How do we attract people to the hospitality industry?

It’s been a tough transition back for hospitality across the country, with many places struggling to recruit, and therefore staff have been overworked and having to deal with unhappy customers. In our panel discussion, a couple of weeks back a big topic that came up was how to attract people to our industry. How do we make it a desirable place to work? As businesses struggle to recruit, we can’t help but feel the industry has so much to offer and can lead to really fulfilling careers if we give people the right support, guidance and training. 

Reaching Young People

“On a grassroots level we need to increase our own visibility like going back to a school in your area. Careers day at school was all people that worked in the city” says Ifeyinwa Frederick, Co-Owner of Chuku’s. She added, “I could happily live underneath a rock and no one know my name but I recognise  actually there are other Black women out there that are trying or even have a slight inkling that they want to get into the industry, and it might be helpful if they could see me as well, so I feel like we have to do a little bit more to increase our own visibility”.

David Paulin, Founder of The Compass Project said, “I think culturally the perception of hospitality careers is really devalued in the UK, especially within bar work as well. I think within Ireland working in a bar can be a little bit more of an aspiration in terms of a career.” He added, “we need to start educating children at school level that this is a viable career option for them and it's one that requires training and skills in order to progress just like any other career”. 

In addition, Lauren Barnett, Founder of Home Hospitality spoke about “getting people at the decision-making time of their life” and “putting it in front of people as a career, not as a stop-gap”. She went on to talk about all the different avenues you can take in hospitality and that “it's not just about doing the same job for 40 years as a chef”. Not only do we need to make ourselves seen more in schools and careers fairs, but also change the perception of hospitality. We need to shout about all the opportunities available and all the things you can do in different areas of hospitality, and how quickly you can progress. As Lauren says, ‘if you’re any good, you’re gonna rocket through”. 

Changing the Working Culture 

Sebastian Pasinetti said his “biggest fuck up was reinforcing that culture of having to do back-to-back doubles or don’t go home early and all that”, which I think so many of us can relate to. If we want to get good people into our industry and stay in our industry we need to shift the culture into prioritising a good work-life balance. This can start with setting limits to the number of doubles employees can work, capping hours worked weekly, and ensuring staff take full breaks, and where possible have the opportunity to take breaks with colleagues. 

Sebastian added “it's difficult to have that balancing act but it comes from the top and how we are projecting the industry and how healthy work-life balance is going to show our guests that we are happy at work and the industry is really viable and we’re making a career out of it”. This shift in perception can start to happen if the people we serve see employees truly enjoying their work, as many do when they are not working a silly amount of hours. 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Support

Another vital part of changing the working culture is opening up the conversation around mental health and removing the stigma. Especially after the year we have had, more people are aware of their own mental health, and are looking to work in a place where they know they will feel supported to discuss these things. There are many ways to implement good support including, introducing a Mental Health Policy, organising wellbeing activities for the whole team, and providing Mental Health First Aid training to those who are interested. 

Having these in place could make you more attractive as a workplace to those seeking a mentally healthy, supportive environment, but also those who can see there is an opportunity to progress and train in that area. 

There is something very special that hospitality provides. As Ifeyinwa said, “You don’t get bored! It’s a job that’s keeping you on your toes!” So through taking the steps to change and improve our industry we can get it thriving again, full of good people, enjoying what they do, and maybe even seeing a future.