Looking for staff in the hospitality industry? Tips from business owners
- Frances Gallimore
- How to
- 29 August 2022
- Edited 2 December 2024
- 3 min
- Managing and growing
- Staff
Finding staff in the hospitality industry remains a challenge. As a hospitality entrepreneur, how do you attract the right people? Here are some useful tips from hospitality experts: offer attractive terms of employment, use your team as a calling card, and provide valuable training. Read these and other ways to strengthen your team.
Although the number of people employed in the hospitality industry increased over the past two years, there is still a shortage of staff. In fact, the number of vacancies in the hospitality industry has (in Dutch) again in the last quarter of 2024. As a hospitality employer, how do you get staff? Hospitality entrepreneur Wouter Ammerlaan, pub manager Omri Althuis and Robèr Willemsen, chairman of sector association Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN), give tips on finding staff in the hospitality industry.
1. Offer fringe benefits
"Working conditions go beyond the hourly wage. Fringe benefits also play a big role," says Willemsen. "One employee needs training, while for another an extra day off is more important. Many young employees actually want flexibility and do not need a permanent contract. But that does not apply to everyone, as skilled and full-time employees want to know where they stand. They want the security of a permanent contract. Therefore, engage with your employees and push for tailor-made agreements."
Good meal, drinks and paid breaks
“Give your staff something delicious to sink their teeth into”, employer Ammerlaan of restaurant SAAM in Hoek van Holland recommends. His own employees get to tuck into a menu that changes every week. “We give our staff a healthy meal every day, paid breaks, and after-hours drinks.” In other words, full-time employees get 5 free dinners a week. Highlighting that you offer delicious chef-made meals on the job might see more job applicants.
Meals for your staff: the rules
You are obliged to provide a meal for your employee, if they start before 13:30 hours and work until 20:00 hours or beyond. Special tax rules apply to these meals. Read the (in Dutch) on the KHN website.
2. Use your team as a business card
Satisfied workers bring in new workers. Several dishwashers in Ammerlaan’s restaurants knew each other before joining the company. Show why working for you is so great on offline and online channels. Ask your employees to help out and share their experiences with friends or their social media followers. Reward employees for referrals. You could offer a gift voucher for your restaurant, for example.
On the ‘Kom werken in de horeca’ website (come and work in hospitality), you can find a free toolkit (in Dutch) with social media posts, posters, and other resources to quickly share vacancies.
Hiring staff for the first time?
You want to make sure that you and your new colleague are working according to the right employment conditions. Use this checklist to tick off all the important matters.
3. Offer hospitality training
Training is one of the main fringe benefits for employees. Omri Althuis, pub manager at De Beierd and De Gist in Delft, started as a dishwasher 10 years ago. Thanks to various training courses, he is now a manager. “Advancement opportunities are decisive for me. I enjoy taking courses and always learn a lot. They give you lots of new insights that you can use to enhance the customer experience. Besides, investing in your staff ties them to your company. Now that I am a manager, I get the staff to follow all sorts of training courses.”
What courses you should offer your employees depends on the goal you have in mind. Want to boost your staff’s industry knowledge? Offer them a course on food and wine pairings. Or a course on allergens, so that they can provide tailored service to guests with special dietary wishes. Other types of training to consider include courses on beer or coffee or on hygiene and safety.
The KHN Academy (in Dutch) offers industry-specific courses for free or at a discount.
4. Hiring self-employed professionals or shorter opening hours
The hospitality industry is somewhat hamstrung by the dangerous combination of low salaries and temporary contracts, including seasonal contracts. This makes many workers seek more stable employment elsewhere. Now that staff is in short supply, workers are grasping the opportunity to register as self-employed professionals (in Dutch). This lets them demand a higher hourly wage and negotiate their working hours.
Hiring a self-employed professional is not the best solution for all hospitality entrepreneurs, according to Robèr Willemsen, president of trade association Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN). “Business owners always have to keep a close eye on their profit margins. Another option would be to shorten your opening hours. That way, you will need less staff and will not increase your team’s workload.” Figure out what works best for you and ask your accountant to weigh in if necessary.
11 novel and time-tested ways to find staff
Finding staff in a tight labour market is a challenge. Discover 11 (less) common ways of recruiting staff, such as recruiting via Open Hiring or finding foreign staff.
More tips from hotel and catering entrepreneurs
Staff shortages also affect entrepreneurs Martin Dieleman of Tof Koekie in Rosmalen and Rob van de Velde of De IJzeren Man in Vught. They came up with smart solutions. Dieleman hired an employee from an unexpected source and Van de Velde changed his business process. In the video below, they share their story and give tips.
