A high employee turnover rate isn’t ideal in any workplace, but while some staff turnover is inevitable, there are some steps you can take to make sure your hospitality business doesn’t fall victim to an ongoing stream of resignations.

Create a Sociable Environment
All work and no play won’t be any fun for your staff. Try to make the workplace more sociable by running a social club and organising after hour events, or chuck some music on during clean up.

Anything you can do to make sure your staff get along with each other and are enjoying themselves when they come to work will help improve staff retention.

Offer Performance Feedback and Praise a Job Well Done
Your recognition of employee contributions is your most powerful form of employee reinforcement and retention. Your staff want to know that their work is important and that you appreciate their efforts and want to help them grow their career.

Employees want to be valued and respected, regardless of what industry they’re working in. If they feel undervalued and like you don’t care about how they’re performing, they’ll be more inclined to become disgruntled, start underperforming and even resign.

Provide Growth Opportunities
This is particularly relevant to Millennials. For instance, a 20-year-old waitress mostly likely doesn’t want to be a waitress for her entire life. Chances are she would like to see herself work up to a front of house supervisor and maybe even a restaurant manager.

When you’re lucky enough to find an employee who is enthusiastic, good at what they do, and keen to learn new skills and take on more responsibilities, don’t leave them stranded. Without any growth opportunities, your staff will start to feel undervalued and like their skills are being wasted. This can lead to a higher staff turnover rate, which is exactly what you want to avoid!

Make Staff Training a Priority
We’re not just talking about an owner ensuring they provide comprehensive training for all of their staff – staff should also have the opportunity to share their own skills and knowledge. Run regular training sessions or presentations, and give your more senior staff the opportunity to mentor your junior staff. People like to share what they know, and by teaching someone else, your employees will also be cementing their own learning and understanding of job related skills and business practices.

Offer a Competitive Wage/Salary
One of the most common reasons people cite for leaving their place of employment is money. If you’re underpaying your staff, it’s not unreasonable for them to seek employment elsewhere. When hiring your staff, make sure you’re paying them a fair wage that’s commensurate with their age, skill level, or the demands of the job they will be filling.

We’re not saying you should pay well above the award rates – just that your pay rates should be at least equal to the industry standards. Offering bonuses or on-the-job perks like free coffee will also make your staff think twice about walking out.

If you’ve provided a good working environment for your staff and they’re being compensated and rewarded accordingly, the only thing left to do is to make sure the operating systems they’re working with are easy-to-use and of a high-quality. No employee likes working with out-dated POS equipment or computers that just won’t load. To ensure your hospitality equipment is up-to-date, contact us today.