Staffing shortages have been a serious problem for the hospitality industry for years. According to a survey of hoteliers conducted by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, over 80% of hotels experience staffing shortages, and 87% of hotels say they’re unable to fill open positions. In addition, 26% of hotels assess their staffing shortages as so severe that it impacts the hotel’s ability to operate.
If your hotel or hospitality business is experiencing challenges maintaining proper staffing levels, partnering with a hospitality staffing agency can be an effective way to address your staffing needs. However, to get the most out of your relationship with a staffing agency, it’s important to engage with them on a regular basis. Reaching out to your staffing agency only when you have a staffing issue to address is simply slapping a band-aid on the problem rather than creating a proactive, long-term solution that will elevate the success of your business.
The more effort you put into building a strong relationship with your hospitality staffing agency, the more you’ll be able to set your business up for long-term success. Businesses that build long-term relationships with their staffing agency tend to experience benefits that improve their ability to recruit, onboard, train and retain quality employees.
The following tips will help you build a stronger relationship with your staffing agency so that you ensure your staffing needs are adequately met now and into the future.
In most instances, you’ll be paired with a dedicated recruiter from the staffing agency who will be your point of contact for all your staffing needs. Cultivating a strong relationship with this recruiter that is based on mutual respect and trust is critical to establishing a successful partnership. The best way to do this is to meet with your recruiter on a regular basis.
Setting up regular meetings – either in-person or via video meeting – is beneficial for several reasons:
It’s critical that you clearly communicate your needs to your staffing agency. This will ensure the hospitality staff they provide align with your needs and have the skills necessary to thrive. Some helpful ways to make sure the staffing agency understands how to identify the best employees to pair with your business include:
Providing these important details upfront will prevent misunderstandings and allow your staffing agency to more effectively address your needs.
Providing your staffing agency with constructive feedback on a regular basis is an important part of this open communication and will improve their understanding of your needs, making it easier to address these needs more effectively. Make sure to provide feedback on every employee the staffing agency provides:
Your staffing agency needs this continuous feedback. Both positive and negative feedback are valuable to enabling your staffing agency to better understand your needs and fine-tune their efforts in the future. This feedback is critical to building a successful long-term relationship with a staffing agency that will help your business thrive.
While providing feedback after the staffing placement has been completed is important to improving future staffing solutions, waiting until this point in the process to provide feedback won’t help address a problematic situation that may be negatively impacting your business. Not every employee provided by your staffing agency will be the right fit for your business and the culture you’ve created. When these situations arise, communicating these issues to your staffing agency right away will make it easier to address them before they negatively impact your business.
When discussing these issues and concerns with your staffing agency, be as honest and specific as possible. Clearly detail the problems you’re experiencing so that your staffing agency can understand how to best address the situation. In some instances, your staffing agency may be able to coach the employee to better understand the needs of the position and improve their performance. However, in other situations the best approach may be to find a replacement for the position. When you’ve established a long-term relationship with your staffing agency, it will be easier for them to determine the best course of action to address each specific problem that arises, allowing their staff to be more successful.
Our Xclusive Excellence™ commitment is focused on building a long-term relationship with your business based on mutual trust and respect. We understand that the staff we provide have a huge impact on the success of your business, and we always go the extra mile to ensure your specific needs are met at all times.
As part of our Xclusive Excellence™ commitment, we:
In addition, you’ll have access to employees with the diverse skill sets necessary to address all your needs. Our management team possesses decades of hospitality experience in all areas of hotel operations, including:
We can fill line level (entry/hourly and skilled level) staff, and our managers are always available to support the recruitment, placement and partnership management of the staff we supply. This provides peace of mind that your staffing needs will always be addressed properly, allowing your managers to focus their energy on other important responsibilities associated with running your business.
To learn more about how Xclusive Services can help address your staffing needs, please request a quote or call a local office for more immediate staffing needs.
