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The Hospitality and Leisure sector aim to deliver an unforgettable experience which can only be achieved by talent, skills, and enthusiasm from their staff. In a perfect world, those employees will represent the cultural diversity of the location, business environment and clientele they are serving. However, businesses, not just in H&L, are tackling the issue of diversity and inclusion in their workforce. This is because the challenge of recruiting and retaining talented people has never been greater.
So, what steps can you take to develop a more diverse and inclusive workplace?
Here are the best practical tips that could help improve your business.
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1. Modify your recruitment sources:
Look beyond traditional sources and networks. Reach out to diverse communities and seek new opportunities, both geographically and in the way you find potential hires. For example, the methods and media used to advertise. Locate new areas for recruitment and visit careers fairs. Partner with diverse organisations and colleges in your local area and consider how to use apprenticeships to offer opportunities to under-represented groups, such as the older generation, those with disabilities and women returning to the workplace after having children.
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2. Ensure inclusive hiring practices:
Make your recruitment process simple and remove unnecessary criteria that may disadvantage certain groups or exclude disabilities.
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3. Training your staff:
Hiring managers should be trained to an effective degree. They should be able to recognise their unconscious biases and use objective processes that remove discrimination during the hiring process.
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4. Provide equal opportunities for promotion:
Review your internal path to progression. Implement objective performance metrics and good feedback processes, offer training and development programs, and provide mentorship opportunities. Provide your managers with the necessary training to spot talent and coach them with the skills needed for progression.
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5. Promote diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) within the workplace:
Encourage this throughout the organisation. Talk about it and tell employees how you plan to promote DEI and how they can contribute. Create specific groups with the purpose of promoting DEI. Employees can be represented from these groups so they can get the help they need. Furthermore, training can be provided to all employees, especially managers, and ensure all policies and practices are inclusive.
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6. Create a working environment that is inviting and welcoming:
Build a culture that is inclusive and respectful of all employees no matter their background. This can be achieved by promoting and celebrating diversity, ensuring fair and equitable pay, providing feedback and recognition for good work, creating an open-door policy, and creating an environment where employees feel valued and respected.
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7. Provide employee support:
See if you can help to meet the unique needs of diverse people groups by doing the following:
– Implement a fully accessible workspace for those with mobility difficulties
– Provide support for language classes
– Provide culturally sensitive food options
– Deliver networking and mentoring opportunities for employees from different backgrounds and at various stages in their employment lifecycle
– Recognising cultural and religious differences in the holiday calenda
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8. Offer flexible work arrangements:
The below are just some of the examples that can allow working parents and those with disabilities or health conditions, to manage their work and family responsibilities.
– Part-time work– Varied shifts
– Job-sharing
– Working from home
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9. Increase representation in leadership:
Strive to increase representation in senior positions so that employees can identify someone who is similar to them higher up the corporate ladder. This can be achieved by:
– Implementing diversity targets for leadership positions
– Creating leadership development programs
– Providing mentorship
– Offering sponsorship and apprenticeship opportunities
The opportunity to be proactive and accept the challenge that EDI brings to the Hospitality and Leisure sector has never been more opportune and essential for success. The improvement of diversity is not only the right thing to do, but also extremely beneficial for business.
Learn more about how Menzies People Solutions is helping their clients with their EDI initiatives in their article: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: practical ways to reap the benefits @Ed Hussey
Read their Whitepaper on the challenges of recruitment and retention here:
READ OUR‘SURVIVAL OF THE STAFFED’ HOSPITALITY & LEISURE GUIDE