Skip to main content
29.03.2023

Why is ESG so important for boosting staff retention in hospitality?

Now is the time for the hospitality sector to focus on ESG to increase staff retention, attract new recruits, ensure they are delivering the best customer experience and avoid costly litigation or reputational damage.

From food packaging to where you source your milk from, businesses should not only look to their own sustainability credentials but also those of their supply chain. As both customers and employees place a greater focus on the environmental impact of what and where they eat, play and drink, having a clear sustainability strategy is critical.

Hospitality has always indexed highly for social mobility, there are no barriers to entry, however, it is an increasing battle to attract new talent to the sector. Focusing on an inclusive employee experience from requirement through to engagement will be essential to attract employees in a highly competitive environment.

Hospitality Rising’s Rise Fast Work Young campaign has reached over 5.5 million of the UK’s 16-30 year olds via its digital marketing campaign. Launched to tackle the sector’s ongoing recruitment crisis, it has successfully used platforms such as TikTok and won the backing of household names including JW Lees, Whitbread and Pret. These organisations are recognising the need for a shake up in how the sector attracts new talent.

With a greater focus on ESG also comes some potential risks of getting it wrong. So-called ‘Wokewashing’ and ‘Greenwashing’ bring into sharp focus the potential damage that can be done to a brand where false promises or exaggerated claims are made. Together with the tangled web of increasing legislation that business must be compliant with means that effective governance has never been more challenging.

Businesses should undertake a review of where they are on their ESG journey and put in place clear and measurable strategies to ensure that they are putting themselves in the best possible position to be one of the businesses that make the most of, and even grow, through these turbulent times.

Hospitality Rising’s inaugural Rise Fast, Work Young campaign has reached over 5.5m of the UK’s 16 to 30-year-olds, equal to half this demographic, via its digital marketing campaign.

Launched five months ago, Hospitality Rising, was created to tackle the sector’s ongoing recruitment crisis. ​​

As part of the industry backed campaign, Tik Tok creators were also engaged to create content that specifically targeted young job seekers. This activity generated 13.5m impressions, reaching 2.1 million young people.”