How Hoteliers Can Battle Attrition by Optimizing the Onboarding and Training Processes
Recent U.S. jobs reports have painted a positive picture of the future of the hospitality industry’s job market, but as many professionals currently working in the industry can attest, these open roles are left largely unfilled. On top of this, many hoteliers recognize that of the limited number of new workers that start a position, a large majority may not end up staying at their new role for long, with the attrition rate of hospitality workers reaching over 70% for the hotel and motel industries. There is, however, one effective way for hoteliers to combat this continual loop of rapidly changing employees, and it all starts with how they train new employees.
On average, training and onboarding processes take roughly 90 days, and cost an average of $1,252 per employee, which means its to the business’ benefit to make sure the onboarding process is efficient and effective to avoid starting the hiring and acquisition process from scratch. The truth is, training and onboarding processes have not evolved alongside the workforce, and 21st century workers digest content differently than they did at the turn of the century. More importantly, there is a direct correlation between training and attrition, as businesses that encourage employees to learn have up to 50% higher engagement and retention rates. If hoteliers hope to attract, successfully train, and most critically, retain new hires, then they must consider implementing the below changes to better equip this new generation of workers:
Focus on Short-Form Content
Between TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other short-form video content, the modern attention span has adapted to minutes – not hours – when it comes to digesting information. Studies even show that short form content is also better for retention of materials, with learners being 20% more likely to retain the information presented to them.
For hoteliers, this means that instead of implementing trainings that are multi-hour-long sessions of video lessons, printed handbooks, and testing, they should appeal to these new hires’ attention span by implementing short-form content for training. This can be a 2-minute video on how to check in an arriving customer, or something as quick as a hands-on tutorial on the proper cleaning protocols when entering a customer’s room.
By replicating the content that users would typically see when scrolling social media, hoteliers are also creating a more efficient learning system, as such trainings can lead to a 45% faster completion of materials, while keeping new hires more engaged with the training content. Also, having a consistent, engaging learning strategy is linked to higher retention rates and builds loyalty among employees, so creating a training program that is better linked to the needs of new hires is invaluable when it comes to fostering company loyalty.
Prioritize Mobile Accessibility
Research shows that we look at our phone an average of 221 times a day, and 30% of smartphone owners use their smartphones for on-the-go learning. However, much of the trainings across industries is created with the expectation that it will be viewed on a desktop or television. Hoteliers know that hospitality employees spend very little time sedentary, and nearly all their time helping customers and ensuring smooth operations. To accommodate the on-the-go nature of these jobs, hoteliers must consider incorporating mobile-based options that new hires can bring with them anywhere they are.
Whether it is the bus ride to work or the short walk from the elevator to a room, mobile-based, short-form training will ensure that new hires can access information anytime they need it, and can spend more time in the field, rather than behind a desktop or television. In fact, there are studies that show measurable benefits to mobile learning, including a 43% productivity when learning from a mobile device, and many leaders reporting a 55% increase in their business after embracing mobile learning.
Utilize Instant Feedback
Just as customer feedback is critical to ensuring the improvement of any business, instant feedback when training new hires is critical to ensuring effective learning. In fact, 65% of employees across industries want more feedback on their performance, and though feedback can come in many different shapes and sizes, implementing instant feedback loops in your training processes is what will commit learning material to longer-term memory for new hires.
In short, instant feedback loops are the delivery of feedback in a timely and relevant moment so that learners can act on the correct information in real time. Correcting mistakes or reinforcing answers in the flow of learning helps new hires on three fronts - to make learning autonomous, self-directed, and to better embed received information, all of which results in a more effective, and more efficient method of training for hoteliers and their new – or even existing – hires.
Hoteliers know that the hospitality industry’s attrition rates mean that with any new hire comes the risk that the investment into onboarding and training will be all for naught. However, by focusing on modernizing training solutions to fit with the attention span, need for flexibility, and need for instant feedback of the modern workforce, hoteliers will not only see a decrease in the coming and going of employees, but a measured difference in the productivity of its employees from day one.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 2005, Jacob Waern began his career with European media company Modern Times Group, quickly rising to CEO of one of its larger subsidiaries where he scaled the company’s profitability. Since then, Waern has cemented his mark in the world of technology, as a co-founder of Rocket Internet – a company starting and scaling global internet and tech companies – and was the Director of Digital Ventures at international telecommunications and media company Millicom.
During his time at Millicom, the idea for eduMe was born out of his collective experiences observing the difficulties in training globally dispersed deskless teams. As Founder and CEO of eduMe, Waern oversees the company’s mission to provide the deskless workforce with seamless access to relevant knowledge, enabling people to be successful at work. For more information, visit https://edume.com/.