Guest Blog | UnitedHealthcare

The current labor shortage in the Hospitality industry is real. According to Job List’s Q2 2021 United States Job Market Report: 60% of job seekers indicated they would not consider working in a restaurant, bar, or hotel for their next job. In addition, 38% of former hospitality workers reported they are transitioning out of the industry.  

Though there is no silver bullet for attracting and retaining team members, there are three things that employers can do to keep their current team members engaged that will also appeal to potential new hires: 

1. Create a positive company culture- People want to work for an organization that treats them with respect, has shared values along with a unified vision. 
2. Shape their growth and development- Help your team members achieve their short-term and long-term goals through continuous education and internal career advancement. 
3. Pay/Benefits- “Invest in the root and it will bear fruit!”

A recent Benefits Pro article on employee retention indicated that “88% of employees would consider a lower-paying job with quality health benefits.” The pandemic brought to light the absolute need for everyone to have access to healthcare, even part-time employees. Though health insurance may not be an affordable option for all hospitality employers, virtual care is an incredible alternative! With HealthiestYou by Teladoc, members and their families get free and unlimited access to the following virtual healthcare services:  

• 24/7/365 access to speak to a doctor who can prescribe medication
• Unlimited mental health sessions with a licensed therapist 
• Nutritional counseling with a registered dietician 
• Receive a second opinion on a major diagnosis from the world’s top experts

For more information on the HealthiestYou virtual care program, reach out to Nick Gates at Teladoc Health: ngates@teladochealth.com.

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

AMAZING! Though pandemic challenges continue, I have been in awe of our industry partners and how you have not only ‘pivoted’ but also swiveled, spun, and inverted in order to innovate and rise above them. In the midst of all this, I feel especially grateful to the many who have given volunteer time, energy, and funding so that the Oregon Hospitality Foundation could innovate workforce, training, and philanthropy programs to help support those challenges.

Looking back over the past 17 months, below are a few highlights of what we have accomplished together so far (you can also watch our short video at bit.ly/OHFweR):

WORKFORCE

• Validated and earned recognition of the importance of our industry to Oregon’s economy with my Governor’s appointment to serve as a board member representing the hospitality industry on the state’s Workforce and Talent Development Board (WTDB). The organization is “the overall advisory board to the Governor on workforce matters, including developing a strategic plan for Oregon's Workforce Development System.” According to WTDB’s Director Todd Nell, this is the first time the hospitality industry has been represented on the board and I was honored by the appointment.
• Succeeded in gaining the support of Northwest Oregon Works, a workforce board encompassing five counties, to identify Leisure & Hospitality as major economic segment. This designation comes with tremendous strategic and expert support for the workforce needs of the industry in those regions. Read more at bit.ly/OHFwbpr.
• Increased the number of ProStart schools in Oregon, resulting in 4,000 high-school students who are involved in our culinary and management program as they explore industry career opportunities. Throughout the year we supported program educator’s needs for virtual and career exploration resources. Read more at Oregonrla.org/prostart.

TRAINING

• Created video-based online training segments that offer best practices for handling four of the specific pandemic related guest service challenges restaurant and lodging teams are facing. Each segment is less than ten minutes, and all are available in English and Spanish. 
• Facilitated webinars that included a feature on workforce recruitment and retention tactics / best practices (watch webinar recording here: bit.ly/webinar052521).

PHILANTHROPY

• Raised over $115,000 to support restaurants who were feeding those with food insecurity.
• Leveraged Travel Oregon’s “Gift of Oregon” campaign to promote hotel gift card purchases for the holidays, while also raising money for the foundation.
• Promoted #DineLocal by purchasing $8,000 of gift cards and promoting their award to entries from throughout the state in order to refocus attention on local support needs.

Though the last 17 months have been tougher than any of us might have imagined, I hope that you too are encouraged by these programs and what you, your teams, and our industry have accomplished via sheer tenacity and amazing innovation. 

Please join me as you are able with expressing gratitude to the following, including my incredible ORLA teammates, who helped make these programs possible:

OHF Board of Directors:

• Eric Aebi/Chair
• Ken Henson/Vice Chair
• Janel Rupp/Secretary
• Mark Swenson/Past Chair
• Marin Arreola III
• Jason Brandt
• Terry Goldman
• Steve Moore
• Paul Paz
• Cheyenne Terbrueggen
• Alex Thompson

Takeout & A Movie: Funding Restaurant Efforts to Feed Those with Food Insecurity 

• Grubhub
• Joma Films 

ProStart: Supporting the Needs of Oregon’s Culinary Career & Technical Program’s Teachers and Students

• National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
• Ecolab
• Rouxbe 

Providing Service While Supporting Safety Course: Assisting Hospitality Employees to Address Pandemic Related Guest Service Challenges

• Travel Oregon
• Anheuser-Busch
• Dutch Bros Coffee
• epb&b insurance
• B Converse Consulting
• FPW Media
• Hospitality by Torres
• Togather Restaurant Consulting 

Dine Local Campaign: Celebrating and Supporting Oregon’s Restaurants

• NW Natural
• KOIN
• KRCW 

Restaurant Week: Honoring the Resilience & Positive Energy of Oregon’s Restaurant Industry

• Portland General Electric 

Hospitality Help Fund: Providing Relief From the Pandemic’s Impact on Oregon’s Hospitality Industry and Resources for Recovery

• The Bulleit Frontier Fund
• Diageo North America, Inc.

Friends of the Foundation: Supporting OHF’s Mission Work and Operational Needs

• WHH Foundation
• Columbia Distributing
• NW Natural
• Widmer Brothers Brewing
• Togather Restaurant Consulting
• Altar'd State Women’s Clothing
• Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP
• Best Western Plus Agate Beach
• Best Western Plus Hood River Inn
• Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
• Clarion Inn Surfrider Resort
• Fireside Motel
• Gilbert Inn
• Hart's Camp
• Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa
• Hi-Tide Oceanfront Inn
• Inn at Cannon Beach
• Inn at Cape Kiwanda
• Inn at Haystack Rock
• Inn at Seaside
• Overleaf Lodge & Spa
• River Inn at Seaside
• Riverhouse on the Deschutes
• Saltline Hotel
• The Lighthouse Inn
• The Ocean Lodge
• Siletz Bay Lodge

Thank you for your continuing support. | Wendy Popkin, Oregon Hospitality Foundation

ONWARD! “Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein

About
Wendy Popkin is the Executive Director of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, a nonprofit 501c3 dedicated to providing educational, training, and philanthropic support to Oregon’s restaurant, lodging, and tourism industry. Wendy is a 35+-year career veteran who describes herself as “fanatically enthusiastic about helping others enjoy the same type of fabulous career opportunities I have enjoyed in the hospitality industry.” OregonHospitalityFoundation.org