The success of your hospitality business relies on the strength of your team. Happy and engaged employees who feel strongly part of a team are more likely to perform well and achieve best results. For example, highly-engaged employees achieve twice the annual net income of organizations with poorly-engaged employees, Forbes reports. In the hospitality industry, it can be a struggle to boost team morale largely due to long, irregular hours and high turnover rate. But it’s your job to take steps to foster an environment that’s more team-oriented and rewarding for your employees, and consequently, your bottom line.
Schedule fun activities
Getting your staff regularly involved in fun activities unrelated to work will strengthen team bonds. Host a monthly team lunch or icebreaker game which requires them to work together to solve a problem. As your employees develop stronger relationships, they’ll become more motivated at work — even more so since won’t want to let the team down. You could also offer food discounts or free meals to encourage your team to eat with each other at the restaurant — keep work-talk to a minimum. Ultimately, you want to create bonds which go beyond the workplace.
Celebrate accomplishments together
Taking the time to celebrate employee accomplishments will boost their happiness, engagement, and even their length of employment. 74% of employees who hadn’t celebrated accomplishments with their co-workers said they were more likely to leave their jobs, Globoforce found. Track employee accomplishments — whether it be a receptionist with consistently excellent customer feedback or a cook who flipped the most burgers in a shift — and celebrate with the whole team. Thank your stand-out employee publicly and perhaps reward them with gift cards. This will prevent employee dissatisfaction and limit turnover rate.
Deal with negativity head on
It’s natural for hospitality employees to feel discouraged sometimes. Rather than just waiting for it to blow over, proactively work to find and implement solutions. Talk with your employees about why they’re feeling down and look for ways to you can provide better help and support. You may feel uncomfortable at first, but you’ll soon become used to managing these situations — and the honest, valuable, and actionable feedback you receive will be worth it. After all, happy employees are 12% more productive, which means more revenue for your business.
Ultimately, hospitality is a high-pressured and fast-paced industry which can often leave staff feeling overwhelmed and demoralized. You should continuously work to boost team morale, so your employees keep coming to work each day with renewed enthusiasm. Not only will you cultivate a happy workplace, but you’ll also reap the benefits financially, too.
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