By Giles Fuchs, Owner of Burgh Island Hotel (www.burghisland.com)
The hospitality sector is looking for ways to return to pre-pandemic staffing levels: vacancies in the UK are 50% higher than they were before Covid-19, with over 118,000 unfilled roles. This is a significant challenge for the industry that it cannot afford to leave unaddressed.
In this effort, drawing on underutilised demographics as a source of new recruits will be crucial. Elderly and neurodivergent workers have the power to fill many of the sector’s shortages and have the skillsets to make a powerful contribution to hotels, bars, restaurants, and caterers.
Drawing on their talents, though, will require a change in company culture and working practices in the hospitality sector, such as more inclusive hiring practices, flexibility on hours, and, more generally, a greater emphasis on employee wellbeing, as we do at Burgh Island.
Older workers can make a valuable contribution
One major source of new talent for the hospitality sector to draw on will be older workers. To a large extent this is already happening. More than 165,000 workers aged over the age of 50 have entered the hospitality sector over the last three years – according to the Office for National Statistics. Indeed, hospitality is now the number one sector of choice for older workers, who now make up nearly a third of its workers.
It isn’t hard to see why. Older workers can bring experience, well-developed interpersonal skills, and personal equanimity to these often-hectic working environments. In addition, larger disposable incomes means that the hospitality sector’s customers will be disproportionately older; these clients will often appreciate interacting with a waiter, concierge, or bartender of a similar age. Older workers also set an example for younger colleagues and are thus a valuable asset in training up new staff.
To draw fully on the potential of older workers as a source of recruits, the hospitality sector should adapt its hiring process and workplace practices. There is still a misinformed assumption among business leaders that older workers will be less productive and will only stay in the role for a brief period. Needless to say, this is an outdated view: belied by the greater and greater contribution that seniors are making.
The sector can take a number of steps to change this. For one, it can offer a more age-inclusive working environment, such as shifts that start and end earlier in the day. The sector could also put in place Amazon-style ‘returnships’ to encourage more over-50s to return to work. For our part, Burgh Island has made a concerted effort to create an age-diverse workplace, where we can combine youthful exuberance with learned experience on our staff.
Creativity in thought is essential in hospitality
It takes all kinds of people to run a successful hospitality business: from those serving in customer-facing roles to fast-paced manual work. In working to meet its staffing shortages, then, the hospitality sector should also look to draw on those with neurological diversity that makes them suitable for more specialised tasks.
Hiring employees with a wide range of temperaments, skillsets, and working practices will bring several practical benefits to hospitality businesses. Take Burgh Island’s Head of Concierge, Simon James, who has often talked about how his own neurodivergence makes him especially empathetic to the needs of clients.
More generally, the highly specialised roles within hospitality lend themselves to people who are neurodivergent. For instance, the planning and logistical side of hospitality require a keen attention to detail, which matches the skills of people with conditions such as autism; as do roles with a very precise routine. The fast pace of environments like kitchens or bars are also a good fit for those with ADHD.
Again, the sector will have to adapt its practices to attract these workers. Making sensory adjustments for neurodivergent employees – such as the provision of noise-cancelling headphones or situating them in a place without flashing lights – would do much to create a more inclusive workplace. Similarly, a ‘buddy system’ with neurotypical employees would help these employees get needed guidance and support. Flexible hours would also make a workplace more appealing for those with different temperaments and working styles.
Retention through support
Retaining employees, however, takes some further thought. Few jobs are so intensive, requiring this level of teamwork, communication and ability to be across so many moving parts. Therefore, it is critical for employers to be informed about the wellbeing of staff.
As such, hospitality leaders should always be mindful of operational factors that can affect the well-being of their employees, including shifts, training, finances, and, in Burgh’s case, operating on a private island where staff arrival and departure times are determined by the tides.
Ensuring staff wellbeing will elevate their quality of work and job satisfaction – and this is essential to our approach at Burgh Island, with our employees having access to bespoke mental health and career support, as well as brand new £1m staff accommodation.
Nothing about the current staffing shortages in UK hospitality is inevitable. There will always be a demand for jobs in the hospitality sector, which combines creativity with teamwork and customer service. With a few workplace and hiring adjustments, the industry will find that it now has access to eager employees with differing sets of skills and experience. Providing them with the right support, putting inclusivity at the core of their approach, will allow hospitality leaders to harness these reserves of untapped talent.
