Keeping Top Talent: How Offering Career Growth Opportunities Drives Employee Retention in Hospitality

July 19, 2024

In 2024, the hospitality industry faces a crisis: frontline workers are leaving their jobs at an alarming rate of 50%.¹ If you're a hotel manager or operator, you're likely feeling the effects of this attrition in your business.

One key reason is the need for more opportunities for career advancement. Some job seekers even accept lower-paying roles if those roles offer clear pathways for career growth and advancement.²

Here’s the good news: You can help curb this problematic trend by introducing programs and initiatives to support career development. By enriching your employees’ careers, you’ll be more likely to attract and keep top talent.

The result? A better experience for your guests and improved operational efficiency.

Below, we’ll look at a few of the key strategies for promoting career development for hospitality workers to prevent workforce loss.

The Importance of Career Growth for Employee Retention

High employee turnover increases training costs and harms customer experience — which is why effective employee retention lives at the core of a thriving business strategy. And with over 70% of frontline workers pursuing advancement opportunities, career development pathways help drive employee retention.³

Key Strategies for Promoting Career Development in Hospitality

Internal promotions: When hospitality workers feel stuck in a rigid role with no opportunity for advancement, they're more likely to be enticed by external job offers. Offering opportunities for internal promotions can help you keep top talent and attract more competitive candidates to entry-level positions.‍
Career path mapping: Outline the advancement opportunities for your associates. Provide specific timelines and detailed steps they should follow to progress. This clarity will empower your team, instill hope, and keep them motivated to stay and grow with the organization‍
Continuous learning: Providing continuous learning opportunities is a great way to foster an environment of growth. These can include on-the-job training, mentorship, conferences, or even formal education.

Education and Training Programs for Employee Retention

The modern workforce is made up of people who desire a sense of meaning and purpose in their careers.

But while 82% of employees want to be seen as a person (not just an employee) by their employers, only 45% believe this to be true.⁴

Providing ongoing education and training opportunities for your associates is an excellent way to cultivate a more fulfilling work experience and help your employees feel valued as whole people.

Networking and Mentorship

Employee retention depends on a variety of factors — key among them is employee engagement. Keeping your staff engaged and involved helps them feel included, valued, and connected to your brand’s core mission and values.

*Photo by* *HIVAN ARVIZU @soyhivan* on Unsplash

A great way to foster meaningful employee engagement for your staff is to offer networking and mentorship opportunities.

Mentorship programs

The hospitality industry is a prime place for career growth and long-term development. You can leverage this industry potential by facilitating mentorship opportunities between senior staff and new associates looking to grow and upskill. This can be done by implementing a formal mentorship program or by fostering informal yet professional mentor relationships between staff.

Networking opportunities

Feeling connected to a wider industry network can help hospitality workers understand the importance of the roles they play and feel more dedicated to the industry. Consider hosting industry networking events at your hotel or resort, or seek out similar events elsewhere for your employees to attend. While not all employees will take advantage of these opportunities, professional networking is a key strategy for growing a career in the hospitality industry.⁵

5 Practical Tips for Implementing Career Growth Initiatives

Here are a few key tips to help you envision a bright path forward for your staff:

Find out what your associates want: Your team should be your first reference point when deciding which career growth opportunities to offer. Gather their perspectives by conducting face-to-face interviews or conducting a survey to collect feedback. This ensures the programs you put in place will serve the needs and goals of your staff. Plus, by including them in the ideation process, you’ll get a jump-start on helping them feel heard and valued.

Research opportunities offered by key competitors: If you’re losing associates to nearby competitors, find out why. Are they offering opportunities for career advancement? If so, what kind? Use this information to inform the programs you offer moving forward.

Partner with local educational institutions: In some cases, you may be able to establish a partnership with an accredited institution offering industry-relevant curriculum. This might come in the form of a sponsorship, advisory board position, or job program that incentivizes graduates to join your hotel staff. Partnering with institutions is an excellent way to fill vacant positions with highly qualified candidates and invest in the long-term growth and development of your team.⁶

Set up alerts for industry events and opportunities: Establish a dedicated method for keeping your team informed about upcoming events, workshops, or conferences. Consider integrating a streamlined system for automating these alerts. When you integrate technologies to help with scheduling, productivity, and staff communication, you can easily keep your team up to date about upcoming events and opportunities.
Foster open communication and feedback: As you work to develop effective and enriching growth opportunities for your associates, make sure you're on the right track by fostering an open line of communication and routinely gathering feedback. By doing this, you can ensure your investments are worth the effort and identify opportunities to adapt your strategies as needed.

Keep Top Talent By Helping Them Grow

It’s true: Employee retention rates in the hospitality industry are not looking great in 2024. But this is far from a hopeless situation. By offering opportunities for career advancement and growth, you can be a proud exception to the rule and help turn the tide on workforce loss.

Whether you offer practical support to employees who want to pursue formal hospitality education or host networking events at your hotel, there are many powerful ways to increase employee engagement. These strategies can reduce turnover, and build a staff of fulfilled and motivated professionals.

At Shiny, we’re on a mission to make working in hospitality more rewarding. Our tipping app and productivity promote team loyalty, retain top talent, and ensure your staff always feel valued. Check out our report to learn how we helped reduce employee turnover by 50% in 2023. Or, to find out how we can help support you and your property, contact us to request a demo today.

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