Attracting and Retaining Talent

Imagine starting at a job where you quickly realize that there is no clear on-boarding or training plan and you must "figure it out" on your own. Or, you want to further develop and grow your career; however, there's no clear career path nor opportunity for growth. Sound familiar?

For those in the Hospitality Industry, and especially human resources, this is a reality they handle on a daily basis. The hospitality industry must appeal to top talent through training, leadership, and modern tools in order to grapple with a staggering 73.8% employee turnover rate. There exists a gap between what organizations and recruiters are seeking, and what prospects seek and expect from employers that contribute to high turnover. Human Resources professionals must achieve a careful balance of finding and attracting the right candidate with structure and leadership in order to mitigate turnover costs.

Professionals looking for work face unique challenges based on experience level, but good structure and management make jobs more attractive and can ease this anxiety. Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) organized a round table of 19 top marketing executives and compiled a list of challenges they believe prospects face based on level of experience.

Statistics indicate that companies who have a good structure and leadership in place to help prospects overcome these hurdles will reap the benefits. Employees want to stick with a company, but they need structure and good leadership from management.

• 90% of Millennials want to grow their careers with their current companies
• 91% of employees stick around for at least a year at a new company, and 69% of them stick around for at least 3 years if the company has a well-structured on-boarding program

However, organizations that do not have these systems in place will be unable to hold on to the recruits they hire. This is especially crucial when putting together a leadership team.

• Nearly half of employees said they’ve quit a job because of a bad manager
• 56% think managers are promoted prematurely
• 60% think managers need managerial training

Smart organizations are taking steps to attract top talent with unique skill sets, but employers need to be thoughtful because of turnover costs. HSMAI also identified these unique strengths prospective new hires can bring to the table based on experience. Organizations should take care to see which skill set fills their needs best.

Employers need to attract this kind of top talent by providing structure, such as using technology to provide a consistent structure. “To overcome technology gaps, employers said they plan to adopt change management strategies and new technologies to attract specialized or highly skilled talent (75%), find talent that can do the work faster (62%), speed up talent acquisition (57%) and reduce reliance on costly brand-name consulting firms (40%)”.

Human resource professionals know all too well that retaining talent is crucial, since “Turnover costs range from an estimated 90% to 200% of a departing employee’s salary”.

The hospitality industry must take steps to find and keep the right candidates in order to build a successful team and keep costs low through good retention levels. This begins with providing excellent training, leadership, and identifying the best recruits for their team’s needs.

SalesBoost helps organizations attract and retain top talent by providing on-demand, role-based online training and coaching using an innovative A.I. voice analysis software. SalesBoost's real-world practice simulations are designed to increase retention of new skills to improve performance while reducing training costs allowing organizations to grow profits. Learn more about how SalesBoost can help attract and retain top talent!

Are you going to be at HR in Hospitality this year in Las Vegas? Don’t miss Gretta’s speaking engagement on Tuesday, March 26th at 1:30!