Service and hospitality-based industries have fought high turnover in the wake of The Great Resignation, searching for a way to retain staff. Businesses have tried everything, but there is no instant pay off, and the resulting employee shortages have limited operating hours, contributed to employee and manager burnout, and reduced available revenues for companies nationwide.
We take a look at the labor shortage across industries to paint a picture of how bad the problem is and ways you can hire and retain staff.
Workers Are Frustrated
Workers across the country have taken advantage of pandemic disruptions to reexamine employment itself. Over the course of 2021, Pew Research found the greatest contributors to quit rates across all industries were low pay, poor development opportunities, and disrespect at work.
While the worker shortage affects just about every industry, many have the luxury of quickly replacing departed talent from a labor pool of interested candidates from lower-paying industries. Most hospitality and service businesses don’t have that luxury.
These ominous reports stem from many causes, primarily frontline COVID concerns, the industries’ traditional low pay, controversial scheduling practices, and extra unruly customers. Store-level managers have limited options when dealing with any of these factors.
It’s no irony many of these service-specific causes line up with Pew’s research of general quit rates. Finding ways to minimize toxic customer interactions is a good starting point to limit the disrespect everyone on staff hates, helping to build mutual trust between employer and employee.
Higher Pay Really Makes a Difference
It makes sense why workers are emphasizing pay more than in previous years. Inflation has sent prices soaring for everything, especially necessities such as rent, groceries, and gasoline. Much of the Great Resignation stems from a need to find employment that can cover these fast-rising costs. Aside from tipped workers who can take home instant pay checks, hourly workers are struggling to keep up with the rising tide.
Some national big-box stores have looked to address this issue directly through boosting pay and enhancing benefits. These businesses create motivated employees empowered not only to stay long-term, but also to create the best possible customer experiences.
There’s tangible data that a positive workplace culture comes from employers who invest in their employees over the long term. As businesses find more, higher-quality candidates, they are able to fill shifts and fully tend to customers’ needs without having to cut services. Companies with bought-in employees see minimal turnover and create ideal throughput.
Can’t Raise Wages? Offer Instant Pay
This is where instant pay comes in. It’s a self-explanatory offering — instead of limiting worker paydays to the traditional semi-monthly schedule, employees have opportunities to request early access to earned wages as needed.
Instant pay benefits grant employees financial flexibility especially valuable in today’s turbulent economy. With the ability to meet needs external to the job — e.g., sudden bills, inflating groceries — employees bring less stress into the workplace, and employers have a unique recruiting tool that encourages long-term retention.
For HotSchedules customers, Fuego offers instant pay services – while syncing with HotSchedules scheduling data. In addition to early paycheck withdrawals, workers with HotSchedules and Fuego can view their clocked shifts to calculate available funds and view earnings potential for upcoming shifts.
Amid today’s fight for talent, every offering you give employees provides an edge in attracting and retaining talent. Learn how Fuego can give your business an advantage in the race to overcome The Labor Shortage: https://getfuego.com/getdemo.
Featured Posts
