As we look back on two very difficult years for the hospitality industry, the impact on the employee experience, particularly those in public-facing roles, should be top of mind. Caring for the overall well-being of employees on the front line took precedence, becoming an absolute necessity in order to hold on to them. Many employees in service roles were questioning whether they wanted to continue doing this type of work.

The U.S. Labor Department reported more than 4.5 million workers voluntarily left their jobs in November 2021, the highest number on record. The accommodation and food services industry had the highest increases in resignations, or “quits.” Workers left their jobs in search of better pay and improved working conditions.

As the public began traveling again, hotels prepared to welcome them. While the good news was that travel was back, the not-so-good news was that hospitality workers were having a “worse experience.” As business returned, these roles became “harder and less rewarding” and employees were feeling “less engaged,” according to the Medallia/Zingle 2021 Global Staffing Report, which reported 38 percent of workers said they were either considering or planning to leave their jobs before the end of 2021.

Workers cited higher levels of irritation and rudeness from guests, similar to the incivility and hostility their counterparts in the airline industry were facing. Fifty percent shared heightened concerns for their health and safety. Employees also reported working harder and longer, dealing with higher overall customer expectations, and handling an increased volume of customer service requests.

Last year, media reports gave us some insight into why working conditions was top of mind for employees across many industries. In July, The New York Times reported on restaurant workers who cited hostility and harassment from customers as one of the reasons they were leaving their jobs. In December, CNN reported on healthcare workers who were feeling “deflated” by an increasing number of “patients who dismiss and even threaten them over how they’re being treated for the virus.” This hostile and threatening behavior was also experienced on the front lines of Congress. Angry calls to certain members were “particularly brutal for the young, low-level staff members who are tasked with processing constituent calls,” according to The New York Times.

Public-facing employees have always had to deal with “difficult” customers, but the behavior over the past two years has well surpassed difficult, putting their safety and well-being at serious risk. Tolerating rude, disrespectful, demeaning and condescending behavior should never be part of anyone’s job. For hospitality workers, it has had a significant effect on their desire to continue working in jobs that require physical interaction, as many as 35 percent of respondents, according to Medallia/Zingle.

Given the way frontline workers are feeling about their public-facing roles and overall working conditions, what can leaders do to keep them engaged? How can you show them you “have their backs“ as one leader put it recently, and care for their well-being? Here’s what we heard from some leaders with whom we spoke:

  • Lead with empathy and compassion. Spend more time with your public-facing teams and encourage them to share their experiences. Focus on understanding their challenges, how they’re feeling, what you can do, and then take meaningful action.
  • Create a safe working environment. Proactively communicate with customers. Set and manage expectations for behavior, establish clear consequences for noncompliance, and engage your security teams and local law enforcement to enforce. Be willing to act!
  • Provide training and support. Ensure your team has the training to deal with challenging customers supported by a clear escalation process. Supervisors and managers must also be trained and available to step in when needed. Track incidents and leverage real-life scenarios in training.
  • Recognize, reinforce, motivate. Recognition can be highly motivational and raise employee self-esteem when used by leaders to reinforce the value they place on the work their frontline teams do. It became exceptionally important last year as leaders at every level sought out-of-the-box ways to show appreciation and address the mental well-being of their team.

“Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge,” says Simon Sinek.

Organizations must ensure employees’ most basic needs — physiological and safety — are met at work. Qualtrics has called employee well-being business critical for 2022. “… There will be a cultural shift in how leaders build more organizational awareness of employees’ well-being.” The frontline labor shortage, according to Qualtrics, will force organizations to closely examine the intersection of their employee and customer experience, suggesting employees want “customer grade” experiences.

Building trust and an environment in which employees feel safe to share their experiences and needs will also be business critical. Be genuine in your efforts to engage them: ask questions, listen, empathize and take action.