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The future of work in hospitality: 3 trends to watch in 2021

Tech designed for nondesk teams will transform work in hospitality.

Sponsored by: Konverse

2020 undoubtedly brought some of the greatest challenges for the hospitality industry – and the world – in recent years. Businesses sprinted to adjust how they operate, keep employees focused, ensure customers are satisfied, and prioritize everyone’s safety. Technology played a massive role in organizations’ survival in 2020.

As the world begins to re-open, we’re sure to see a more permanent shift in how technology is used in hospitality in 2021 and beyond.

In this article, we break down three digital workplace trends of 2021 and how they’ll impact your workers.

What’s Trending: Tech to Connect, Organize, & Engage Staff

Organizations are now seeking a consistent, reliable, cost-effective way to communicate to and with their employees.

As coronavirus vaccines are distributed across the world, demand for talent will increase and organizations will need to plan for mass hiring and training.

Employee engagement and productivity will continue to be a focus as leaders seek the technology designed to empower nondesk employees and measure success.

Trend #1: Centralized communication channels designed for nondesk employees

With the workforce more distributed than ever, communication has been key to survival in the last year. Now, organizations must prioritize implementing a reliable communication platform to keep teams connected.

Brands like Zoom exploded in 2020, with video meetings being central to corporate work. However, nondesk teams (think: grocery, restaurant, and hotel workers) often still rely on breakroom bulletin boards and texts from their managers to stay up to date on rapidly shifting policies, processes, and schedules.

New information is constantly being introduced and policies change in an instant. To keep employees organized and informed, organizations will need to invest in communications platforms that are accessible on mobile devices and easy to adopt.

Technology made for hospitality workers will continue to emerge as a response to this need. For instance, Konverse is a communication platform designed specifically for the nondesk workforce, with top-down communication tools, task management, smart integrations, and more.

Trend #2: Streamline workflows and performance analytics with digital task management

As organizations inevitably transition to digital communication for nondesk teams, the way employees work will change. As nondesk workers acclimate to receiving content via digital workplaces, managers will be able to manage workflows digitally as well.

For example, tasks will be managed and tracked digitally instead of with physical lists. Digital task management benefits organizations that want a clearer picture of how employees work by tracking ‘time to complete’ across locations.

Tools like this also set clear expectations for employees so they can proactively complete work. Leaders should seek tools that can templatize task lists and assignments so managers can spend less time checking lists and more time on high-value projects. At an enterprise level, corporate leadership can cumulate data across franchises, optimizing service through sales and productivity data.

Trend #3: Going digital to onboard and train staff at scale

Coming out of the pandemic, there will be pent-up demand for entertainment. More than eight million restaurant employees across the U.S. were furloughed or laid off last year, leaving the hospitality industry understaffed for the approaching surge in travel and dining.

Organizations have to plan for the operational hurdles of mass hiring and training when quarantining is over. 2021 is an important time for HR and operations leaders to think through the systems they’ll need in place to hire large quantities of staff as their businesses open back up to the public.

Technology solutions with digital onboarding must be scalable for mass hiring. Tools with comprehensive admin controls and member management will make it easy to distribute key content, get documents signed, and confirm consistent training across locations, regardless of the influx of new hires.

A Need for Digital Workplaces Designed for Nondesk Teams

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has presented enormous challenges across industries and individuals, but 2021 may be the year of incredible transformation. The organizations that prioritize their people and stay nimble to new and changing customer needs will have a leg up as the world re-opens. By implementing game-changing digital workplace technology, leaders not only respond to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, but also create new efficiencies and a streamlined employee experience.

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