Attracting hospitality staff in Banbury and Oxfordshire

How to attract Chefs and hospitality staff in Oxfordshire in 2017

If you are a hospitality or catering employer then you will be well aware of the current lack of chefs and hospitality staff in the industry in 2017.

Mark Higgs long time hospitality expert and current landlord of the Castle pub in Edgehill and Gionis Profka of Mayday Employment Ltd have got together to discuss the issue and to provide some helpful advice to local employers.

 

 

Why are people put off hospitality jobs?

 

Mark Higgs explains that there is sometimes a misconception that all hospitality positions only offer unsociable hours and that this is unique to the hospitality industry. However Mark suggests that if you look at other industries such as manufacturing, the NHS, aviation and the Armed Forces, that shifts, weekend and unsociable hours is not  uncommon. The fact of the matter is that the society we live in today now demands almost 24/7 operation in order to meet the expectations of the modern consumer. This has meant that where once shift work was a rare occurrence, more and more nowadays, other industries are requiring their staff to work longer hours, sometimes over weekends and will also require staff to work unsociable hours. With this in mind, the traditional working pattern in the hospitality industry is now becoming the norm in other industries for the first time.

 

Mark Higgs advice for hospitality employers in Oxfordshire

 

The hospitality needs to take responsibility for it’s own reputation

 

As a hospitality employer himself, Mark has always tried to take some responsibility for his industry and suggests that all employers can do a lot to make hospitality vacancies more appealing. Mark goes on to say “It is important that employers make their staff feel valued and demonstrate to them that they appreciate the hours they work.  Also even within the structure of a fixed shift pattern, it is still sometimes possible to build in some flexible working to meet the needs of staff trying to balance their personal lives against the needs of their employer.”

Mark explains that one key point that employers should always consider, is that when staff feel that they have stopped developing and learning new skills, it is at that point that they are more likely to look for work elsewhere. So one thing that employers can do, is to offer continuous professional development to staff within their roles, which will inevitably lead to better staff retention.

 

Mark Higgs and Gionis Profka's advice for hospitality employers in Oxfordshire

 

Happy staff mean a productive business

 

One thing that Mark always sets out to achieve with his staff is making them feel part of his business, whether that’s a small local pub or large busy restaurant, because if staff feel part of the journey they are more likely to remain invested in the business and will want to continue on that journey for as long as possible. Some ways that employers can do that, is by sharing the direction of the business with staff, sharing business objectives with staff and incentivising staff that help to achieve them. Mark also believes that an employer must always remain open to ideas from staff on how to improve the business, because the moment you show a lack of interest in staff ideas then staff will show a lack of interest in bring forward their ideas.

Mark believes that by adopting the above and by clearly communicating this to chefs and hospitality staff, that the right staff will show an interest and come forward.

If you are a hospitality or catering employer in Oxfordshire and would like to benefit from the advice of Mark Higgs then please contact Gionis Profka at Mayday Employment Ltd on 01295 266 288 or email gionis@maydayemployment.co.uk.  Mark is Mayday’s hospitality Consultant and works closely with Mayday to source and secure the best hospitality staff in Oxfordshire.

Mayday has partnered up with a digital marketing agency in order to utilize the latest techniques in digital recruitment, for more information please visit our digital recruitment page.

 

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