The hospitality industry has been on a rollercoaster ride over the last half decade. It experienced record-low occupancy rates during the pandemic, and while it recovered, it soon met with more budget-conscious consumers reacting to global financial uncertainty and hybrid workers choosing at-home work over business trips.
Many hotels have adapted by turning to on-demand workers, a flexible staffing solution that allows them to meet demand without stretching their resources too thin.
Common Pain Points in Traditional Staffing Models
There are clear benefits to hiring full-time workers, but when resources are limited, and the business is subject to seasonal fluctuations, a full-time team can be a burden.
Labor is the biggest expense for the hospitality industry, and the costs are rising. This is despite the fact that occupancy rates are down. It’s a major expense and an even bigger concern for US hotels, but trends can change, and those rates can increase in a heart beat. If that happens, hotels will need the staff, but they can’t afford the risk of adding more full-time workers to their payroll, not when occupancy could drop again at a moment’s notice.
It's hard to quickly and cheaply scale a business while relying on full-time staff. The business isn’t as flexible—staff members can’t be hired and released as and when the company desires.
Hiring mistakes are also costlier with full-time staff members. If you hire an on-demand employee who doesn’t workout, you can release them without any great loss and find someone else. If you make the same mistake with a full-time worker, you have obligations, responsibilities, and contracts—you can’t let them go as easily or cheaply.
Cost Comparison: Full-Time vs. On-Demand Staff
With on-demand staff, you only pay for the hours they work. If business is slow, they won’t hang around draining your resources. You can hire them to deal with seasonal fluctuations or help you scale your business, and if it doesn’t go as you’d hoped or you experience a downswing and don’t need their services, you won’t pay anything.
There are other cost advantages, too. With an on-demand employee, you don’t need to cover various employee benefits.
If you hire qualified professionals through GravyWork, you don’t even need to worry about putting them through their paces. You can hire an experienced and highly qualified professional who can adapt to your business after undergoing a little training/orientation and learning about your brand ethos.
How to Maintain Service Standards with Temporary Workers
To make sure your on-demand staff work to the same standard as your full-time staff, follow these simple rules:
- Communicate Clearly: Get all of your goals across and show them what makes your business unique. Don’t get lost in the details, though. Keep it simple and straightforward, focusing on their tasks first and letting them get hands-on so they can learn practically.
- Train Them: Show them your policies and procedures. As above, it’s best to keep this as simple as possible. You don’t want to overwhelm them with details, so stick with the basics to begin with.
- Find Their Best Role: You’re paying for skilled workers, so make sure you’re putting those specific skills to good use. Assign them tasks that are best suited to their skill set.
- Assign Mentors: If you have experienced full-time employees, ask them to act as mentors for your emergency staff. The experienced member of staff can show them the ropes, teach them about company culture, provide emotional support, and introduce them to the rest of the team. It will make integration much easier and prevent feelings of isolation.
- Monitor Their Work: Conduct regular performance reviews. There are various metrics you can use to do this, but it’s often best to go directly to your guests and other employees. If there are any performance pitfalls or areas of concern, they will let you know.
- Criticize Constructively: Don’t be afraid to criticize your on-demand workers, but make sure you tell them what they are doing right and where their talents are best utilized. If they’re doing a good job, show your appreciation and trust by giving them more responsibility.
Real Results: Brand Success Stories
Although temporary staffing is not new, it has increased significantly in the last few years. Many hotels hire temporary staff to fulfill roles as they scale their business or handle higher guest numbers during peak seasons.
It’s not just the hospitality industry, either. Healthcare companies are famous for turning to emergency staff when they need more hands on deck, and major retail brands like Amazon and Walmart hire on-demand workers to handle increased demand as they deal with general ebbs and flows or prepare for a more long-term solution.
The Rise of the Flexible Workforce
On-demand workers, like those available through GravyWork, provide hospitality businesses with a flexible and affordable solution to meet their staffing needs.
We have thousands of skilled workers on our platform, covering all levels of experience. They’re all qualified and vetted, and they provide companies with a variety of skill sets. More importantly, they’re available quickly for short-term work, so you can hire them when you need them and don’t need to keep them on your payroll over thelong term.
Flexible workers are an easy way to scale a business and react to seasonal fluctuations. For many small and struggling businesses, they could be the only solution. If you can’t afford full-time employees but need more hands on the job, it’s the best solution.
Implementation Guide: Making the Switch
Switching to on-demand staff is easy. Sign up for an account at GravyWork in seconds and start your search straight away. You’re not tied down to any long-term commitments or contracts; you can hire asand when you choose. Whether you need a couple of team members for a few weeks or a full team for the season, you can get started straight away.
Create a free business account here to get started.
