Louise Goldsmith, Head of Marketing, Softbank Robotics EMEA talks about the hidden and unseen costs of hiring in the hospitality industry in 2022.
“A job is for life.” That is what the saying used to be. A time when people entered an occupation fairly confident that they would be able to work at the same company, or in the same industry until they were at retirement age. But in a changing world, that is no longer the case.
According to the Office of National Statistics, On average, around 9% of people changed jobs each year between 2000 and 2018.
There could be a number of reasons why people are changing jobs more often, but research has shown that workers who switch between firms have higher pay growth than those moving within firms. Also, those below the age of 35 years are more likely to change. This could be due to a greater proportion of younger workers in part-time, unstable or temporary roles. For an industry like hospitality where almost half (44%) of the workforce are younger than 35, this is a worrying time.
Costs to replace an employee when they leave
According to HR firm Centric, it is estimated that the cost of replacing an employee on average can be between 6-9 months salary. For low paying, high turnover jobs, they estimate you should expect to pay 16% of the employee's salary to replace them. For mid-range positions, around 20%. And for executive positions around 213%!
In addition to an employees basic salary, there are additional costs payable per employee hired. Pension contributions, National Insurance, holiday pay, sick pay. And that doesn’t include the costs of training and onboarding that individual. In the hospitality industry in particular there are also often uniform costs in addition.
Robots may not replace staff in human terms (in hospitality particularly, where guest interaction and satisfaction is key, there is always going to be a human element to any front of house operation team). But robots can work in harmony with humans, replacing jobs that are menial or time consuming, and where automation can be more productive and effective. And unlike humans, the cost of employing robots is fixed.
In addition, by the sheer nature of robotics, and their efficient AI technology, there is a fully trackable and reported workflow. The robots not only assist, but give a breakdown of exactly what jobs are in progress and when they were completed. And a full overview of what has taken place. This can be especially important in areas that have to be clean and sanitary – the proof of cleanliness is there in plain view for you to see.
Take the Whiz autonomous vacuum cleaner. Powered by BrainOS®, the robotic industry’s leading intelligent, self-driving technology, Whiz (once taught) is capable of navigating complex environments safely and reducing harmful particles on average by 53%, improving guest wellbeing. Not only that but Whiz provides users and managers with actionable data analytics-based insights, that help drive targeted improvements in productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. Through this data collection dashboard, you can give customers, guests, and employees visibility into cleaning operations and confidence in their surroundings' health and safety.
Similarly with our tray delivery solutions, your restaurant teams can use the robot as a trusted partner – able to delivery food to tables autonomously from either the kitchen to your waiting staff, or directly to the guests table. This allows your front of house restaurant and catering staff to focus their efforts on the customer – providing that extra level of customer service and excellence that they now expect as the norm. Not only that, but the robots are available 24/7, whenever you need them. To cover staff holidays and vacation or to help when required.
To find out more about using robotic solutions in your environment contact us here.