SKILLS CRISIS 36 Ideas to Help Find Staff For many owners and managers, it’s their number one problem. There are many accounts of venues receiving little or no interest in job ads, while those that do apply lack the required skills.
at the same time.” Competition for staff is fierce and not confined to hotels and hospitality. Other sectors, such as construction, are reporting a similar problem, where it has been claimed that “for every five skilled trade workers who leave the industry, only one new hire replaces them.”
COVID-19 has delivered a triple-whammy:
STAFFING HEADACHE
Staff shortages are a major problem for many hotels in both the metro and regional areas of South Australia.
1. During lockdowns, staff that were stood down found work in other sectors and have not returned to hospitality. Many have moved into the booming mining sector. 2. The closure of Australia’s borders virtually closed the pipeline of staff who are overseas students or on working holiday visas. 3. A strong rebound after lockdown has led, in some areas, to record consumer demand that requires more staff than ever before. For example, a backlog of weddings and delayed birthday celebrations added to the pent-up demand of people that had been confined to home for an extended period. Better-than-expected economic figures has seen a fall in unemployment figures for South Australia. This strength in jobs is the case nationwide, so it is no surprise to find that staff shortages in hospitality is an Australia-wide problem. In fact, staff shortages in hospitality is a global problem. As one person put it: “Everybody in the world is hiring 14 | Hotel SA | W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U
Staff shortages creates many problems for hotels, including: 1. Paying overtime hurts margins. So does increasing incentives to attract new staff. (In the UK, restaurant group Hawksmoor is promoting bonuses scaling up to £2,000 to their who recommend friends for jobs.) 2. Increased demand on reduced staff numbers means you run the risk of burn out for existing staff 3. Customer service can suffer, leading to reputation damage. 4. Hours are being wasted on job search activities, often with limited return. The ABC quoted one owner as saying: “"I used to have a lot of people just walk in looking for a job … at the moment I have to say, I have zero resumes.” 5. There are reports of hotels and restaurants imposing caps on numbers because they can’t get the staff, or closing on certain days. Back to Contents
