Written by Kara Detwiller

Employee churn is a costly, time consuming, and a seemingly inescapable part of operating a business in retail and hospitality sectors. While high turnover is common in these industries, rethinking a few key aspects of your recruitment and retention strategy may help alleviate this pain point. 

Rethink Wages and Working Conditions

In order to reduce turnover, employers in hospitality and retail should make sure their employees are paid fairly, offered good benefits, and treated well in the workplace. According to a Pew Research survey, 63% of people who quit their jobs in 2021 cited low pay as a contributing factor. There are many resources available to better understand the market demand for pay in the area you are located. For example, our in-house QuickHire Specialists research hourly rate data for our partners and consult on a possible rate change to help improve applicant flow. 

Other top factors for turnover included poor benefits and feeling disrespected at work. As an employer, ask yourself if there are areas that could be improved in the day to day operations of employees. Perhaps it’s being more flexible with scheduling or other policies that might be causing undue stress. Ask your team and start a conversation around morale and working conditions. 

Rethink Hiring, Especially Sourcing and Screening

To find candidates who are a good long-term fit, employers need to modernize hiring practices. When you focus on mobile-friendly recruitment and digital solutions, you’ll speed up the hiring process as well as increase your appeal to the younger generations. Consider these tips for updating your approach to sourcing and screening talent:

• Utilize social media and other online platforms for recruitment
• Make the whole hiring process mobile friendly
• Use texting and in-app notifications to communicate with candidates
• Use a platform like QuickHire to find candidates who match exactly what you’re looking for

Rethink the “Gig” Mentality

Retail and restaurant jobs are commonly seen as temporary and/or part time “gigs,” with a majority of employees being teenagers and young adults who have yet to begin their “real” careers. But, according to NPR, retail actually employs almost as many people over 55 as it does people under 25.

While some employees in hospitality and retail may only stay for a short time, many are absolutely looking to build a long term career. To encourage this mindset among both current employees and future applicants, be clear about advancement opportunities, and invest in employees’ careers with offerings such as:

• Management training
• Tuition support
• Career learning opportunities
• Promotions and raises

Explore QuickHire’s Tools for Reducing Employee Turnover

Investing in retention helps reduce the steep replacement costs that come with employee churn. QuickHire equips employers with tools to attract and retain top hospitality and retail talent, including candidate matching technology and a dashboard to help plan employees’ career trajectory.

To find out more about our mobile-friendly platform or to request a demo, contact us today!