COVER STORY

Help wanted!

As the industry caters for one of its busiest summers in recent memory, a chronic staff shortage is proving to be a strain on many businesses’ resources.

One of the biggest challenges that the tourism and hospitality sector in Devon and Cornwall has been facing postlockdown has been recruitment.

With personal battles of increased living and operating costs and working even longer hours to fill staffing gaps in the business, the ongoing struggle of the industry trying to find its feet has been nothing short of relentless. The problem of being able to hire sufficient staff has been so bad that many establishments have had to remain closed for part of the week.

VisitDevon director, Sally Everton, says it is “a huge challenge” and that there are numerous reasons for it.

“People have been on furlough and had a lifestyle change,” she says. “Within the European market, a number of folk went home while they were being paid 80% furlough - and rather than return home, they have resigned. That’s caused a number of problems.” And she says many British workers have had a rethink during furlough, reluctant to change jobs in case there is another lockdown and they wouldn’t qualify for furlough. “It’s not just restaurants and pubs who are struggling to recruit,” she says. “It’s also a problem all across the holiday attractions and hotel industry. Many of our members are only able to open for the latter part of the week because they just don’t have enough staff. Hotels are particularly struggling across the board.” “Without doubt, one of the most challenging recruitment periods I have ever experienced,” is the summation of Joe Healey, MD of trading at Healeys Cyder Farm. And while it has undoubtedly been an issue for some businesses in the sector, Joe isn’t himself pointing the finger at Brexit.

“Historically, I don’t believe we at Healeys have ever employed ‘non-UK’ workers in our hospitality, so Brexit feels less an issue for us,” he says. “For me, it feels like a combination of Furlough removing potential candidates from the market, but also a reflection of the poor perception people have on working in the hospitality industry. Low wages, anti-social shifts, ‘hard work’. Collectively, the industry needs

One of the most challenging recruitment periods I have ever experienced

to club together to help change this perception.” To tackle this, Joe says Healeys has been “moving with the times” ensuring it is an attractive proposition to work for. “In an employees’ market, you have to adapt the offering to entice the best – after all, these are the people that will be talking directly with our customers. For our permanent staff, constant benchmarking and increasing salaries, amending contracts to give more stability, identifying external training courses that really tick peoples’ passions – even if it doesn’t directly link to the ‘day job’. But most importantly, says Joe, it’s got to be fun.

“People have to enjoy coming to work,” he says. “They have to want to get their name mentioned on trip advisor and to enjoy working with their colleagues. So, summer BBQs, after work drinks, we’re even dabbling with the idea of an outdoor cinema in the courtyard.” Michael Rabone, head of HR at the Rick Stein Group, says the recruitment crisis is down to a number of factors.

He tells us: “The combination of extended periods of closure, coupled with a number of recent challenges - such as many businesses reopening at the same time, reports of substantial volumes of leavers from the sector, the impact of Brexit and high levels of employment - have contributed As the hospitality sector experiences chronic staff shortages, Sue Hook - founder and head of client development at Sapience HR - offers some useful advice for businesses on attracting recruits. Now that most hospitality businesses are operational once more, there has been a frenzied call for staff across the sector. However, the pool of potential recruits seems to have all but dried up. There are reports that wages are rising rapidly in the sector nationwide as companies vie for recruits. However, for many businesses simply increasing pay isn’t always possible - especially where seasonality is a big factor. So, what can businesses do to recruit more effectively and make their offer stand out from the crowd? Here are some tips from the Sapience HR team.

Shake up your recruitment procedures

• Focus on personality profiles rather than experience.

Job descriptions should emphasise things like strong communication skills and being a team player. • Streamline recruitment and harvest every lead. • Consider who you’re targeting and how to reach them creatively. • Consider merging or splitting roles and make it clear that you’re open to job shares or part-time working. Perhaps clever recruitment could help you attract a chef who also wants to pursue food photography, or a housekeeper who wants to learn the ropes of HR? • Always treat candidates with respect and communicate effectively throughout the process.

Stand out from the crowd

• Normalising flexible working, part-time hours, and the four-day week helps businesses retain more experienced staff with families to consider. • In addition to fair remuneration, use the other tools in your armoury such as employee discounts, a free meal or overnight stay etc. • Consider bonuses for recommending friends who successfully join the team. • While tips should never be used as a substitute for fair remuneration, having a transparent and equal tips system could give your business the edge. • Make it clear that you’re an employer who is willing to invest in training and development. • Work place culture is not something you can change overnight, but if you’ve created a great working environment be sure to shout about it! • You might not think that corporate and social responsibility is top of everyone’s list when job searching, but you’d be surprised.

sapiencehr.co.uk

to highly competitive recruitment conditions that are far from ideal for hospitality employers who have recently reopened to peak levels of demand.

“Having reflected on our reopening experience after the first lockdown, we made the decision to commence recruitment whilst our business was largely closed at the start of the year, with a desire to attract talented local people of all backgrounds. skills and ages. “We’ve since been fortunate to welcome nearly 300 new recruits to our now 700-strong team and with it quickly becoming apparent that business levels would be beyond our expectations following our recent reopening, we’ve identified that we’ll need another 60-70 recruits to join us in the next month or so to ensure we can continue to deliver outstanding service to all of our customers.”

Echoing what Joe Healey said earlier, Michael says it’s important that the employer makes itself an attractive proposition for the employee. “We recognise the importance of challenging ourselves to ensure we are considered by potential recruits as a best company to work for; we do not see our sector challenges changing in the foreseeable future and daily conversations about creative ideas and opportunities to improve will continue until we achieve our goal.” Emma Stratton, director of Red Hotels (The Scar (The Scarlet & Bedruthan Hotel & Spa), expands further. As well as Brexit, pandemic, furlough, you can also chuck the cost of accommodation into the mix.

“There are a number of contributing factors we are facing with recruitment currently,” she says. “Firstly, it’s not making living in places like Cornwall very easy for local people with the severe lack of affordable rental accommodation coupled the impact of the pandemic and Brexit, making returning to the UK for work more challenging. “We’ve had people who’ve accepted employment offers with us and then haven’t been able to find accommodation and have had to turn the job down. We’re lucky in that we have quite a lot of team accommodation so we’re able to offer rooms to key people, but many businesses just don’t have that.

“But secondly is that hospitality has traditionally been a low paying sector. Employee hardship is not seasonal, the impact is longer term and we believe

It’s got to be fun. People have to enjoy coming to work

paying well should be the foundation of our business not a short-term fix to the current challenges faced in recruitment by the hospitality industry.” The education providers obviously have a key role to play in the crisis, working with businesses of all sizes in a number of ways to ensure ongoing support and promotion of the industry. Truro & Penwith College, for instance, reports the majority of apprenticeships through the college are now paying competitive rates (some with completion bonuses for successful candidates) with the chance for businesses to receive incentive payments for taking on apprentices. “The college has worked especially hard over the last two-years to ensure businesses are fully-supported in all aspects throughout closures and the staffing crisis,” says Niki Thomas, ESF project coordinator at the college’s Hospitality Table Cornwall programme. “Alongside multiple ESF part-funded projects, Hospitality Table Cornwall has been working with employers to create fully-funded courses and furlough packages for Cornish businesses. These courses have covered a range of areas for staff of all levels to access to keep motivated and to provide employees with industry-relevant, transferable skills.

“As tourism gets busier during the summer months in the south west, it’s vital that not only do we do our bit to support staff and employers through a challenging time, but that those visiting support the local industry, finding its feet after the most difficult time it’s ever had to face.”

It’s important that the employer makes itself an attractive proposition for the employee

UKHospitality has unveiled a 12-point plan to tackle the staffing crisis facing the hospitality industry. The plan focuses on short-term solutions but also looks at some medium- and long-term actions, outlining what employers can do and how the Government can support these efforts. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Hospitality offers a wonderfully diverse range of roles and exciting careers and is a stable employer for millions of people across the UK. However, it’s clear that we need to attract new people to our sector and highlight the benefits of a job or career in hospitality. Prior to the pandemic, we employed 3.2 million people and were the third-largest private sector employer in the UK. By working closely with Government on implementing this plan, the sector can restore confidence and bounce back even stronger.” The plan includes:

Short-term

1 Government to commit as early as possible to remove all restrictions and restore confidence in working in the sector. 2 Government – central and local – and industry to highlight the looming deadline for Settled Status applications and reassure workers overseas that they can return. 3 Industry to work closely with DWP and others to promote jobs and careers in the sector, with Government ministers talking up the sector at every opportunity. 4 Industry to engage with secondary schools, colleges and universities to encourage their students into the sector when term finishes.

5 Industry will continue to work in collaboration with DWP to make sure Kickstart works to the fullest for young people and the sector.

6 The Treasury to immediately freeze the liquidation of employers’ Apprenticeship Levy funding to allow industry to invest in high-quality training. 7 UKH to facilitate additional promotion of CareerScope website. 8 Hospitality and tourism sector to launch recruitment and retention campaign.

Medium-term

9 Expedite the introduction of a catering T-level and commit to a hospitality T-level. 10 Government to amend the Shortage Occupation List and ensure that chefs and other vital roles are returned to the list, alongside a

Youth Mobility Scheme. 11 Make permanent the reduced rate of VAT and double the

Employer National Insurance Contribution threshold.

Longer-term

12 Review the impact of the new immigration system and its effect on the competitiveness and recovery of the hospitality sector and the wider economy.