How to manage an efficient hospitality team in 2022

“More than 90,000 workers left the UK’s hospitality sector over the past year”, reported The Independent in August 2021 about the impacts of Brexit and the pandemic. These two events alone have had a disastrous impact on UK hospitality; workers took on new career paths during lockdowns and a large number of international workers lost their jobs or left the country when new Brexit regulations were introduced. In fact, before Brexit, the UK hospitality sector employed over 400,000 migrant workers. With hospitality businesses now struggling to recruit workers, is it time for them to find new ways of managing an efficient workforce in 2022? Let’s discuss some solutions.

Using technology to optimise management

With the advancement of new technologies designed for the hospitality industry, you can relax knowing that a lot of your processes historically undertaken by people, can be replaced by technology. An example is waiters taking orders. When customers first arrive at a hospitality venue, a waiter will greet guests and sit them down. A few moments later, they’ll return to take their order, but this process can be lengthened if, for instance, customers haven’t chosen their order or they have dietary requirements that need checking with the chef. With technology solutions, such as the YOOLOX self-serve ordering system, waiters are no longer required at this point of a customer journey, as customers can simply place an order themselves via a smart device at their table. Whilst increasing sales, as customers will find it much easier to pick up a smart device to place an order as opposed to flagging down a waiter, a self-serve ordering system increases the likelihood of reordering and lowers the risk of human error, which improves guest satisfaction. 

Incentivising team members to reduce turnover

Self-serve ordering and other hostech technologies allow hospitality staff to take on higher level work, as low level tasks, including admin and waiting, are replaced by technology. As it makes team members feel that their work is valuable, hospitality staff are more likely to stay in their role longer-term, which reduces staff turnover. Read more in our recent blog post on 10 hospitality technologies to watch in 2022. With hostech replacing manual labour, you have more cash spare to increase workers’ salaries, which opens your recruitment process to a wider audience; under the new skilled worker visa scheme, migrant workers from EU and non-EU countries must be paid at least £25,600 annual salary. Additionally, if you can pay more, you’ll incentivise staff and end up with a happy workforce who provide the most amazing customer service. 

Delivering excellent customer service to increase sales

A happy workforce equals happy customers; it’s always wonderful to walk into a hospitality venue where staff are friendly and helpful, and it leaves a positive lasting impression for guests. Hospitality businesses are customer centric; good reviews and high retention rates result in increased sales and business growth. This can be achieved when people and technology are combined, the latter taking the pressure off staff members, who’ll have time spare to greet customers properly and attend to their needs. Meanwhile, technology serves to boost sales and customer loyalty; the YOOLOX self-serve ordering system remembers customer favourites and provides personalised experiences for returning customers. 

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