Ask any hospitality operator about their biggest challenge, and the conversation will very likely turn to people. Finding them, training them and, perhaps most of all, retaining them.
Across the UK and Europe, labour shortages, rising employment costs and ever-higher customer expectations are placing real pressure on teams. Recruitment has understandably taken centre stage. Yet the evidence increasingly suggests that bringing people through the door is only the first chapter of a much longer story.
Learn more: Recruitment Challenges Continue to Stall Hiring
Our new white paper, From Recruitment to Operational Confidence, draws on Government policy, UKHospitality guidance and academic research to explore what the strongest operators do differently once a new starter has joined.
Download our free guide: From Recruitment to Operational Confidence
A Changing Workforce, With Changing Expectations
The pipeline of future talent is receiving welcome attention. The Government’s apprenticeship reforms, including the introduction of Foundation Apprenticeships, aim to encourage more people into sectors facing shortages, hospitality among them.
UKHospitality has welcomed these changes, while making an important point: attracting people into the industry is only part of the solution. Businesses must also create places where people choose to stay, develop and progress.
That is particularly true of the newest generation entering the workforce. Research from Bournemouth University Business School (Giousmpasoglou and Nguyen, 2025) found that Generation Z hospitality employees place real value on structured onboarding, approachable managers, regular feedback and clear routes to progress. An annual review is no longer enough. They want to know how they are getting on, and where they are heading, as they go.
None of this is unique to Gen Z, of course. Clear expectations and continued support help people of every age and experience level. But a younger workforce is making the case harder to ignore.
Turn Three Separate Problems Into a Single Journey
As reported in the Bournemouth research, recruitment, training and retention are too often treated as separate challenges, owned by different people and measured in different ways. A role is filled, an induction is completed, and the box is ticked.
Many hospitality businesses operate in the same market, recruit from the same talent pool and face the same compliance requirements. So why do some consistently achieve lower staff turnover, fewer operational errors and more consistent guest experiences?
Good staff are very often the product of good processes.
Where Task Manager Fits In
Principles are only valuable if they show up in everyday practice. That is where NCCO’s Task Manager restaurant management system becomes useful. It is designed to embed good processes into the working day, so new starters learn faster and experienced colleagues work more consistently.
Technology will never replace good leadership, of course. Used well, though, it gives leaders the time and insight to do what matters most: helping their people succeed. Our downloadable white paper details exactly how technology and staff work together for success.
Great Teams Don’t Happen By Accident
Hospitality has always been a people business. The operators who will thrive in the years ahead are those who invest as much in developing people after they join as they do in attracting them in the first place.
If you would like to understand how and why, and what it could mean for your own teams, our white paper offers the full picture.
Download From Recruitment to Operational Confidence today to learn:
- the research behind the five principles
- what Generation Z expect from hospitality employers
- practical questions to ask of your own business
- how to put the principles into practice across single or multi-site operations
Download your free copy of From Recruitment to Operational Confidence– A Practical Guide for Food Businesses today.
Prefer a conversation? Contact the NCCO International team at www.ncco.eu to find out how Task Manager could support your operation.