Technology advancements within the last decade have brought huge competition within the hospitality industry. With companies such as Airbnb and HomeAway, a new mainstream threat has been placed on hospitality and the traditional getaway experience. These new competitors are beginning to take over the market, forcing hotels to lower their nightly rates and squeeze profits or result in losses. The growth of such new competitors forces hospitality organizations to invent new strategies or focus on niche markets; Airbnb may be growing among the cost-cutter leisure travelers, but most of the traveling market revenue is still generated by business travel, which these online-marketplace companies have yet to find a way to make any real impact in.
So, what does all of this mean for traditional hospitality companies? It means that now is the time for change. Hotel and food chains must start promoting what makes business travelers still choose to go the traditional route for their travel needs: the service. Guest service is the main differentiator between the mainstream hospitality and traditionalist groups. Many travelers still choose to be pampered and serviced while they are away from home and the only way to ensure that type of top quality service is by hiring and training high-quality staff. With the new competition looming over traditional hospitality companies, executives are turning to HR to build them a strong workforce that will provide the best guest service and experience, and keep them in front of the competition.
In order to satisfy long term business needs and improve the company’s competitive position, HR departments put together and execute talent strategies that focus on acquiring, developing, and retaining talent that can make a difference in the guests’s experience, thereby positively impacting the company’s bottom line. Most of the initiatives they undertake rotate around organizational improvement in HR, which can most effectively be done using talent management software designed for the hospitality industry.
- Process automation. Manual processes are both time consuming and expensive. A great HR system can help your organization reduce stress factors and mitigate many challenging issues through automated processes and workflows. Becoming automated can increase data-input accuracy and gain a competitive edge, which ultimately leads to a more streamlined business process, smarter hiring decisions, and more control over your workforce.
- Turnover reduction. Losing talented and skilled employees in the hospitality industry is a costly endeavor. Hospitality organizations work around the clock, and while some enjoy the excitement and rush it brings, many employees find the environment to be too taxing and stressful and decide to quit at a moment’s notice, leaving the HR department to pick up the pieces and find a replacement to fill the position. Talent management software designed for the hospitality industry can help organizations understand and reduce turnover in a number of ways, including analytical exercises, employee engagement programs, and process improvement.
- Recruitment & onboarding process optimization. Hospitality is a challenging and fast paced industry that requires a unique workforce that can thrive under pressure and think quickly on their feet. This means that human resources within hospitality industries need to be prepared to not only hire top talent, but also to use an automated human resources system that help hire more efficiently and effectively. But once you recruit them, how do you retain them? Well it all starts with a strong onboarding process, as that is their warm welcome into the company. It is important to give them hands on training such as a tour of the facility, and shadowing people with similar roles.
- Enforcement. Compliance is essential within a hospitality industry, but achieving and maintaining a required level of compliance is not the easiest task for many organizations due to the nature of its workforce. Employees are more mobile, diverse, and spread out. Add to the challenge the fact that most seasonal employees are millennials with sophisticated technical and social needs, and managing compliance becomes a challenge that requires a complex strategy and execution mechanism. A talent management system designed for the hospitality industry takes these factors into an account and provides you with tools to make compliance easy. Getting to that point reduces costs and risks, thereby positively impacting the bottom line.
- Better training and communication. A poorly managed restaurant or hotel along with poorly trained staff is a direct correlation to negative guest experiences. Throwing employees into a position of any kind without the proper training can result in an entire department of unproductive and inefficient staff. Human resource automated solutions allow companies to address skillset weaknesses throughout the workforce, improve employee performance by creating a development program that can bring all employees to a higher level, and keep consistent training and knowledge for issues such as safety and responsibilities within your organization.
- Better reward & recognition programs. Guests love reward programs provided by hospitality companies and your employees are no different. A reward program benefits more than just your employees; when implemented correctly, your organization can align business goals and initiatives with the parameters of the program. For example, if an organization is looking to increase productivity in a particular department, you can create a recognition program that is based on performance. HR systems designed for hospitality can provide companies the ability to build these programs within the platform which allows for a communication hub between all parties involved in the program, as well as reporting tools that can monitor and track each stage of the program.
About Workuments –Workuments is a highly distinctive portfolio of HR, talent management, and rapid application development software focused on technological excellence and innovation. The Workuments Performance and Competency Management is a key building block in the Workuments suite designed specifically to assist HR with aligning its people process with organizational strategy. For more information, visit www.workuments.com.
Want to see Workuments in action? Schedule a free demo today!