McKeever Hotels pilot programme to overcome sector’s staffing challenges
Multi award-winning hotels group McKeever is gearing up for a bumper summer season following the implementation of an innovative new workforce planning programme.
The group, which runs seven hotels on the island of Ireland, has partnered with workforce development expert – People 1st International – to help bolster its approach to recruitment and retention ahead of the sector’s peak season starting in May.
In doing so, McKeever becomes the first NI tourism and hospitality business to adopt the Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning – a HR approach originally pioneered by the NHS.
Group HR Manager Kristine Graham explains the move:
“Like many hospitality businesses, we have an abundance of workforce data at our fingertips, but we weren’t always making best use of it.
“What the programme has enabled us to do is to make informed decisions faster and create more opportunities for staff to develop and progress.”
The four-week implementation programme provided the business with practical tools to align staffing with demand, design roles around evolving service models, strengthen internal mobility and progression and anticipate skills gaps before they become critical.
“Ensuring that we have the right skills in place to deliver excellent guest experiences is vital as we gear up for our busiest period of the year.
“In a sector where employers can sometimes struggle to find the right skills, the programme has supported us to adopt a more structured approach to workforce planning, which is critical for improved retention, employee mobility and business resilience.”
Roisin McKee, Director of Northern Ireland at People 1st International, led the implementation programme, and says that Six Steps will support the family business to build on its foundations as an employer of choice in the sector:
“In a sector facing persistent recruitment challenges, changing workforce expectations and rising cost pressures, aligning workforce decisions with business performance is crucial.
“People are at the centre of delivering first class guest experiences and so workforce decisions in hospitality tend to affect service delivery and financial performance more acutely.
“Adopting a more strategic approach supports hospitality businesses to be less reactive and avoid the need to embark on a costly recruitment drive in the run up to peak season.
“The approach benefits employees too – enhancing retention, professional development and staff rotas. McKeever has won multiple awards recognising its commitment to the employee experience and adoption of Six Steps will only evolve this further.”
The Northern Ireland Hotel Federation’s chief executive, Janice Gault, welcomes news of the project and explains why the wider sector needs to get onboard:
“The pressures facing hospitality are not short-term fluctuations, they are structural.
“In a sector where turnover significantly exceeds national averages (52% in hospitality compared to 34% UK average according to CIPD), organisations investing in workforce planning capability are much better position grow.
“Labour shortages and staffing challenges are the number one concern of leaders in the sector, and so it is undoubtedly positive to see the likes of McKeever being proactive and engaging with a proven workforce planning methodology.”
To find out more about the Six Steps to Strategic Workforce Planning programme, visit people1st.co.uk/six-steps-methodology/