Bizimply's findings on the importance of investing in people
An industry survey conducted by Hospitality Mavericks, in partnership with workforce management specialist Bizimply shows that operators who underinvest in people and technology face an existential threat.
The report The Six Tenets of Agile Hospitality – 6 Tenets Every Leader Needs to Survive and Thrive in the New Era of Hospitality, builds on a study undertaken a year ago in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
Twelve months on, the white paper reports on a survey of senior operators and leaders representing hundreds of outlets employing thousands of staff in the UK, Europe, and the USA. Respondents came from across the hospitality sector, from fine dining and hotels to pubs and bars, coffee shops and fast-food outlets.
Key findings include:
- 84.3% of operators are facing a recruitment and retention challenge, saying they are struggling to build a team with the right capabilities to drive growth now and in the future.
- Just 33% of operators have implemented a clear people strategy in their organisation. While an improvement on the 28% in the 2021 survey, still leaves two-thirds of operators without a formal and documented people strategy.
- Only 40% of respondents feel they've invested enough in tech, compared to 55% last year. This indicates that, at least, more operators recognise the need to increase the pace of technological advances in the sector.
- Even more respondents, 83.4 %, recognise that improving operational complexity using digital tools is the area with the biggest potential to improve performance.
Michael Tingsager from Hospitality Mavericks, said: "This year, we've identified the Six Tenets of Agile Hospitality used by maverick leaders in the industry who are building resilient, agile companies that deliver profits, growth and lasting success – whilst making a positive difference to all stakeholders."
The Six Tenets of Agile Hospitality
- Clarity of purpose and direction
- Graceful growth
- The pursuit of mastery
- Radical transparency
- A stake in the outcome
- Freedom to operate
Bizimply CEO Conor Shaw, added: "Sadly, what's clear is that too many hospitality operators are still working with a ‘top-down' approach to people management. Even before the pandemic, that was looking unfit for purpose. With the economic headwinds the industry now faces, many of those businesses that are failing to invest may not be around much longer.
Tom Barton, a co-founder of Honest Burger, commented: "We went deep into what we want Honest to stand for. And it was almost like a Ground Zero moment for the business where you started again. We've decided that it's better for us as a business if we give our guys more responsibility. But we need to give them the resource to be great. We have to give them a framework of resources to make the right decisions."
To download a copy of the full report click here
