Employees are one of your most valuable assets and should be treated accordingly. Yet employee turnover is still a pervasive industry issue that’s costly and time-consuming. Did you know that according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the turnover rate in the U.S. hospitality segment rose from 66.7% in 2014 to 72.1% in 2015?
That’s an incredible challenge to overcome for owners and operators. Training costs, onboarding a new employee and getting them up to speed costs about $1,200 per employee, according to a study by ADP. So it’s no surprise hoteliers want to do as much as possible to keep their good employees happy and on the payroll.
There are generally other expenses associated with employee turnover, such as pre-departure costs, recruitment, selection, and loss of productivity. If that’s not enough, high turnover can be damaging to corporate culture, which in turn can cause more people to leave.
Problem is, even if you are great to employees, outdated technology can lead to dissatisfaction and frustration since it can result in decreased job productivity and efficiency. And that can lead to more employees quitting. A report by DHI Hiring Indicators states that once an employee leaves, it generally takes 29.2 days to find a replacement.
Out with the old
Your typical employee was most likely raised in a world surrounded by screens; computers they interact with logically and visually as part of a post Windows 95 world. Essentially, they’ve been trained for years how to interact with computers in a very specific way. But too many hotel property management systems are relics of a bygone era, requiring employees to utilize an entirely different thought process to do basic tasks.
Neither guests nor employees appreciate waiting around during the time it takes to do even the simplest tasks on older hotel management software. It can frustrate employees, make their jobs needlessly complicated, and can turn a customer touch point into a customer damage point. Guests generally do not like when hotel staff pecks away at a keyboard seemingly forever to do even the most basic tasks. Hoteliers do not want to risk anything that may disrupt the employee’s ability to do their job.
In with the new
Today, a web based property management system can completely change the front desk agent’s entire job. Visually intuitive, easy to learn and operate, a modern PMS system is a great hospitality solution. Not only may it make employees more productive and efficient, but it can also help prevent many costly mistakes.
Oh yeah, new employees probably won’t have to spend nearly as much time training either, and ongoing training which may save hours of back of house training that can be replaced by hours front of house helping guests. More productive and efficient staff means happier guests, which can increase loyalty and your ability to charge higher rates.
Spending a little bit now on a modern PMS computer system built to help hotels achieve growth, elevate operating performance, and improve the guest experience is a smarter way to unearth future opportunity.
Want to learn more about how hoteliers can save time and money while simultaneously boosting employee morale? Sign up for the Employee Turnover Webinar. Learn from a panel of hospitality experts and get answers to your Employee Turnover questions. Reserve your spot today.
Stop wasting more time than necessary training employees
Did you know that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employee turnover rate for the hospitality industry was 6.3% in May and 6.0% in June? And replacing employees is costly and time consuming. According to a study from the Center for American Progress, the typical cost of turnover for positions earning less than $30,000 is 16% of an employee’s annual salary. It’s even higher for those earning more than $30,000.
“We could train someone within less than 3 to 5 days verses that of 2 weeks,” explained SkyTouch customer Greg Posmantur, CEO and Managing Partner, JYI Hospitality. “Training times are generally cut in half, which is money to hoteliers. It’s such an easy to use system. Makes sense. It flows, it’s fluid.”
Posmantur is seeing success because SkyTouch Hotel OS features a simple and intuitive user interface enabling front desk agents to learn the system, and be productive quickly. This ease of use can reduce training expense for new hires while eliminating distractions for the GM needing to spend countless hours supporting new staff on the PMS.
And because of generally high industry turnover rates, it’s likely every hotel will be training multiple people throughout the year. That means you can potentially save money, having the ability to dedicate management resources elsewhere, or a combination of both.
So how can you tell if you’re paying more than necessary to train employees? Sign up for the Employee Turnover Webinar. Join a group of insightful hotel industry professionals on Wednesday, October 19 for an informative and engaging webinar. We’ll be exploring how hoteliers can save time and money while simultaneously boosting employee morale. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask these experts questions you need answers to.
The webinar is hosted by the industry’s ultimate insider Glenn Haussman, who serves as Editor at Large with Hotel Management and hosts the popular No Vacancy travel industry podcast and features Michael J. Tews, Ph.D., associate professor at the Penn State University School of Hospitality Management.
Learn how you can make current employees happier, and keep them longer by giving them the right tools, such as a cloud based hotel property management system. Reserve your spot today.
