By Nicky Chenery, General Manager, EMEA, SafetyCulture
In late December, the UK government promised hospitality businesses £683m in grants to tackle the impact of the Omicron variant, but many still have not received them.
With increased financial pressure and staff absences to contend with, hospitality businesses should be reviewing their procedures to ensure they’re doing everything they can to strengthen their teams and venues.
In the past two years, we’ve seen pubs and restaurants hugely disrupted, with many now fighting to survive. Businesses that are fully digitally literate are better positioned to do more with less, maximising their entire teams’ potential and better protecting their customers.
For managers, it’s about digitising previously manual tasks, consolidating data to improve visibility of process performance, and finding effective technology to better connect with the frontline, all of which can help teams tackle
covid obstacles.
Open communication channels
For staff working within venues during this time, the right tools and training are crucial. Mobile-first technologies, for example, mean everyday tasks such as safety checks can be reported more easily and quickly. And micro-lessons delivered to mobile phones can keep teams across changes to their role at pace. This will boost employees’ confidence, and ensure their time can be spent on tasks that positively impact customers.
Working from home is not an option for many hospitality staff, it is more important than ever that they feel confident to speak up about their workplaces — to prevent burnout, and for employers to avoid ‘The Great Resignation’.
SafetyCulture research recently uncovered that three-quarters of UK frontline workers don’t feel listened to, and with employees now stretched to the max, open communication channels between managers and teams will make all the difference.
For frontline workers who aren’t as comfortable about speaking up, make it easier for them by introducing QR codes technology to raise issues anonymously.
• Nicky Chenery is general manager for EMEA at SafetyCulture, a global technology company helping working teams get better every day. Its mobile-first operations platform leverages the power of human observation to give workers a voice, leaders visibility and unite teams to improve.
