RelayIn the hospitality industry, great technology is not a luxury, but a crucial part of running the best possible hotel or resort. It’s sobering to realize that while the best possible technology will keep things running smoothly, unreliable or outdated tech might just cost you your staff.
So, just how much do your workers dislike unwieldy and unreliable walkie-talkies? In a new survey, we discovered that hospitality workers dissatisfied with their current tech would seriously consider switching jobs for access to updated tech.
Better tech is a tempting job incentive
In a survey* conducted in August 2021, we examined hospitality staff satisfaction with current walkie-talkie radios.
They’d quit for better tech. We found that almost 50% of workers would consider quitting their jobs for better, safer workplace communication technology.
Survey takeaway: All the employee incentives in the world won’t matter if your staff hates your current walkie-talkies.
They won’t wait around for upgrades. Approximately one in three respondents consider the need to upgrade workplace communications such a priority, they would contemplate leaving their current company immediately.
Survey takeaway: Even if you promise upgrades in the future, it is unlikely your staff will wait around indefinitely for you to revamp your tech stack.
Safety matters:
The survey results also reveal some of the deeper reasons that updated walkie-talkie technology is so important to hospitality staffers. They don’t feel safe at work without it.
- Approximately one in five employees felt unsafe at work because of faulty walkie-talkie radios.
- More than 70% of workers reported being forced to use their personal smartphones on-the-job because of chronic radio malfunctions.
- Approximately one in five respondents felt they’d been placed in unsafe situations, or reported feeling unsafe in general at work because of failure to connect quickly over radios.
- Some of the trickier issues shared included malfunctioning radios, frustration at being repeatedly and inexplicably out of range, or simply being unable to connect on the right channel.
“While the best tech will elevate your brand and keep things running smoothly, unreliable or outdated technology could cost you your staff.”
Safer employees = more loyal employees:
The good news is that upgrading or updating your associate alert devices might inspire staffers to remain at their current positions; here’s why.
The lack of confidence with workplace radios among employees comes at a time when the nation’s hospitality industry faces a labor shortage brought on by the extended pandemic. The hospitality industry needs to realize that they’re not only catering to guests anymore, Employee safety via tech concerns must be given high priority status. Putting an emphasis on updated panic buttons reassures your staff their concerns are being addressed.
Keep improving guest experience and employee experience
This may sound a bit harsh, but it’s a huge mistake to cheap out on the technology your staff relies on while upgrading only guest experiences. Now would be a great time to reevaluate the way you compensate your team for their hard work.
“Employees who work in the hospitality sector require better terms, including higher pay and improved benefits.” Chris Chuang, CEO of Relay said. More than that, after analyzing survey results Chuang said “ innovative workplace technology is gaining greater appeal as a driving factor of retention, and it’s essential that these employees can perform their responsibilities, safely and without any shortcuts.”
3 important takeaways from the survey
Spoiler alert: By hobbling your staff with malfunctioning or outdated radios or ancient walkie-talkies, you could end up alienating guests thereby impacting your bottom line.
- Slow front of house operations: Almost 40% of employees have had an operational issue or guest request take too long because of failure to connect effectively over traditional radios.
- Guest satisfaction scores suffer: More than a third of employees have admitted that guest satisfaction scores have suffered because of slow response times over faulty radios.
- Consensus to upgrade: Nearly 90% of employees stated they would feel better if their current employer updated their radios to something more reliable and capable of increasing guest satisfaction.
Full details on the survey can be found below
*Survey information: The shared results are from a nationally-represented survey of 250 U.S. participants 18+ years old working in the hospitality industry. They specifically shared gripes and grievances about their experiences with company-issued walkie-talkie radios.
