When looking at the upcoming year, what are some of the 2020 hospitality trends we think we’ll see? We share some of our predictions below.
2020 Hospitality Trends: Looking Ahead to New Year
During the last few months of 2020, businesses began to think about their goals for the following year. With 2020 being the start of a brand-new decade, planning for the future is key to stay up to date with trends, new technologies, and foreword thinking ideas.
For the past 16 years, LGC has been one of the sole hospitality specific staffing providers in the nation. Prior to founding LGC, CEO George Lessmeister was working at a staffing agency dedicated to placing upper level management positions in various industries. He knew he wanted to bring his staffing expertise to the hourly workforce and realized there was a niche market he could tap into – hospitality staffing. Since there were no hospitality specific staffing organizations in the area, he took his passion for making a difference in someone’s career and years of staffing experience to launched LGC in Indianapolis.
During our time in hospitality, we’ve had the opportunity to work with professionals from the hourly workforce, like servers and bartenders, up to management, such as general managers and head chefs. Along with the diverse group of talent we’ve worked with, we’ve had partnerships with a variety of restaurants, hotels, and food service organizations that have taught us the ins and outs of the hospitality industry.
As LGC looks ahead to the new year, we sat down with some of our executive team to discuss what 2020 hospitality trends we think we’ll see this year. Here’s what they found:
Personalization
Starting from the job advertisement all the way to employee retention and engagement, more and more candidates are requiring a personal touch. In fact, a study by the American Staffing Association reports that 69% of job seekers in the U.S. “believe that the job search today is too impersonal”, with 80% saying “that applying for a job feels like sending their résumé or job application into a “black box.””
With the integration of automation into several aspects of recruiting, maintaining a human feel can make the difference between a candidate saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when offered the job. Providing personalization during the hiring process also shows that your business recognizes job seekers for who they are, rather than just another application. There are a few ways to make your processes feel more personal, including:
- Using candidates first name during correspondence.
- Phone calls from the recruitment team to confirm an interview, ask if they have any questions, etc.
- Offer face-to-face interviews when possible.
- Include a detailed job advertisement to attract the right people.
As a hiring manager, if you show you’re looking for the right person to join the team, as opposed to any person, you’ll attract a qualified and eager pool of candidates.
Building Brand Culture
In any industry, creating a brand that perfectly exemplifies your business is key to being successful. Whether your brand is memorable, relatable, or trustworthy, companies who pay close attention to how they’re being perceived by employees, clients, and/or consumers will find them to be happier and more satisfied. Along with encouraging retention, brand awareness also acts as a means of acquiring new talent.
When thinking about your brand, it’s important to note the difference between brand awareness and brand culture; With awareness, recognition is one of the desired outcomes. With culture, your team is key in cultivating and representing your brand to consumers.
When thinking about your brand, it’s important to ask yourself the following: How do we want to be perceived? What is our message? Who can help us bring this message to life? What characteristics should team members have that fit into our brand? While these are just a few questions to help define your brand, answering them is a great step for creating the ideal message for your business.
Guest Experience
Although this is part of 2020 hospitality trends, we expect to see guest experience at the top of the trend list for years to come. With almost a quarter million hotels and restaurants across the country, the ability to stand out amongst your competition is more relevant than ever. According to a survey by American Express, “7 in 10 U.S. consumers say they’ve spent more money to do business with a company that delivers great service.” With such a high percentage of customers basing their spending off customer service, it’s no wonder businesses in the hospitality industry are making strides to put guest experience at the top of their priority list.
One way to help ensure your customers are receiving top notch service is by placing an importance on soft skills when growing your team. Soft skills are commonly defined as “interpersonal (people) skills… [including] communication skills, listening skills, and empathy.” In comparison, hard skills are gained “through education, training programs, certifications, and on-the-job training.”
Managers tend to agree that hard skills can be taught, but soft skills can’t — which is why you should focus on finding someone with excellent people skills when making hiring decisions. Take a chance on the candidate who may not have all the necessary experience, but you know will make a good impression on guests.
Efficient Hiring Practices
On average, it can take 21 days to hire someone in the hospitality industry. Although it’s three less days than the national average (24), it still leaves a huge gap of time where job seekers can be left unattended. This three-week period can leave candidates unsure of the hiring process, what next steps are, or worst-case scenario – being hired by another business.
In order to secure and retain top talent, businesses should start working towards minimizing time to hire. Consider investing in software that removes some of the manual tasks associated with hiring, review your entire onboarding process to cut inefficiencies, and keep your candidates in the loop about what they should expect during this process.
This is such a dynamic industry, which makes being aware of 2020 hospitality trends crucial as to not fall behind. By prioritizing personalization, brand awareness and culture, guest experience, and efficient hiring, your restaurant or hotel will stand out amongst the competition in 2020 and keep guests coming back for more.