A recent Linked In report covering employment motivations of students/graduates, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, found that across all generations work-life balance was the number one motivating factor when looking for a new job.
This can be challenging for the hospitality industry, which has typically featured long and often “anti-social” hours, and provides some further insight as to why employers across the board are struggling to find and recruit new talent. However, supporting motivations include:
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Strong career path -
Compensation and benefits -
Workplace culture -
Challenging work -
Self-esteem/recognition
While the issue of remuneration is tied to what the market is willing to pay, there are certainly other areas which hospitality businesses can make (and in some cases, have already started to make!) changes which appeal to the modern workforce and future generation of talent.
While corporates have begun to adapt to demands for work life balance and flexible arrangements, service based industries are somewhat more restricted. Nonetheless, it may be time to start thinking outside the box for creative ways in which your organisation or the industry at large can make changes;
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Can you redistribute responsibility, providing greater challenge and career development for those lower in the chain, and removing some pressure (and potentially hours?) from those more senior? -
Could we one day see restaurants with two head chefs working in partnership, catering to those who love food and the industry but want to work part time around family commitments? -
Should individual venues and small hospitality groups band together to provide rotational experience in different cuisines and specialities, in a similar way to corporate graduate programs?
Do you have any ground breaking ideas? Or have you trialled something unique in your business? We’d love to hear from you so let us know! The future is open for discussion.