general manager that takes the time to visit every department every day, learn his or her employees’ names, and spend a few minutes with employees along his or her travel path will have both the respect and loyalty of every line employee in that hotel simply because they believe he or she cares.
Work on those aspects of your operation and we promise, your turnover WILL start to decrease.
Are your hospitality managers creating move turnover for your property or organization? If you are looking for not only better managers, but the ideal managers for your specific organization, you need Joseph David International. For more information about our executive management recruitment services, click here.
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