Future of Jobs - Addressing the Hospitality Staffing Crisis

The recent Northern Restaurant & Bar exhibition in Manchester brought together thousands of employers and workers from the hospitality industry. Addressing workforce challenges was a ‘plat du jour’ and the live debate hosted by REC members CJUK provided a veritable taster menu in terms of practical ways moving forward and opportunities for specialist recruiters to make a difference.

The current state of play

Our monthly Report on Jobs shows increasing demand for staff in the sector remains strong, with supply being the major challenge. With over 50 restaurants a year opening in Manchester alone, this trend is set to continue. Adrian Ellis, Managing Director of the Lowry Hotel underlined the fact that “a major priority for employers in the sector is to boost retention as well as recruitment”. Discussions in Manchester provided a way forward on both these fronts. Speaking during one of the panel debates, celebrity Maître d'hôtel Fred Sirieix (of Channel 4's ‘First Dates’ fame) made the point that "careers in hospitality are built on enjoyment and enthusiasm". We need to harness this and understand specific barriers to attracting and retaining workers within the sector.

What needs to be done?

Building a better bridge between education and the world of work was a key message of the REC’s Future of Jobs Commission and the need to encourage more young people into hospitality was a key theme of the debate in Manchester. This cannot simply be a communication exercise - the reality of what it is like to work in the sector must reflect the image we are selling. A number of chefs and other workers flagged long hours, lack of rest breaks and stressful work environment as core obstacles and there is broad consensus that working conditions in the sector need to be improved. Jo Carlin, Director of People and Development at Thwaites Brewery  also underlines the importance of workplace culture by arguing that “the days of ‘shouty’ chefs are gone, no-one wants to come to work to be screamed at”.

The role of hospitality recruiters

Katie Mellor, Operations Director at CJUK, underlined the fact that “the chef shortage has made us raise the bar on candidate care; we really look after our chefs”. Working via an agency enables individuals to control their hours and specialist recruiters are also providing crucial support through Employee Assistance Programmes. Agencies can also play a key role by engaging with local schools and colleges to promote careers in hospitality. The opportunities for recruiters across all sectors to play a pro-active role as ‘Future of Jobs Ambassadors’ was a key recommendation of our Future of Jobs Commission.

Driving good recruitment in the sector

Specialist recruiters are looking beyond job boards and are using social media to create a vibrant and engaged community of potential candidates. The feedback from leading employers is that people issues are now recognised as one of the major challenges. This will create huge opportunities for our industry to demonstrate real innovation and help clients re-imagine current hiring procedures. Facilitating this review process is the core aim of the REC’s Good Recruitment Campaign.

What’s next?

The hospitality sector is facing major leadership and workforce challenges. The REC is committed to using existing initiatives around good recruitment and the future of Jobs to drive specific activities in the sector. Promoting a ‘Good Work’ agenda around pay, progression and simply being treated well is also part of the solution. The recent debate in Manchester was a rallying call for leading employers and recruiters in the sector to take ownership of this and make change happen.

More background on the REC’s Future of jobs commission can be accessed here. Follow #FutureofJobs or contact neal.suchak@rec.uk.com for regular updates.

Information on the REC Hospitality Sector Group is available here.