"Hospitality is a dead-end job"
Very few things annoy me more than when I hear those words.
This is often accompanied with phrases such as “too low pay”, “too long hours” and “too stressful”.
Whilst at entry level this can sometimes be true, the reality for those that persist can be far different.
If you work in Hospitality in the UK, you are pretty much set to be able to work in Hospitality anywhere in the world.
Very few industries can boast of the speedy career progression that Hospitality offers.
Skills for Life
The large and varied skill set you learn in Hospitality are skills you can carry with you in life and in other professions.
You can learn:
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Teamwork
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Multi-tasking
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Problem Solving – every day is unique as are many of the challenges
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Flexibility – being able to perform a range of different tasks
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Customer Service
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Operational & Time Management Skills – things have to run to schedule and via a number of processes.
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Interpersonal Skills – you learn how to communicate with customers and those around you, often from different backgrounds and areas in life.
The Chester Experience
Recently, I ate at a restaurant in Chester, the Sticky Walnut which exemplified good practice in
Hospitality.
The Chefs in the kitchen are rotated weekly to work on different sections so that they can learn, keep up and maintain new and existing skills.
The excellent waiter, Adam, was himself a Chef previously.
To have such an in-depth across the board set of multi-skilled staff showed in this restaurant, and it truly was an exceptional experience.
Everyone I spoke to seemed happy and engaged, and the energy pervaded the entire set up.
At a time when Hospitality needs to promote it’s positive side, the Sticky Walnut is a shining of example of how it should be done.
The days of when staff are “just” (hate that term) a waiter or “just” a chef, should be behind us.
Conclusion
Questions are often asked about what makes a good or bad hospitality business, and given the requirements of the industry it has become increasingly evident is that good employers encourage learning and upskilling of their team.
This, in turn, encourages retention, helps recruitment (by becoming an employer of choice) and provides a positive working experience.
If you haven't yet asked how you can best support your team, then now is the time.
Or risk losing them.
It's up to you.
