Rethinking the Role of Retention in Hospitality Recruitment Strategies
Discover why effective retention is so important for hospitality businesses and how it should be a priority over recruitment. Learn secrets from Matt Cameron.

Retention is often overlooked when it comes to recruitment strategies, yet the cost of retention through engagement and other strategies can be far less than the costs associated with replacing employees down the line.

Furthermore, high turnover rates lead to a decrease in productivity and morale among remaining staff members. This makes retention an important factor for any organization wanting long-term success and stability.

In this article, we will look at how businesses can rethink their recruitment strategies by focusing on retention alongside recruitment efforts in order to achieve greater success and better profits.

Recruitment vs Retention

Retention and recruitment are two distinct concepts that have a direct impact on the success of any hospitality business. Recruitment is focused on finding new employees to fill roles, while retention is about keeping existing employees in their roles and creating an environment where they can grow and develop.

Retention looks beyond just filling positions with qualified individuals; it also involves creating a sense of job security, providing opportunities for advancement within the company, recognizing accomplishments, fostering positive relationships between management and staff, and promoting long-term career growth.

By focusing on retention as well as recruitment strategies, hospitality businesses can ensure greater long-term success by avoiding the never-ending cycle of hiring new people to replace those who leave due to lack of engagement or satisfaction.

Why retention is so important – the figures.

Retention rates are an overlooked but crucial indicator of the health of any company.

A recent Gallup survey suggests that retention is directly linked to business performance; companies with retention rates above 90% have 3.5 times better profits than those with retention rates below 50%. Additionally, retaining employees results in significantly lower costs as it eliminates the need for constantly hiring and training new people.

According to the Bureau of National Affairs, it costs six to nine months’ salary to replace a mid-level employee, while the cost of retention through engagement and retention strategies is shown to be far less.

Furthermore, the Society for Human Resource Management found that turnover can lead to a loss of up to 20% of an organization’s productivity due to decreased efficiency and morale among remaining staff members. This makes retention extremely important for any organization wanting long-term success and stability.

How to rethink retention in your recruitment strategy

When it comes to recruitment strategies, retention should be given equal importance if they want to avoid the never-ending cycle of hiring new people. By focusing on retention alongside recruitment, companies can create an environment where employees feel secure and valued, leading to higher retention rates which result in greater profits and more stability.

The recruitment process is merely the beginning of an employee’s journey with a company. Once a new hire has been accepted into the role, retention strategies must also be implemented in order to ensure long-term retention and success.

This includes developing well-defined onboarding processes that don’t just cover procedure but also helps to build relationships between management and staff, outlines opportunities for skill development and career growth, and creates a culture of positivity and trust within the workplace.

Retention as a proactive strategy

Retention should be a proactive, consistent strategy rather than simply being thought of as a way to put out fires once the problems have already begun.

Companies should strive to create an environment where employees feel engaged and valued long before retention issues arise. This can be done through regular check-ins, open communication channels between management and staff, offering competitive wages and benefits, recognizing accomplishments, offering career growth opportunities, and providing training to help employees develop their skills.

Organizations should also focus on retention from the moment a new hire walks in the door. Having well-defined onboarding processes that focus on building relationships between management and staff can help ensure retention from the very beginning.

In short, retention should never be treated as an afterthought but instead viewed as an integral part of business success. Companies must make retention a priority in order to ensure long-term success and stability by avoiding the costly process of constantly hiring new people to replace those who leave due to a lack of engagement or satisfaction. By investing time and resources into retention strategies alongside recruitment efforts, businesses can ensure greater retention rates which will lead to better profits and more sustainable growth.

With the shortage of talent across the country, companies must focus on the retention and development of their existing employees if they want to stay ahead. In short, retention should never be treated as an afterthought but instead viewed as a proactive and crucial part of business success for any hospitality company wanting long-term stability.

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