6 Onboarding Tips for the Hospitality Industry

At Ziik we know that we can never be the best at everything, that is why our partners such as Learningbank are key to ensuring that our clients get all the tools they need to solve their challenges. What is one of those huge challenges for the hospitality industry? Employee Turnover! Since we know that Learningbank is awesome at training, we asked them for some valuable tips on how to reduce it.

Introduction

The hospitality industry has a high employee turnover. That’s why creating an unforgettable onboarding process is important for you as it is key to retaining your employees.  

Having a first day where you don’t know what to do, where to be, or even whom to meet is no fun for anyone. With proper onboarding in order, you can prevent a bad first impression with new hires and make a great base for a good, long-lasting work relationship. 

Before diving into day-to-day tasks, training is essential. When developing a comprehensive training program as part of the onboarding process, consider using digital training for the basics and physical, over-the-shoulder training to extend it.

A mix of digital and practical training on the floor, so-called blended learning, is great practice during the onboarding process. It will boost time-to-performance and increase your new employees' feeling of belonging and security in their new roles. 

What to Always Include in your Employee Onboarding: 

1. Create an onboarding plan to give an overview for the first few weeks. Here, the timesheet is an essential part. Make sure to include your new hire's mandatory training in the plan as well.
   
   
2. Set clear goals for the new hire to achieve during the first weeks or the first month. Use the onboarding plan that you have created and send it to the new hire BEFORE their first day. This will eliminate some stress by letting them know what to expect, and when they have shifts.
   
   
3. Create a knowledge hub about your products or create digital product knowledge training to give better customer service and increase sales.
   
   Won't you rather buy that green hulk shake from someone who knows what it contains and what benefits it has on your immune system, rather than from someone who doesn’t know the difference between spinach and spirulina?
   
   
4. Remember the technical stuff. Make sure your new hire has access to all platforms and software you use, such as your communication and information-sharing platform or the scheduling system. Don’t forget to introduce them to all procedures and machines you may have.
   
   Creating a knowledge hub with how-to guides is a good idea, as it allows the new hires to go back and refresh their knowledge if needed.
   
   
5. Do check-ins and make sure that the new hire knows who to go to if they need something. This is a simple but often forgotten point that for sure will make the onboarding process better.
   
   
6. Gamify your digital training to make the learning stick and create an unforgettable welcome to your workplace. This is especially good if you have a young audience, who are used to spending time on their smartphones with digital games. 
   

Additional Tips to Keep in Mind Before Your New Hires' First Day: 

Be prepared BEFORE their arrival. Arriving at your new job and nothing is set up and people barely remember you’re starting is not a good first impression.  

That’s why we at Learningbank always recommend preboarding. It is a very good idea to make the new hire feel more secure and welcome already before their first day.  

A good suggestion is to create digital content about the company's mission and vision etc. Here you could also send out a digital map of both the physical workspace and the hierarchies, so the new hire knows who’s the go-to person in each area. 

But also, a fun video with introductions to the team members to drum up that excited feeling.  

Prepare well for high-demand seasons. Make sure the onboarding process is well prepared and planned ahead of busy times of the year if you need to hire a large number of new employees for the summer for example. 

If your employee needs a uniform, it can also be a good idea to have a fitting before the first day, so the right uniform is ready when the employee starts.

Summary

So, what did we learn from all of this? In short, onboarding new employees is not an easy task. However, when done strategically, you can automate routine tasks and give administrators more personal time with employees. This way your business can run optimally at all times, with engaged and informed employees.