SKILLS CRISIS: 36 Ideas to Help Find Staff

Staff shortages are a major problem for many hotels in both the metro and regional areas of South Australia.

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.

COVID-19 has delivered a triple-whammy:

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 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.”

STAFFING HEADACHE

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.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

When you take 115,000 people on working visas out of the system, there is a clear need for governments to help solve the problem. Staff shortages don’t just constrain individual businesses, it is also puts a brake on economic recovery.

Compounding the problem are reports of a lack of affordable housing in some country areas, effectively blocking new employees from relocating.

46,000 hospitality jobs are currently advertised online but industry leaders say the real shortage may be much higher. Restaurant and Catering Australia estimates the number of positions is closer to 100,000.

"We are sick of hearing it's a nice problem to have, it's actually a bad problem," Hospitality NT CEO Alex Bruce told the ABC recently.

The Federal Government has temporarily lifted the fortnightly limit of 40 hours of work for international student visa holders who have jobs in hospitality

It has also added hospitality to the list of “critical sectors” for a COVID-19 Pandemic Event Visa. Temporary visa holders will be able to access the 408 COVID-19 Pandemic Event Visa for a period of 12 months if they work in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Some are calling for the government to allow vaccinated workers to return to Australia, but this is usually for highly skilled workers, not people who will cook, serve or clean.

In the USA, where the situation is equally dire, legislation has been proposed for incentive payments for people who return to work.

Ideas to Find New Staff

Recruitment has become a top priority and hotel owners and managers have to compete harder for a reduced pool of staff. Here are some ideas to help:

1. First, stop the drain. Understand why staff are leaving and be prepared make changes to hold onto your staff. What are you doing today to make your venue a great working environment? What is the biggest complaint from staff that walk out the door?

2. Know staff shift preferences (eg what days and hours suit them best) and try to deliver on this. This is often impossible but you can give priority to your best staff.

3. Pump up your staff social club. Get happy staff to spread the word.

4. Look beyond your traditional channels to find staff.

5. Hire under-skilled staff and upskill them.

6. Get ideas from others. Hilton DoubleTree in Alice Springs is flying in staff from interstate.

7. One restaurant has called on extended family to help out. People in suits during the day are helping in kitchens when they finish their day job.

8. Country pubs could consider helping with relocation costs. Or finding accommodation. Offering better discounts for meals.

9. Country pubs could also look at providing accommodation. The snowfields fit four or five workers into a room during the snow season.

10. Make it a topic of conversation with everyone you meet. ”Turn over more rocks” in your quest to find your next great employee.

11. Another chain offers $100 gift cards to anyone who refers an applicant who is employed and is still employed after 45 days. And yet another venue provides $150 bonuses with a 90 days caveat.

12. Remember the example of Hawksmoor earlier in this article? Staff referrals earn a bonus - $365 for the first, $550 for the next one, and up to $3,650 for five friends.

13. You don’t just have to restrict these types of schemes to staff. You can make a similar offer to customers via your email database. It could be a free meal, gift vouchers etc.

14. Hire a staffing agency. Consider hiring several. See page 28   for AHA|SA Corporate Partner Directory.

15. Look at where tasks can be replaced by automation, freeing up staff to work in other areas. For example, your online reservation system? Inventory software? Can you outsource laundry? Rostering?

16. Use social media – both your own posts and paid advertising. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Online advertising is quite cheap and you can set a daily limit. Consider putting a set amount to this as a trial.

17. For higher tier roles, consider advertising LinkedIn because of its job seeker reputation. Check out LinkedIn’s recruiter tool. It uses insights from its network to provide you with candidates.

18. Still on social media, younger staff are guaranteed to check out your hotel via social media. If you don’t project the right image, there’s a good chance they will pass you by and take a job at a more suitable company.

19. Put your best face forward. Include a page on your website that talks up the benefits of working for your hotel. Consider setting up a separate website. Include testimonials (now known as social proofing) from happy staff. Promote the social life, the great management, the flexibility etc.

20. What’s the most visited page on your website. Probably your home page. So, put a “We’re Hiring” feature block on this page.

21. What’s the next most popular page? Your menu pages? Find a way to put a “We’re Hiring” message on these pages too.

22. Spread the word among local schools and tertiary education providers.

23. You may be able to persuade an older, experienced person to come out of retirement for a while. Think of former employees. You will never know unless you ask them.

24. Promote from within. Good staff appreciate the status of a promotion and the opportunity to learn new skills.

25. Don’t obsess trying to find the perfect candidate. Get a person with a good attitude and train them.

26. Look outside your traditional pools. For instance, you could approach a local association for people from other countries. Many have difficulty finding work because they lack local networks.

27. How are your job ads looking? Do they have the right “vibe”? For example, if you are seeking bright enthusiastic people to work in hospo, make sure your ads don’t sound like a bank or accountancy firm.

28. Make sure your job ads “sell” your establishment and your team. View these ads as “bait” that you are using to attract good people. Ask your marketing person to help.

29. If you have a good candidate in an interview, make sure you sell the benefits of working for you. Turn the interview around from getting them to sell their suitability, to you selling yourself.

“46,000 hospitality jobs are currently advertised online but industry leaders say the real shortage may be much higher.”

30. Advertise on an A-frame outside your venue.

31. If you promote that you are a flexible employer, demonstrate that you are flexible from the outset. Don’t insist on a set interview period (eg. three candidates on Monday afternoon from 2pm to 3.30pm).

32. If you find a good person, make them an offer straight away. If you aren’t fast, you risk losing out to a swifter business facing the same staff shortage as you.

33. Resist the urge to employ the wrong person, no matter how desperate you are. The wrong person will provide a poor customer experience and drive other staff out the door.

34. How’s your induction? Do you lose newcomers after they have their first day or night on the job? Do they feel overwhelmed, unsupported or did you tell them you were a fun employer but the person doing the induction comes across as a tyrant?

35. This is worth repeating: tap into ALL of your networks. Social, school, special interest groups … put the word out and keep asking if people know of anyone good looking for a job.

36. Your hotel supports many community organisations, such as the local football and netball club during winter. Ask them to spread the word, put up “Work Available” posters etc.