How To Motivate Staff Over Christmas – 5 Top Tips

Unhappy staff will lead to high staff turnover and affect the level of service offered to your guests – ultimately affecting your revenue. To ensure a successful Christmas season, make sure to put your people first.

We’ve consulted our Access Hospitality People specialists to find their top five tips for keeping staff happy and motivated over the stressful Christmas period. 

1. Get in the spirit

Helping your team embrace the Christmas spirit can bring substantial benefits to your team. Consider organising a Christmas staff party or a Secret Santa exchange this Christmas to keep up the fun factor and provide a chance for your team to bond and blow off some steam. Sharing a few laughs and stories outside of work can strengthen their relationships and create a more comfortable atmosphere. The result? You might notice improved morale, better teamwork, and a generally more pleasant work environment. So, consider these light-hearted initiatives as a way to spread some holiday joy and nurture a positive team vibe.

2. Optimising staff scheduling

Getting staffing just right during the festive season can truly be the key to maintaining a happy and motivated workforce. However, finding that perfect balance involves juggling a few important factors.

First things first, creating a rota that's fair and considerate is at the heart of it all. Our primary aim is to ensure that our valued employees feel genuinely appreciated, and that involves not only recognising their individual preferences but also aligning them with the broader needs of the business.

It's worth noting that many successful hospitality establishments have adopted a system where each team member is assured of a bank holiday off. Those who contribute their efforts during Christmas are thoughtfully granted New Year's Day to recharge. And let's not overlook the importance of learning from past experiences – taking into account who covered which holiday shifts in previous years can mitigate the potential build-up of resentment among the staff, fostering a more harmonious atmosphere.

Next up is making sure our busiest shifts are well-covered. There's nothing worse than understaffed chaos that leaves both our crew and our guests feeling frazzled. Using hospitality booking and reservation software can help you anticipate which dates will be busiest as well as checking out your historical sales data through your hospitality EPoS to identify your usual busiest times in the lead up to Christmas.

And if you're mulling over the idea of enlisting temporary staff to bolster the ranks, it's a prospect that requires careful consideration. The ripple effect on our existing team dynamics and the potential necessity for supplementary training cannot be overlooked. It's all about striking a delicate equilibrium – ensuring that our existing team remains comfortable and confident, empowering them to deliver the exceptional service.

3. Communicate with your staff

The Institute for Employment Studies found that attempts to boost employee engagement in businesses are likely to fail unless there is a strong and open channel for communication, alongside an emphasis on employee wellbeing. 

Make sure that your team remains connected and enthusiastic during the festive period by keeping them up to date with festive plans and getting their input and ideas to finesse the offer. Having an intuitive and easy to use technology solution for HR and people management streamlines the different processes, while using a self-service portal enables staff to keep informed and pick up additional shifts that may be available at short notice.

For operators with multiple sites, the ease of being able to move appropriately trained staff from one site to another using technology is also an advantage during busy weeks in December.

4. Make sure your tipping policy is clear and fair

In the season of goodwill, where customers' generosity often flows more freely, the lead-up to Christmas presents a valuable opportunity to ensure your venue operates a transparent, equitable and streamlined tipping system. To fine-tune your policy, consider posing a few straightforward questions to assess its effectiveness. Engage with fellow operators to gather insights from their experiences, and also reflect on past schemes that have spark motivation among your staff. It's worth emphasising that a fair policy should be designed to recognise the contributions of all team members, appreciating the integral roles each plays across the entire business.

Many operators choose to implement a tronc system - a specialised payment arrangement tailored to apportion tips, gratuities and service charges. The gold standard in tronc systems involves crystal-clear transparency regarding the division of tips and service charges. This division might entail an even split among all employees, recognition for those on specific shifts, or rewards for standout performers.

When the path forward is determined, preferably with input from your staff as part of the decision-making process, effective communication becomes paramount. Transparently conveying the scheme's intricacies ensures both staff and customers gain a comprehensive understanding. Displaying scheme details on menus or notices within your venue, and integrating this information into employee onboarding, promotes clarity.

Enter Access Hospitality’s HMRC-recognised payroll software, an invaluable tool that allows operators to seamlessly integrate tronc payments into automated payroll processes. With this support, you can devote your attention to steering your business while fostering a supportive environment for your valued staff. By embracing these practices, your establishment is poised to navigate the festive season with a fair and motivating tipping system that reflects the spirit of the holidays.

5. Recognising pressures on holiday staff

With elevated customer expectations, the pressure on staff to deliver exceptional service can be particularly intense. Tackling this head-on requires the establishment of crystal-clear protocols coupled with thorough training that empowers your team to handle both the bustling peaks and potentially tricky interactions with confidence. It's all about ensuring that everyone's equipped to not only meet but exceed customer expectations. Acknowledging and rewarding those who consistently meet or surpass customer expectations serves as a morale-boosting catalyst, instilling a sense of pride and accomplishment within the team.

The seasonal influx of temporary staff also presents the hurdle of employee turnover. It's crucial to acknowledge that the level of investment might differ among these temporary hires. To combat this, consider introducing captivating incentives like end-of-season bonuses or exclusive discounts that encourage temporary staff to remain committed and engaged throughout the entirety of the season.

Furthermore, for those shining stars among the seasonal recruits who exhibit exceptional dedication and skill, consider the idea of opening doors for them to transition into permanent roles. By nurturing an ecosystem that not only spotlights but also fosters talent, we transform the holiday season from one of heightened expectations to an era of sustained staff enthusiasm and steadfast loyalty.

Looking for software to help with staff scheduling this Christmas?

In this article, we’ve looked at some of the challenges facing your teams this Christmas season and how you can tackle them.

Recognising the pressure that your teams might be under and being considerate of them will help you retain your staff for longer and raise morale leading to a happier workforce that will deliver better service to your guests.

If you’re looking for hospitality staff scheduling software to help you manage and streamline your staff scheduling processes this Christmas, see our software in action in our 7 minute demo video or talk to the team to explore the solutions that could help you.

In the meantime, check out our free Christmas Guide for more Christmas-related tips, insights and advice from hospitality sector specialists.