We have previously covered the Hospitality Workers Training Centre in our post about Hawthorne restaurant‘s training program and its push to make the hospitality industry more inclusive. Our latest post about the organization looks at a new skills retention tool they have created named ReSET.
What is your business called and what does it do?
Hospitality Workers Training Centre (HWTC), has developed a first-of-its-kind, Retention Skills Enhancement Tool (ReSET). This online platform is designed to help employers and employees identify and operationalize strategies to improve employee retention and engagement.
What made you want to do this work?
While Canadian business face an average annual turn-over rate of 16.5% while the Hospitality and Food Services industry experiences turnover rates of over 70%. 1 Hospitality employers indicated that their challenges in finding employees, especially in entry level jobs, with strong soft skills was resulting in expensive and time consuming turnover.
ReSET is an adaptive online resource, designed to help employers and employees map and develop the core soft skills that are essential for retaining and developing top skilled talent. ReSET provides a valid and objective means of assessing the strength of individual soft skills for retention: motivation, attitude, accountability, time management, stress management, presentation, teamwork, adaptability and confidence against performance expectations and customized workplace culture. ReSET can be used to support individual employee performance management as well as team or departmental unit performance improvements.
What problem does this solve?
In a consumer-facing industry, high employee turnover can make it difficult to meet customer expectations. It can also be costly to find, hire, and train new employees. The costs of replacing a single front-line employee, from recruitment to the point at which they are fully trained and productive, can exceed 30% of an employee’s wages. 2 Attrition also adds pressure on employees with negative impacts on morale, productivity, quality control – increasing absenteeism and the risk of health and safety issues, among others.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
The clientele includes frontline workers and employers.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
ReSET is about to be piloted, and we anticipate that this cumulative data collected will provide valuable insights which we will use to market the product employers. Proceeds from the sale will go back into our vocational training here at Hospitality Workers Training Centre.
Where in Toronto can we find your profession?
The Retention Skills Enhancement Tool (ReSET) is a first -of- its –kind in Toronto.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services?
Q. How do I find works with the soft skills necessary to excel in Hospitality?
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is that it makes work and workers better. The challenge is in changing behaviour and attitudes is hard, it takes time and personal commitment.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
HR: Why should I hire you?
Response: Because this company needs someone who knows why she should hire people
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Toronto business that you love?
We love Building Up, because of their mission and community impact. Building Up is Toronto’s leading social contractor. They deliver high-quality construction and contracting services for customers while operating an intensive pre-apprenticeship trades training program for individuals who face barriers to employment.
1 viii Hayton, R. (2019). 8 Causes of Employee Turnover in Hospitality. Harver. Available at: https://harver.com/blog/causes-of-employee-turnover-in-hospitality/.
2 Tracey, J. B., & Hinkin, T. R. (2006). The costs of employee turnover: When the devil is in the details. Cornell Hospitality Report, 6(15), 6-13. Available at: https://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1148&context=chrpubs
