It is a challenge many tourism and hospitality companies face — one more difficult to manage than ever before. Employee turnover always has been common in business but attracting and hiring workers for lower-paying hourly jobs is among the biggest headaches an organization can suffer. Returning college students or young people beginning their careers no longer are sufficient to fill the positions needed in the tourism industry during this post-Covid period.
What makes it even more challenging is the cost of hiring a new employee continues to rise. And with turnover constant, hiring for seasonal positions can seem to be a never-ending cycle. Hospitality HR should handle onboarding and training for newer employees, but many in-house departments are overwhelmed by the frequency required.
This is why employers in the hospitality industry and tourism industry need options to create more time for their HR teams to complete other tasks, some but not all of which have emerged from Covid. Even before the pandemic, the business model of using internal HR teams to attempt to curb and manage turnover churn was outdated and largely unsuccessful. But it has become even worse for tourism and hospitality employers.
What can be done to solve the challenge? Consider the following:
Employers have seasonal-hiring needs throughout the year that can vary significantly. Why pay the same cost for HR services when your hiring needs are much less? With scalable billing, companies can create an affordable budget.
Most organizations not only have seasonal hiring needs but require seasonal HR services in general. Outsourcing to a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) can help create a cost-effective process where a company is paying only for the HR services it needs at a given time.
Onboarding can be a time-intensive role for any internal HR professional, who often has numerous other responsibilities and deadlines. Companies with seasonal-employer challenges may require onboarding and training for a high number of new professionals at certain times of the year. A third-party expert can help streamline the process to make it convenient and hassle-free.
Some of the most important HR tasks also are time-consuming and can draw staff time away from other responsibilities, such as customized employee training, internal event planning, policy updates, and more. Some third-party PEOs can offer “HR services for any season” allowing employers to decide where assistance is most urgently needed.
Seasonal workers are common in tourism and hospitality and they often bring enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and a breath of fresh air to any organization. However, during the hiring and onboarding process, the new hires have to be treated far different than others. That’s because many employers may not understand which federal and state forms are required to hire seasonal workers or know which relevant labor laws apply to temporary staff. Staying in compliance with these laws is challenging.
Adhering to compliance issues has become even more difficult for Human Resource professionals in the hospitality industry with mandates and rules changing swiftly in these pandemic times. HR professionals in the hospitality industry are under extreme pressure in all areas – from employee-handbook updates to setting and enforcing policies on mask requirements. Even the best HR professionals can benefit from third-party assistance.
It always has been challenging in the hospitality industry to hire and retain talented and capable employees – even before pandemic times. This is partly due to the perception that such jobs are mere steppingstones to longer-term, more stable employment opportunities. Of total U.S. jobs lost between February 2020 and January 2021, 40 percent were from the hospitality, leisure, and tourism industries (source: U.S. Department of Labor, February 2021).
While many of the jobs have returned since the effect of the pandemic spiked, seasonal turnover is an ongoing problem that isn’t going away. By rightsizing HR operations with the help of a third-party extension of your HR staff, your business can be in a better position to manage seasonal peaks and valleys. It also can result in fewer expense and stronger profitability.
Now is a great time to consider a PEO that offers the level of quality needed at a price you can afford. Specifically, you can work with the PEO on staggered billing when your needs are highest and assistance with training and compliance. The result is hiring hourly workers for important but high turnover roles will become a simpler process.
For the hospitality industry, the effect of Covid on the business has been a game changer. Yet even beyond the Covid impact, tourism and hospitality have faced staffing issues for many years. It is possible to have a fully staffed HR team available for seasonal employer challenges when staff turnover is common and new needs are critical.
The professional and experienced HR professionals at Trion Solutions can help reduce the stress and burden of seasonal HR tasks — allowing your hospitality HR team to concentrate on other strategic HR issues such as recruiting and training. Trion is one of the country’s largest and most respected Professional Employer Organizations.
The challenges with hiring and maintaining seasonal employees is real — especially in such industries as restaurants, hospitality and manufacturing. But finding the right staff during the right times does not have to be distracting and inefficient. Contact one of Trion’s Hospitality and Season HR specialists to learn more about this flexible and cost-effective way of managing your HR department. You also can read our blog for other tips and guidance.
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