The hospitality industry – cafés, restaurants and pubs in particular – is renowned for having a notoriously high team churnover rate. This can be very costly for businesses both in terms of having to rehire as well as to train up new team members. 

When a team member quits, a business finds themselves short staffed until they can source a replacement. Finding that replacement requires time and money, and when a new starter joins, existing team members get pulled away from their key tasks to get their new colleague up to speed. These costs quickly add up.

But why is there such high churn in this sector?

The hospitality industry has been severely affected by the pandemic, as well as Brexit. Frequent lockdowns and service restrictions have prompted many workers to leave the sector in search of greater job security.

However, it is not just in recent years that the hospitality industry has seen a high churnover rate. Frequent team churn and regular staff shortages were apparent long before the pandemic began, and much of this was the result of not putting enough thought into team experience and well-being.

Poor Team Experiences In The Hospitality Industry 

Stressful peak times, stretched teams, and unsociable hours are familiar challenges for those working in the sector.

• Having enough people in the team to cover the busiest days can make it hard to give everyone the hours they want and need over the rest of the week. Lack of hours means low pay, and is often a trigger to move to somewhere new.
• Small team sizes can leave employees feeling overstretched, particularly during peak hours.
• Inconsistent hours and long shifts can make it challenging for employees to achieve a healthy work/life balance. If there is a lack of flexibility that prevents the employee from having time to relax and socialise outside of work, they may end up leaving their job. 

Ultimately, there is a lack of incentive for hospitality staff to remain in their jobs.

How To Keep Employees From Leaving

• Establishing regular weekly rotas with a flexible shift-swapping system can help to tackle the inconsistency in hours that causes stress for employees. By discussing with employees how many hours they want to work a week, and allocating them regular shifts, it can help them to plan their personal schedule more easily and make time for rest and recovery.
• Many hospitality employees find doing specialist tasks such as making coffee or cocktails more enjoyable than routine assignments, so allow for training opportunities where staff can learn how to do these jobs.
• Hospitality workers often feel they are underpaid for the amount of work and time they put into their job. Employees deserve a fair wage for their efforts, so reward your best workers with monthly bonuses to demonstrate your appreciation for them – even a little goes a long way, and it may help provide motivation. 

How can Stint help?

At Stint, our aim is to help the hospitality industry thrive by improving employee experience and putting a stop to the endless team churn. We offer a new and innovative way to look at hospitality staffing, and our solution makes hospitality workers’ jobs less stressful and more enjoyable.

Our Stint students assist a business’ core team with basic tasks during the busiest hours to allow skilled employees to focus on creating an excellent guest experience. This means businesses are able to always have the right number of staff. With Stints coming in during 2-3 hour peaks of trade, our system helps to determine the most efficient way to staff throughout the week. Then, we’ll work with you to understand what basic tasks the students can do so that your core team have nothing to worry about. 

At Stint, we understand that not all hospitality businesses are the same. Whether you’re in fine dining, casual dining or fast food, we carefully consider your team and the roles that need to be fulfilled in your venue. Our Stint students can then take on the tasks required to help your business flourish, such as increasing table turnover in casual restaurants and collecting glasses in wet-led pubs. Discover how you can deliver a positive employee experience with Stint.