BlogContact Us

Staff retention: How to keep staff motivated and happy at work

Hospitality

Keeping staff happy and motivated at work isn’t easy. But it is one of the most important things you can do for your people, and for your business.

We all know that without our team members, businesses couldn’t run. However, often our people can fall to the back of the pile. Businesses desperately want to retain staff, but how many can say they’re genuinely working on staff retention strategies?

They sound daunting, but having a strategy in place to retain staff needn’t be a challenge. All the best staff retention strategies centre around keeping people on board because they are genuinely happy. 

We’re looking at some of the ways you can boost staff contentment, to keep them working with your business for longer.

Tips for keeping staff happy and motivated

  1. Praise your staff 

Praising staff for their hard work keeps them motivated, as it shows them that you care about the work they’re doing. There is nothing worse than working hard and not getting recognised for it. Often when staff aren’t valued or praised, their morale drops and they stop working as hard. Let your employees know how great they are performing, because even a small compliment goes a long way.

  1. Incentives and perks

Providing incentives and perks is another way to maintain motivation. If your staff know they could win prizes if their performance is good, then chances are they are going to put in a bit more effort. If your staff work consistently hard, surprise them with vouchers or bonuses - because they deserve it. Hospitality businesses can also work on their approach of tipping to ensure that staff are being recognised by their customers. 

Yoello has a tip function which boosts morale and staff retention by prompting customers to leave instant tips.

  1. Build a positive work culture through out of work activities 

One of the main causes of high employee turnover is having a poor work culture, so it is very important for businesses to build an inclusive, fun and supportive work environment. Especially in the hospitality industry where teamwork really does make the dreamwork, it’s important to build a solid work culture so that even on busy or stressful days, employees have a great foundation to fall back on.

It’s been found that out of work events are important for maintaining high staff morale. To build a positive work culture, business may consider hosting:

Establishing positive bonds with and amongst your staff will help nurture a great work environment, and it will make your staff feel valued and appreciated. 

  1. Listen to their needs

Your staff’s needs are important/ to find out their needs and levels of satisfaction with their job, provide frequent feedback forms to your team members. This will show them that their opinion matters, and that you are willing to take on any changes that will make the workplace more positive. Leaving your staff’s needs unheard will make their morale drop, so being attentive is important when it comes to retaining staff.

  1. Manage overwhelm with tools like Yoello

Implementing a business tool, like Yoello, will help hospitality workers stay on top of their workloads. Yoello keeps workers from feeling overwhelmed as it helps them manage customer orders, which keeps them organised and task focused through their shift.

When employees feel supported, organised and able to do their job, they’re a lot more likely to stay. Efficiency and competency are major morale boosters, so implementing an organisational system is pivotal for employee retention.

  1. Support them

Employees are more likely to quit a job when they feel unsupported. So it’s important to create an environment where people aren’t afraid to ask for help. Make sure you’re checking in with employees to see how they’re feeling and provide resources to those who are falling behind. 

  1. Provide growth opportunities 

For ambitious staff members, a lack of career development opportunities may cause them to leave your company. Cater to these staff members by providing lots of training and opportunities for promotion. Giving staff the opportunity to upskill has been proven to boost staff retention.

Providing growth opportunities demonstrates to staff that you are invested in their future, and that you want them to succeed, which is great for keeping staff happy and motivated at work. It is important to ensure that your staff members always feel like they are appreciated and supported. This will create a positive and uplifting workplace culture where staff are satisfied and motivated. 

Want to help your team succeed? Think you need some extra resources to help your team stay motivated and content? Discover Yoello.

Laura Stupple
May 10, 2022

Related posts:

<< View all blogs and PR

Get started with Yoello today.

Whether you're ready to go, or want to find out more - send us your details and a member of the team will be in touch within 24hrs (Mon-Fri).