Anyone who hires employees has been there before: several employees quit or you have to fire employees who aren’t making the cut. In that instance you were left understaffed and desperate to find new employees—pronto! In 2015, hospitality businesses experienced a turnover rate of 72.1%. But it’s possible to get that number down and avoid hiring frantically.
When your store is well staffed and stress levels are low, that’s when your team is able to perform at its best. Let’s go over a few things you can do to keep great employees and attract new ones as well.
Always Be Hiring: The best time to find high performing employees is when you don’t need them yet. If you’re always looking through candidate profiles to see who’s available and what their track record is, then you can make an informed decision instead of hiring when you’re desperate. Planning ahead and keeping your options open puts you in the driver’s seat of the hiring process.
Understand Your Employees: While turnover is high in the industry, you can reduce it by keeping your employees happy. In order to do this, you need to have open channels of communication. Consider having an internal suggestion box and going through any questions or concerns employees have written down in a monthly meeting. When you show that you care about employee needs and actually follow through, employees will feel more loyal to your business.
Ask for Referrals: Add a small incentive for employees who refer new candidates to you. Make sure you clearly state what your employees will get and when. A small gift card to a popular store can go a long way in getting employees to take some of the hiring burden off your shoulders.
There are many other ways to avoid desperate hiring, but the main thing to keep in mind is that it takes a little bit of effort each day. Then when you need new employees, you’ll already have a pool of qualified candidates waiting for you.
To put these hiring lessons into practice, contact us at friends@higherme.com and we’d love to help execute them!