Hospitality intranet
The nature of hospitality, and industries with frontline workers in general, means engaging and informing employees is a real challenge.
To engage employees, you need to do it in an environment where unsociable shift patterns and dealing with difficult customers are the norm.
A lack of continuity for employees working unusual hours can also make it difficult for them to build workplace relationships and for internal communications to remain consistent given their deskless nature.
Disengagement is a retention challenge in retail and hospitality.
Oak Engage's Future of Working Report found that 55% of leaders in retail and hospitality said disengagement had contributed to people leaving their business.
It's no surprise that employee turnover in hospitality and retail is above average, but improving employee engagement can also support stronger retention.
Not to mention the more cohesive workforce and better customer service that can result from higher employee engagement.
You may think it's easier said than done in an industry where retention and engagement are issues across the board, but it can be done.
We're here to explain how a hospitality intranet can help keep your workforce informed, connected and engaged.
Engaging your deskless and frontline workers
In several industries, deskless workers are often the last to know about important company information.
Research referenced in this article found that 57% of deskless workers want workplace information on demand, but their organisations don't always have the technology to provide it.
It's not enough to inform and connect with deskless workers through engaging content. The delivery of that content also has to be right.
Hospitality workers need information where and when they work.
Employees who are always on their feet are unlikely to want to check an in-house computer for company updates, payslips, rotas and other essential information.
This is where a frontline employee app becomes particularly valuable.
With Oak Engage, employees can access relevant intranet information and content through the mobile app as well as desktop.
Push notifications can also be sent to inform employees of urgent updates, helping keep them informed throughout their working day.
On-demand information
Give employees convenient access to important company information, documents and resources.
Urgent notifications
Use push notifications to communicate important announcements and changes.
Mobile accessibility
Help employees stay connected without relying on access to a workplace desktop computer.
While the nature of the content you publish is important, delivering it through the right channels is equally important.
Why your current employee communication could be flopping
You may be thinking that you already have internal communications channels and practices in place, but they're not having the desired effect.
Here are some reasons why that could be.
Lack of collaboration
When shift patterns vary so much and personnel changes happen all the time, it's difficult to build a cohesive team.
Collaboration and innovation can suffer as a result. You may miss out on some of the best ideas within the organisation, including opportunities for more efficient processes and exciting customer initiatives.
The best way to overcome this is to replicate opportunities for collaboration in a virtual setting, building consistency within teams and encouraging employees to share ideas.
Department pages and community hubs can provide useful spaces for collaboration outside formal meetings.
Too many channels
Having several communication channels is akin to having too many cooks spoiling the broth.
Particularly for hospitality staff with limited access to workplace desktop applications, there's a real need to unify communications.
Using several different applications can make it more difficult for employees to find information and communicate with colleagues.
Through their Oak Engage app, employees can communicate with managers and colleagues using social and community features within a central platform.
Uninformed staff
From uniform policies to shift patterns and opening times, there is a lot to keep hospitality employees updated on.
Hospitality workers may rarely check their company email, or may not have a company email address at all.
Rather than relying solely on email or word of mouth, organisations need more effective ways to communicate essential information.
Technology can create a much more informative experience for employees, and mobile engagement apps give hospitality organisations a valuable opportunity to improve communication.
How a hospitality intranet can improve everyday communication
Consider how often hospitality managers need to communicate operational updates to employees working different shifts and across different locations.
| Everyday challenge | Intranet capability | Benefit for employees |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent shift changes | Push notifications and rota integrations. | Employees can receive important updates and access shift information more conveniently. |
| Health and safety policy changes | Targeted updates and mandatory reads. | Staff can access important policies and acknowledge updates. |
| Timetable confusion | Centralised information and relevant third-party integrations. | Employees can find the information they need without relying entirely on managers or colleagues. |
| Disconnected teams | Department hubs, community features and social timelines. | Colleagues can communicate and share experiences across locations and shift patterns. |
An employee mobile app can help address these issues through third-party integrations, access to rotas, push notifications and mandatory reads when information is important or time-sensitive.
The right platform also needs to be genuinely useful to employees. Explore our article on frontline intranet adoption to understand why deskless workers sometimes struggle to adopt workplace technology and how organisations can improve engagement.
How Oak can set you up for success
Oak Engage's solution is adaptable to suit different industries, and our hospitality customers enjoy the benefits of connectivity that come with a modern intranet and mobile app.
Companies such as Pizza Express and Five Guys have used Oak to improve how employees communicate and access information.
“Oak’s modern platform brought us out of the stone age and was the source of information for all levels of the business.”
Jessica Anson
Operational Comms Manager, Pizza Express
“Without Oak & Chatty Patty, I don't know how we would've engaged with our people.”
“For us, this has been a huge success in terms of engagement & communication and continues to be.”
Bastian Bauermeister
Communications Manager, Five Guys
So, how does Oak Engage help keep employees engaged and informed in the hospitality industry?
Recommended reading: Customer stories
Discover more examples of how organisations use Oak Engage in our customer stories, including hospitality brands such as Pizza Express.
Keep all your employees connected using a mobile app
For hospitality organisations, mobile accessibility is one of the most important factors in making workplace communication effective.
Employees working across restaurants, kitchens and different venues need a convenient way to access relevant information without relying on desktop computers or traditional company email.
Oak's mobile-first approach gives employees access to company news, workplace resources and communication tools wherever they are based.
Automate your messaging
Through personalised news, messages can be targeted to the right employees through relevant channels.
Based on algorithms, employee behaviours and roles, information and content can be tailored to their needs and interests.
This reduces irrelevant communication and creates a more personalised employee experience.
Take some of the stress away from internal comms by streamlining and automating communications.
Oak Engage's Adaptive Intelligence capabilities help organisations deliver information to relevant employees at the right time through the appropriate channels.
Connect everyone, everywhere
Communications Manager at Five Guys, Bastian Bauermeister, spoke to us about how the company's Oak Engage mobile app, Chatty Patty, has helped create communities and shared interests within its largely deskless workforce.
“It’s a place where they can share their experiences. Everybody has a preference or hobby that they like, and they're really passionate about.”
“Chatty Patty has given employees a platform where they can really express themselves.”
Bastian Bauermeister
Communications Manager, Five Guys
This shows that having a multi-location and deskless workforce doesn't mean employees cannot bond over shared interests or find common ground with colleagues.
Through multimedia content, social newsfeeds and community hubs covering different topics, employees can develop a greater sense of belonging and build stronger workplace relationships.
Keep your hospitality workforce connected with Oak Engage
While a modern intranet like Oak Engage can help engage hospitality workers in many ways, the key is providing an intuitive mobile experience.
From employees on the restaurant floor to internal communications managers, hospitality teams face challenges around access to information, collaboration and consistent communication.
A lack of access to important information and opportunities to collaborate are key themes throughout this article, often pointing to ineffective communication channels and delivery.
This is where Oak Engage can help connect employees wherever they are, making company information and communication more accessible throughout the working day.
