How to Promote Career Development in the Leisure Industry

Employee engagement, staff retention, business loyalty… These are just some elements that lead to the success of any business – even those in the leisure industry.

With the help of your HR department, employers need to look towards promoting career development for their leisure workers. This can start from hiring young workers for apprenticeships, all the way to promoting senior staff into managerial roles.

Career development allows businesses to invest in their staff, promoting continuous growth, goal aspirations, and business allegiance. Investment like this doesn’t solely fall to the efforts of the individual – it’s your job to encourage this as an employer. Neglect this and you could end up facing employee dissatisfaction, high staff turnover, work disruptions, and business losses.

For more information, speak to one of our expert HR advisors today. Now, let’s look at ways employers can promote career development in their leisure business:

Create a professional development plan

The first step leisure employers should take is creating a professional development plan. This plan should clearly outline career pathways within your leisure business. It should also highlight potential promotional opportunities. For example, career pathways from entry-level positions into leadership roles.

It’s also wise to advertise any internal vacancies openly across your business. This will encourage a higher number of applicants for recruitment teams to choose from. It’ll also allow fresh, new talent being seen and recognised for their skills, expertise, or qualifications.

Leisure employers can also allow their staff to gain experience within different departments of the business. This broadens their skill-sets, as well as opens new career opportunities for them.

Invest in training and development programmes

Having a diverse range of training and development programmes available not only enhances individual skills, but the business gains a highly-talented workforce.

Training courses can be based on individual goals or current work positions. They can also be offered as eLearning platforms, mentoring schemes, or as classes. Here are examples of training programmes leisure employers can invest in:

• Technical skills development; like lifeguarding certifications, fitness instruction, etc.
• Soft skills training; like customer service, leadership skills, etc.
• Industry-specific knowledge updates; like food hygiene certifications, etc.

Offer mentoring and coaching schemes

In some cases, leisure employees may want to enhance their specific skillsets within their own role – elevating them from junior to senior. In cases like this, employers can encourage their studious aptitude by offering mentoring and coaching schemes.

You can introduce a formal mentoring scheme where experienced employees will take a subordinate colleague under their wing, showing them what it takes to work in a senior role.

Employers can also offer peer coaching to leisure workers aspiring for higher positions within the business. This might include peer-to-peer coaching where both individuals foster collaborations and knowledge-sharing between them.

Keep records of performance management

It’s important for employers to recognise hard work and great effort from their staff in a timely, respectful, and relatable manner. A great way to evoke this practice across your leisure workforce is through performance management and recognition records.

These practices can consist of feedback forms, achievement strategies, or career progression plans. The main aim is to simultaneously align individual goals with the business’s overall strategic objectives.

Employers should also encourage channels of communication where employees are able to openly discuss their career goals or target amendments. Allow conversations like this with managers, HR teams, and even employers where suitable.

Encourage networking and industry engagement

The leisure industry is made up of all kinds of businesses; like hotels, gyms, spas, sports venues, tourist attractions, and so many more. As the leisure sector is so vast, employers may benefit greatly from encouraging networking and industry engagement.

Allow leisure workers to attend meetings, conferences, workshops, and networking events. Not only does this allow them to stay updated on industry trends and connect with peers, but it also evokes great business advertisement and brand-awareness.

Employers should support employee memberships to relevant professional associations. The Institute of Hospitality, The Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association (CLOA), and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) are just some to name a few.

Get expert advice on promoting career development in the leisure industry with Peninsula

The leisure industry is facing increased staffing and operating costs, as well as cautious consumer spending. To prepare for potential economic disturbance, leisure employers should champion talented, skillful staff who aspire for both personal growth as well as overall business success.

Peninsula offers expert advice on promoting career development in the leisure industry. Our 24/7 HR advice is available 365 days a year. Want to find out more? Book a free chat with one of our HR consultants. For further information, call 0800 051 3685.