Article
4 min read
The holiday rush: how to keep morale high ‘til January
Alex Francis
Nov 20, 2024
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It’s the most wonderful time of year, filled with peace, love and goodwill to all. Unless you work in hospitality, then it’s long shifts, ten-cover bookings and rowdy party groups.
It’s the industry’s busiest and, let’s face it, most stressful couple of months. A time when staff retention is more important than ever, but also when your team is even more likely to feel the burnout.
So you need to make sure you’re doing all you can to keep your people happy and fully available for the whole season.
It’s not just about your bottom line, it’s about making sure your staff are happy to come to work and give it their all – and stick it out ‘til January. So, what can you do to keep morale at maximum this holiday rush?
Gift-wrapped recognition
During what’s probably the busiest time of year for you and your team, it can feel like you barely have a moment’s rest. Let alone time to pause, take a step back and reflect on how your team is doing.
But taking some time to recognise the hard graft your team is putting in, in the most hectic of circumstances, can go a long way to keeping them happy and motivated. If staff members know that what they’re doing has been seen, appreciated and valued, they’re more likely to keep giving it their all.
It can be as simple as recognising individuals at the end of a shift who went above and beyond, or calling out a few people for praise in a team meeting each week.
And if you can follow up that recognition with some tangible rewards, even better. Last Christmas, 60% of employees said spontaneous gifts made them feel more valued. These don’t have to break the bank – it could be a voucher for a festive latte at the nearby coffee shop, a bottle of wine to take home for their day off, or a pass to start a shift late.
For another little morale boost, encourage your teams to download the Morale app. It’s a great tool for spreading positivity by sending compliments and affirmations anonymously between friends and team members.
And don’t forget that all-important January Christmas party – make sure your team don’t lose sight of this light at the end of the tunnel by asking for ideas and activities for the blow-out.
Teamwork makes the (festive) dream work
The long shifts, the bar five people deep, the constant bookings… your team needs to be a well-oiled, high-functioning, festive force of nature to tackle this time of year. So it’s vital they work well together and have each other’s backs.
It can be hard to squeeze in any team bonding sessions over the holiday rush, but even something little can go a long way to boosting team morale.
Try running a ‘shout-out session’ in your next team meeting, for example, where everyone goes round and calls out a colleague who’s really helped them out that week. It’ll raise spirits, increase the bonds within your team, and get everyone talking and smiling.
And as well as singing each other’s praises, inject some Christmas spirit into your team with everybody’s favourite, Secret Santa. Set a low limit, maybe just a fiver, and encourage people to be as silly (or outrageous) as they want.
And with everyone working different shifts, set up a gift basket for people to anonymously drop their pressies into. Then when the recipient is next in, they’ve got a little surprise to kick-start their shift.
Sleigh the stress
Our research has shown that 85% of hospitality employees have experienced symptoms of poor mental health in the last 12 months, such as stress, anxiety and depression. You can read the full findings in our whitepaper, The Shift Towards Retention.
And during the holiday rush, when venues are packed and the pressure is on, it can be people’s mental health that suffers first. And if they start to burn out, shifts can get missed and you could find yourself short-staffed at the worst possible time.
By providing support for your team and promoting both mental and physical wellbeing, you can make sure everyone is fully prepared and ready to come to work and tackle anything.
Having a frank, open dialogue about the pressures of this time of year, and the impact they can have, is a great place to start. No one likes to feel like they’re suffering alone, so encourage staff to talk to you if they’re struggling so you can come up with a plan of action together.
And if you can go further, even better. Many businesses are now training Mental Health First Aiders amongst their staff, who are able to identify, understand and help someone who may be having a mental health issue.
In hectic hospitality environments, having a Mental Health First Aider on site – or at least someone with knowledge of mental health first aid within the team – is just as important as physical first aid. Not only is it invaluable in a crisis, but it can help put your team at ease and shows that you take the mental wellbeing of your staff seriously.
For more information on mental health within the hospitality industry, visit The Burnt Chef Project. You’ll find a wealth of info and resources to help you and your team.
Find the right balance
Making sure your team have a good work/life balance is vital at any time of year. But over the festive period, when parties are in full swing and families and friends are getting together, that balance is even more important.
But at the same time you need all hands to the pump, so striking that balance is even harder than usual. So what can you do? Planning rotas in advance is one place to start.
Some 67% of hospitality workers say that more notice of rotas would improve their life. So try giving your team as much notice as possible for their upcoming shifts (maybe even for the whole holiday period, if possible) so they can start planning their own festivities. And the best part? It won’t cost you anything, aside from maybe a few hours’ planning.
Using a flexible scheduling solution like Planday is a great way to do this without hours spent pouring over spreadsheets. And the flexibility and simplicity it offers when it comes to switching shifts gives your team even greater control over their time.
The key here is communication. If you’re able to tell your staff early when they’ll be working, and they’re able to communicate any issues or shift changes with you, you create a happier, more harmonious team.
Christmas wrapped up
There’s no getting away from the fact that the festive period can be brutal, both for you and your staff. But by ensuring your teams feel valued, appreciated and supported, you can make sure you tackle it together head-on.
Team morale and staff happiness is vital for all sorts of reasons. It means happier shifts, motivated people, better customer service and increased staff retention… to name just a few.
So give the gift of staff morale this season and create a healthy, happy team that’s ready to go out and smash it.
And to keep spirits high and happiness even higher all year round, take a look at our Handbook to Happiness – packed full of hints, tips and advice for creating happy hospitality teams. Our early Christmas gift to you.
