Working in the hotel industry is challenging, but also very rewarding. It’s a great place for gaining diverse professional experiences and developing a long-lasting career.
While every independent hotel team member will not advance into a leadership role, it is still extremely important for operators to make great hires and then retain top talent across all functional areas. Keeping high-achieving employees is vital for operational stability and performance, so hoteliers must develop a structure and culture that keeps team members engaged and motivated over the long-term.
To help achieve this, here are 3 strategies every independent hotel operator should use to retain their most talented team members:
Explore and Establish Professional Goals
Each team member has his or her own set of professional goals and career aspirations. While one team member may dream of managing a hotel, another may be comfortable with mastering the challenges of the front desk. Both team members provide great value for an independent hotel, so it’s important for managers to explore and understand the career path each team member would like to follow. Establishing and regularly reviewing professional goals keeps operators in-tune with how their team members feel about their careers and knowledgeable of how to best leverage their talents for success.
Continuous Training
After learning more about team member goals, it’s the responsibility of hotel leadership to provide training opportunities that will nurture their growth and development. Whether it’s in-house cross-functional rotations or bringing in outside hotel operations experts, independent hoteliers should challenge their employees to enhance their current skills and develop new core competencies. In addition to keeping team members engaged and motivated in their current positions, providing training opportunities will help identify those who are ready to move into new roles and take on more responsibilities.
Recognize and Reward
Recognizing and rewarding team members for a job well done is a key technique for keeping them interested and excited to come to work day-in and day-out. Establishing recognition programs, such as Employee of the Month and Annual Performance Awards, and providing merit-based rewards, like pay increases, additional vacation time and valuable prizes, shows that independent hotel managers value the hard work team members contribute daily to ensure the guest experience is exceptional and the hotel remains on-track for long-term success.
