​The difficulties of the past few years have been immense. In competition with other industries, hospitality has struggled to encourage new staff to join and further struggled to retain its current staff. With headlines (and trends) such as ‘the great resignation’ on the horizon, there is a great sense of uncertainty of what this decade is starting to shape into.

However, I remain optimistic about the unique opportunities ahead of this industry - significant change that would take place to shape the hospitality industry to be a leader of positive investment in people.

​Like many others, I suffered burnout and immense pressure on choosing between dedication to my career or being closer to my family with the birth of my daughter in 2019. I never thought I would have to choose between both in the modern age. Whilst I have struggled with finding balance in my own situation, I know of many other hospitality professionals who have suffered worse from the pressures of the industry. What sacrifices are being made daily? How many of us are faced with choosing between impossible options?

The pandemic has only highlighted these pressures even more, in both the general media and closer to home too. It now rests on all of us to talk about the greatness of this industry and why it is worth pushing for meaningful change; for both current professionals and the new generations to come.

Here are just a few ideas, big and small, that could help our industry to move towards a more positive place:

• Acknowledgement for the economic struggles of our staff – Whilst inflation has steadily increased by over 5% in 2021 alone, already thrifty salaries have not risen, and many staff have suffered economic hardships which stand to get worse as bills rise.
• Proper staff levels – Hospitality has always been known for stretching staff thin, and post-pandemic staffing levels have become critical. Let us aim to provide staffing above the basic operationally minimum levels to allow staff to have fair days off and time at home. Setting this as the business priority instead of paying for the additional hours or expecting salaried staff to work away their free time is paramount.
• Recognising the sacrifice of operational shifts – The 60 hour week, the transport struggle getting home at all hours, the missing of family dinners, and special holidays – we all have our collection of sacrifices we make. It is so crucial that heads of departments conduct several meetings with floor line staff to ensure that burnout and morale levels are monitored and not dismissed as part of the job – and that practical, genuinely useful support and services are provided or signposted.
• Looking beyond the job role - everyone aspires to do something more significant in their own way. When the team is spread thin, it’s easy for managers to focus on ensuring basic service is maintained. However, it is critical now more than ever that we should focus on providing genuine support to our staff to create personal development plans with purpose and work with achievable, realistic goals to help staff become a more incredible version of themselves. These are the future leaders that will support the industry in the years to come.
• Compassionate probation reviews - Not waiting towards the last minute to inform staff if they have passed or not and actively focusing on providing constructive feedback in a series of meetings with set and agreed goals.
• Same level of recognition, if not more for those that work the night shift.
• Consider offering incentives for those working weekends, overtime and public holidays.
• Instead of focusing on immediate monetary solutions to appease staff, what meaningful training solutions can be offered? What partnerships can be negotiated to facilitate this.
• A closer relationship being forged between the professional world and the academic and bridging the gap of what opportunities can be offered to the new generation.
• An official audit by an independent body into the incentives being offered in other industries and the impact on staff.
• Recognising the difficulties of the 21st century and what we could do to influence a better outcome for our teams.
• Accepting the need for ambassadors of the industry and allowing these individuals the time and effort to spread the message of a better industry.
• Involving an inclusive pool of employees in annual conversations of what the companies could be doing better.

​Ultimately, after some very hard years for industry leaders and all our staff alike, pursuing a more compassionate form of leadership in the industry is paramount. If lockdown taught me anything, it was to stop. To think. To work smart, not just hard. As an industry, we are always moving forward at an ever-moving pace. It is hard to remember your objective was to drain the lake when you’re up to your neck in alligators. We need to be focusing on creative and inclusive solutions to overcome the varied challenges on our path ahead.

To have meaningful change, we must first accept that we deal in people and not in revenue. Let us feel inspired again to become a beacon of excellence for other industries and create a truly brilliantly bright future.