IN ASSOCIATION WITH Think Again special issue
Hospitality’s wish list for 2017 We asked the industry how we can improve hospitality for everybody
L
ast summer, The Caterer relaunched the Think Again campaign in association with Sodexo, because the hospitality industry still faces a challenge when it comes to recruiting the right staff into the right
positions and in the right volume. The most recent figures from hospitality skills and workforce development charity People 1st estimate that the sector still needs to recruit 1.3 billion staff by 2025, with the majority of those needed to replace existing employees. Meanwhile, 21% of hospitality and tourism businesses claim that staff
lack essential skills. Now that the campaign has drawn to a close, we asked the industry what measures they would like to see to encourage more people to consider a career in hospitality. The responses we had were:
A new campaign Create a new and sustained campaign in the new year that focuses on galvanising the industry to focus on making it more attractive to young people and attempting to overcome perceptions of long hours and low pay. The campaign should target any age, but should also be aimed squarely at parents, who hold a considerable influence over the career decisions that their children make.
Social media Rather than spending large amounts of money on an advertising campaign in the traditional media, the hospitality industry should consider setting up a dedicated social media strategy to more effectively reach young people and spread the word about the benefits a hospitality career can offer.
A united voice
All of the hospitality industry’s many bodies should co-ordinate themselves and unite to have one voice on the matter of recruitment of new talent to amplify their message.
Staff retention Retention is not rocket science, but it needs to be put on the agenda rather than being seen as second to the recruitment debate. Although this is changing, ensuring that staff are properly looked after, listened to and helped along the way through their career with better-quality training and better-defined paths to success should help to change negative percep- tions about hospitality.
Grow your own Some people we spoke to asserted that, for the past 10 years, hospitality has acted as a training ground for the rest of the economy. It has often given young people their first job and equipped them with the employability to be a success in other sectors. The hospitality industry should do more to ensure that it benefits from its own investment by doing all it can to keep those people in the industry, even if they don’t stay with the same employer.
28 | The Caterer
www.thecaterer.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29