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Retention and progression

It was identified in a 2020 diversity report that BAME board representation in the sector stood at around 6.4% at the time of data collection. Engagement and recruitment strategies need to be met with appropriate retention and progression processes. Working to eradicate barriers for those from underrepresented backgrounds can increase job satisfaction, morale and overall performance across your organisation. This section of the toolkit offers solutions to the challenges presented throughout, highlighting successful approaches to minimising staff turnover.

Organise regular check-ins with employees relating to wellbeing and personal development, ask if they have any ‘reasonable adjustment’ requirements

A fast-moving sector such as hospitality can take a toll on the mental health of its workforce. This is particularly exacerbated where staff regularly engage in long shifts, where all-day customer engagement is required, or where unsociable hours are frequently worked. It is important to check in with your employees on a regular basis to understand their experiences and support their wellbeing.

These discussions are also useful to explore career development opportunities. An individual development plan (IDP) is a tool to help employees progress in their employment. Its primary purpose is to help employees reach short and long-term career goals, and improve current job performance. Developing an IDP can help empower employees to carve out a bespoke career path for themselves. This helpful resource contains an IDP template which you can adapt for your organisation. Including EDI-focused metrics in your line managers’ IDPs is also a way of creating accountability for EDI at different levels in the organisation.

Reasonable adjustments ensure your organisation is inclusive, by meeting employees’ specific needs. This may involve adapting processes, procedures or the physical work environment to mitigate against any potential disadvantage. Reasonable adjustments are a legal requirement when it comes to disability but employees do not always feel confident raising this themselves. By asking if your employees require anything, such as reasonable adjustments to allow them to perform their best work for you, employers can signal that they are pro-actively supporting their employees and looking to build a more open and inclusive workplace culture. 

  • Pilot Light is a campaign committed to raising awareness of mental health issues and support in the hospitality sector.
  • The Burnt Chef Project
  • Healthy Hospo is a not-for-profit organisation providing training, workshops and strategic support in order to drive a happier hospitality sector.
  • Me, Myself in Mind provide therapy, workshops and group facilitation for those working in the sector, seeking to promote an understanding of stress-reduction techniques and self-awareness.
  • Hospitality Action has created a bespoke Employee Assistance Programme care package.
  • Kelly’s Cause has Mental Health First Aid training and mental health support for hospitality workers.
  • Hotel Chocolat invested in training 30 Mental Health First Aiders across the business to support staff with their mental health.
  • Marriott’s TakeCare Programme was set up in 2010 to support employees with their wellbeing.

Support staff to upskill and progress in the organisation, with targeted support for underrepresented groups

Supporting the continuous development of your staff has numerous benefits, including improved staff morale, greater retention, a higher-skilled workforce and greater productivity. Supporting your staff to upskill or change roles can start with small gestures. Allow time to understand the ambitions and intentions of your workforce through regular check-ins. Consider inviting your suppliers in to teach your employees more about the products your clients use, or the drinks or foods you sell.  Implementing job rotations can also help employees to explore different career options without leaving your organisation, while also giving them an opportunity to better understand how your business operates.  For smaller organisations, your actions can be as simple as providing people with the time or support to pursue courses that will help them reach their desired position, or where necessary, providing employees with a chance to improve their English. Staff are more likely to stay when they feel valued - showing your commitment to their development is an integral part of building  a mutually beneficial relationship.

You can read more about creating a strategy to attract and retain diverse talent, such as using minority-focused recruiters for senior positions in the Engagement and recruitment section.

Rocco Forte Hotels launched the Map My Future App - an app where staff can access progression opportunities and training materials.

Providing staff with access to training opportunities, which create opportunities for progression, is likely to improve their perceptions of the longevity of their career with you. Employers in the sector spoke of the cycle they face when it comes to training: many staff leave after relatively short periods of time due to lack of training and investment in their career progression. This situation also makes it difficult for employers to weigh up the costs versus benefits of investing in staff training. 
Here are some ways to incorporate training in a manner that would target career progression:

  • Run targeted programs for career progression (involving internal training) to ensure that staff are able to obtain training which is relevant to their own progression without having to seek this out externally.
  • Create clear and transparent competency frameworks and job requirements so that staff are aware what training they may need in order to progress.
  • Design job roles with clear progression routes and flexibility in mind so that staff are able to obtain a more senior internal role without having to seek out external opportunities for experience.
  • Offer opportunities for staff to understand what senior roles are available internally and what these roles entail (for example via placements or internal networking events) so that staff are able to obtain an understanding of whether they might be interested in a more senior role.

The transient nature of the hospitality sector means employers may wish to approach training provision differently, but it does not have to mean that it is abandoned altogether. For instance, consider using a third party to train your employees - this can be a lower-cost way to manage upskilling and is likely to yield better results as you will benefit from the knowledge and skills of training experts.

  • Flow Learning has created training modules specifically for the nuances of working in the food service sector to help staff offer the best service and get the most out of the business.
  • Hospitalify created The Hostmanship Certificate to help workers in hospitality demonstrate to current or future employers that they have the necessary basic knowledge and skills of hospitality.
  • Consider also the training workshops run by Electric Mayonnaise which has an accredited outreach programme training people for people who are out of work.
  • The School of Business London offers an online IBT Level 5 Diploma in Tourism and Hospitality Management aimed at developing additional knowledge and skills for learners who are hoping to change their career path by seeking entry into the tourism and hospitality sector.
  • Open Study College offers an online course to achieve an Ofqual regulated Level 4 and 5 Diploma in Hotel and Hospitality. 
  • West School London arms learners with specialist skills, knowledge and recognition as an expert in the field of wines. The course looks to not only develop advanced product knowledge but also to develop research and analysis abilities.

A simple yet effective way to drive further retention and progression is to extend an offer to your temporary staff to become permanent team members. This is unlikely to be a formal offer until they have satisfied certain criteria, but simply acknowledging the possibility of permanent employment may increase productivity, commitment and also foster a greater sense of belonging.

It is also fair to say you may not have enough positions to make all temporary staff permanent. But creating this opportunity may work to reduce the perception of instability and insecurity that our research found to be a key barrier for some individuals in the Priority Groups who are not currently working in the sector.

Publish your organisation’s pay scales internally and externally

Publishing pay scales internally and externally has a number of advantages. Where pay scales are transparent they can be an excellent motivator for current employees as they provide clarity on the benefits of career progression. Jobs in hospitality are often regarded as a temporary stop-gap - one powerful way to combat that is to show what career paths are available (including their respective earning potential) and that your organisation is invested in supporting people who want to progress. 

In varying sectors, pay transparency has been shown to have positive impacts on employees’ perceptions of trust and fairness, as well productivity and job satisfaction. Publishing this information externally has the potential to attract new recruits (if your pay scales are above competitors), demonstrates compliance with equal pay legislation, and if enough companies publish pay scales it could start to shift negative perceptions of the sector. For micro-enterprises, salary ranges should be provided on job advertisements and shared internally where possible.

Raise awareness amongst groups underrepresented in senior positions of the various career paths available in hospitality, and any relevant support

Our research identified a need for greater awareness of the breadth of roles available in the sector to attract a broader range of candidates, especially from the Priority Groups. The perception of anti-social hours and unstable work can be off-putting for many, especially those with caring responsibilities. For example, working in hospitality settings may often be seen as an unsuitable career choice for women from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds (although this is not true in every instance). These findings emphasise the need for the sector to broaden the understanding of roles available, including office-based and senior-level positions. 

People 1st International has created a career mapping tool, which you can use to generate a bespoke visualisation of what career progression looks like in your organisation.

UKHospitality  has published a hospitality guide for recruiting individuals over the age of 50, with practical advice on how organisations can integrate and retain the 50+ workforce.

At the other end of the age-spectrum, Hospitality Rising is a collaborative movement with support from over 300 brands that has developed the #risefastworkyoung campaign - an innovative marketing campaign to attract new talent to the hospitality sector and shine a light on employers focused on employee experience. Within 6 months of the campaign the site had received over 10,000 job applications and reached over 5.5m of the UK’s 16 to 30-year-olds, equal to half this demographic

Set up mentoring arrangements for employees from underrepresented groups

Mentoring is one of the most effective strategies for fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace and can help bridge the gap between where employees are currently in their career and where they want to be.

  • Elevate is a free mentoring programme aimed at those working in the events industry; it is open to those just starting out, managers, business owners and freelancers alike.   
  • Otolo is a free mentoring programme open to anyone working in the hospitality industry. It can be set up to run internally within your business.
  • Sodexo's ‘My Culture and Me Campaign’ is a mentoring programme for employees from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background.
  • Balance the Board, organised in partnership with UKHospitality, Odgers Berndtson, BT Sport and Elliotts aims to encourage greater diversity at board level through mentoring for women.
  • Master Innholders MI Mentor is a one-year mentoring programme for young leaders seeking career progression in hospitality.