3 Key Challenges in Hospitality Recruitment (and How to Tackle Them)

Kristina Martic
HR Blog & Resources
3 min readSep 14, 2018

Learn how to tackle 3 key challenges in hospitality recruitment!

Changes in hospitality recruitment

Hospitality recruitment is a term used for finding and hiring the right job candidates for businesses such as hotels, resorts, casinos, bars and restaurants.
Hospitality recruitment has been affected with many changes lately. As a result, HR professionals and recruiters face many challenges when it comes to recruiting hospitality professionals.

3 key challenges in hospitality recruitment (and how to tackle them)

There are the 3 key challenges in hospitality recruitment:

Hospitality recruitment challenge #1: Finding candidates

A recent report by hospitality skills and workforce development charity People 1st estimated that the sector still needs 993,000 staff by 2022, with 870,000 needed to replace existing staff.

As a result, according to new research conducted by The Caterer, an overwhelming majority of hospitality employers find recruiting harder than ever! 😲

Nearly 82% said it was harder than at any time in the past to recruit suitable staff.

How to tackle this challenge?

Start using effective candidate sourcing methods. According to a study by British catering supplier Nisbets, more than a third of hospitality employees find jobs not on job boards but through word of mouth. You can utilite this fact by setting up an effective employee referral program!

Hospitality recruitment challenge #2: Attracting candidates

Working in hospitality industry is often stereotyped as low-wage and entry-level with little opportunity for career advancement. In some cultures, hotel or a restaurant jobs are considered to be inferior, poorly paid positions associated with servitude.

How to tackle this challenge?

You need to build a great Employer brand and manage your reputation to become an employer of choice. Learn how to build a strong employer branding strategy in 5 easy steps! And don’t forget to use social media to promote your employer brand in the best possible way.

Hospitality recruitment challenge #3: High turnover rate

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of turnover in hospitality industry is 2 to 3 times the rate of all other industries. Estimates of average annual employee turnover range from around 60 to 300 percent, according to research conducted by the American Hotel and Motel Association.

Hospitality employees leave an organization for many reasons, but the main reason is the quality of the selection process.

How to tackle this challenge?

The hiring processes must ensure that the candidate would fit in well in the company culture, as well as be suited for hospitality as a profession! In other words, you need to hire the best talent by finding the perfect fit. You will do that by using cultural fit interview questions.

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