Staff shortages as biggest challenge, shows a new polling-driven report

Teams on the frontline at the hospitality industry are feeling increasingly squeezed with the sector emerging from the Covid pandemic, led in significant part by industrial manpower shortages.

The findings are drawn from a new polling-driven report, Transforming The Employee Experience In Hospitality, created by staffing experience platform Harri and data and Insight consultancy, CGA.

Non-sociable working hours (54%), increased staff workload (49%) and inadequate pay (47%) were the main reasons cited by employees for explaining today's scarcity of staff.

Payroll (63%) and flexibility (49%) were the most important determinants of a person's decision to take a job, according to the survey.

Nearly all of employer respondents agreed that they could better use technology to enhance their work experience.

Nine out of ten said that technology in the workplace needs to improve and 38% thought that technology was more important to their role than prior to Covid.

"Employers can't do a great deal to fix some of the employees’ challenges mentioned, such as unreasonable guest demands, but it is possible to tackle other bugbears like ineffective communication, lack of flexibility and pressure from managers," stated Pete Willis, Harris commercial director for the UK and EMEA.

People who found their work less attractive cited inadequate pay increases (72%), lack of employment appreciation by their employers (53%), and a decline in gratuities (34%) as the main reasons.

Director, hospitality and food marketing Karl Chessell said the research provided 'fascinating intelligence' into an employee's mental attitude and highlighted how Covid made them think much more about wellness, flexibility and long-term careers.