Just like any other industry, the hospitality industry is also experiencing the influence of digitization as several businesses in this industry are – taking a huge leap towards transforming their business model. On the cusp of digitization, the hospitality industry is adopting a smart approach to operate businesses in a more organized manner. They are upgrading every process with innovative technology that boosts the organization’s performance and delivers better customer service. HR being the mainstay of the businesses is also witnessing a major shift in their approach. As per one of the research, digitization of HR gives more transparency in the system. It helps HR professionals to think beyond employee relations, policies, and procedures.
In their journey towards digitization, the HRMS system can be a useful tool to offload HR work and free them to work more closely to enhance employee engagement. It allows them to collaborate with employees at a higher level to achieve company-wide goals. However, experts believe there are also other technologies that can play a significant role in optimizing the industry’s growth.
In this article, we will discuss some core challenges of the hospitality industry and how the digitization of HR can help overcome these obstacles.
What Are the Common HR Challenges In the Hospitality Industry?
High attrition: High attrition rate and staff shortage have always been issues with the hospitality industry. There are many reasons for the high attrition, including unclear job expectations, lack of training, inability to cope with a high-pressure work environment, irregular job timing, minimal growth opportunity, part-time work contract, etc.
Lack of talent management and retention plan: Unfortunately, many businesses in the hospitality sector lack proper talent management and retention plan, and this is seen specifically in small-sized businesses. They also lack employee welfare plans or employee protection plans. These are some bottlenecks that the hospitality industry overlooks while hiring and retaining candidates.
Hiring costs: Since the attrition rate in the hospitality industry is high, the costs of hiring are also more. HR staff finds themselves continuously engaged in hiring and training employees. It consumes an ample amount of time and money behind hiring.
Globalization: The hospitality industry has moved from local to global due to the digitization of businesses. Different countries have different regulatory requirements, and HR managers have to meet all those requirements. It is a whole new kind of challenge for HR managers to stay vigilant on various regulatory compliances and keep updating their policies on a regular basis.
Documentation: The HR department involves a lot of documentation, and managing them is a daunting task. Misplacing any document can drastically affect or slow down HR processes.
How Can HR software Help the Hospitality Sector to Perform Better?
Fast hiring: Since the employees’ turnover is high in the hospitality sector, they should stay connected to the vast resources to fill the vacancies immediately. The HR software not only maintains the record of the past employees but also gives access to the library of talented employees by integrating with some of the best job portals.
Chatbots: Many HRMS systems are interlaced with chatbots. Travel brands, hoteliers, and restaurant owners can use chatbots for staff recruitment, other than communicating with the clients’ chatbots can be used to answer employees’ FAQs or guide them to the interview process. It saves costs and time on screening and hiring candidates.
Regulatory compliance: The hospitality industry has to follow regulatory compliance related to workplace safety. If there is any negligence in meeting the regulatory compliance, it can bring huge losses to the organizations. HRMS or human resource management systems can be a valuable tool in notifying organizations about workplace safety compliances and alerting them about any recent updates in it.
Limited financial resources: Some hotels are reluctant to adopt HR software due to their financial constraints, especially small hotels managing a handful of employees. But regardless of their size, the tasks of managing human resources remain almost the same as large enterprises, like training employees, recruiting employees, meeting compliances, etc., but with HR software, they can simplify their HR process without spending much. Small hotels can take advantage of free and open-source human resource software tools without worrying about the software costs.
Comprehensive training: Training is a critical part of the hospitality industry; a well-trained employee can bond better with the guests. He can easily tackle a situation that leads to a poor guest experience or a situation that has gone out of control. HR software can give detailed information about the employees’ skill gap, and based on which the organization can enroll employees for the training programs.
Data analytics: Digitization of human resources has enabled the hospitality industry to sneak into some unchartered territory of employees’ work styles. They can note important information about the employee interaction with guests or their engagement level in the job. Whether it is delivering the best guest experience or enhancing staff efficiency, data makes all sense. It can be helpful to evaluate the performance of each employee, and the possible obstacles they can encounter while performing their tasks. Based on all this information, HR professionals can streamline their workforce.
Tracking work hours: In the hospitality industry, employers need to manage shifts for both full-time and part-time workers. Without the right HR software, it would be difficult to track the employees’ work hours and process their payroll without any error.
Conclusion
The hospitality industry has become proactive in the last decade and implemented various strategies to fine-tune business processes, including human resources. However, the wave of digitization has further fast-paced this process, and they are equipping HR leaders with the technologies that help them connect better with the employees and keep them aligned with the business goals. Technology such as the HRMS system gives them actionable insights about the employees and allows them to deal with core issues such as employee retention, engagement, and performance. It further fosters a culture of mutual growth and long-term partnership. If your hospitality business wants to leverage the benefits of the digital landscape to better manage the workforce, then invest in the best HR tech.
