9 Ways to Keep Your Core Hospitality Team Solid

High turnover killing your team?

You're not alone.

Hospitality turnover now hits 80% to 120% annually. That's brutal for any business trying to deliver consistent guest experiences.

But here's what successful operators know: you don't need to keep everyone forever.

You just need to keep the right people.

By the end of this article, you'll have 9 strategies to anchor your essential team members - your "core 60". Even as the talent merry-go-round keeps spinning around them.

Let's jump in.

Know Your Core 60%

Not everyone on your payroll matters equally.

That's just the honest truth.

Your core team is the 60% whose knowledge, attitude, and consistency actually drive your guest experience.

Think about it:

Your head bartender who knows every regular's order.

The kitchen captain who keeps service flowing during dinner rush.

The server who turns first-time visitors into loyal customers.

The head chef who trains all the new-comers.

According to HR Cloud data, healthy hospitality retention sits between 70% to 90%. Some turnover isn't just normal. It's expected.

The trick: Make sure your essential players stick around while natural churn happens around them.

Read more: The Hospitality Sector is Facing a Retention Crisis

Use Turnover to Your Advantage

It's hospitality. People are young. On their way.

Stop treating every resignation like betrayal.

Sometimes turnover is exactly what your business needs.

HR Dive's 2024 data shows hospitality quit rates run 204% above the national average. Fighting every departure is like holding back the tide.

Smart operators use natural churn differently.

They refresh teams while protecting their core.

Fresh faces bring new energy. Different perspectives. Renewed enthusiasm that reinvigorates your entire operation.

Göteborg Familjen is a customer of ours, and they think it's an essential part of keeping their locations fresh.

That new blood gets infused into the bars and restaurants.

Here's what works:

Double down on retention for positions that truly matter.

One restaurant group restructured schedules to keep their "A Team" on prime Friday and Saturday shifts. Newer staff cut their teeth during slower periods.

The result:

Core team felt valued. Newcomers got proper training without pressure.

Build Sticky Culture

Money talks.

But culture whispers sweet nothings that keep people coming back.

SAGE research from 2025 shows organizational culture ranks as a top factor in whether hospitality workers stay or go.

Recognition, flexible scheduling, and purpose often trump pay increases. Especially when 47% of hospitality staff report feeling like they don't have time to recharge (OysterLink data).

Your culture becomes sticky when it:

1. Celebrates wins consistently.

2. Fosters team rituals that matter.

3. Recognizes loyalty publicly.

Celebrate with weekly team meals. Monthly recognition ceremonies. Simple traditions like ringing a bell when someone receives a great review.

The magic happens when your core team becomes culture carriers. They show newcomers what makes your place special.

They become your retention ambassadors.

And they are the ones who allow you to scale.

They'll become your "opening team" of new locations.

Turn Jobs Into Careers

Want to transform jobs into careers?

Start treating your core team like the future leaders they could become.

GEM Journal's 2025 research confirms what smart operators know: lack of advancement opportunities triggers major turnover.

Your best people don't just want to clock in and out. They want to see a path forward.

Here's how to build that path:

- Set up mentorship programs where core team members train newcomers.

- Offer cross-training opportunities. Let your star server learn bartending. Your reliable cook explore front-of-house operations.

- Create clear promotion paths with specific skills and timeframes.

One pub retained their floor manager by offering leadership training and gradually increasing responsibilities.

Instead of losing their best team member to a competitor, they developed an assistant manager who understood their culture inside and out.

Read more: Employee Turnover

Flex on Flexibility

Rigid schedules kill retention.

Smart scheduling becomes retention rocket fuel.

GEM Journal identifies lack of flexibility as a top-five reason for quitting in hospitality. When 50% of hospitality workers juggle multiple jobs (OysterLink data), inflexible scheduling becomes a deal-breaker.

And if we think that your "core 60" are also slightly older than average, work life balance becomes more important to them.

Think kids, family, partners, friends.

Giving your core 60 flexible work schedules is key.

What works:

Implement shift-swapping systems.

Use self-scheduling platforms.

Create preference-based rostering (especially for your core team).

Let your reliable opener occasionally work a closing shift if they need to attend their kid's school play.

Allow your weekend warrior to take a Tuesday off without jumping through hoops.

The investment in scheduling flexibility pays dividends in loyalty.

Your core team will work harder during scheduled shifts because they know you respect their time off.

Hire for Fit, Not Just Skill

Skills can be taught in a week.

Attitude and cultural alignment take years to develop. If ever.

HospitalityNet's 2023 research shows high performers often cite a sense of belonging as their primary reason for staying.

It's all about the people.

You can train someone to make perfect cocktails. Take orders efficiently.

But you can't teach genuine enthusiasm for hospitality.

Refine your hiring process to screen for culture fit, especially in core roles.

Ask candidates:

- How do you handle difficult customers?

- What makes a great team?

- How do you prefer to receive feedback?

Their answers reveal more about long-term fit than any resume.

Pizza Pilgrims even did escape rooms and watched how people behaved on CCTV to find the real team players.

One boutique hotel involves current staff in final interviews for key positions. Their existing team spots cultural misfits better than any manager.

And:

Involving them in hiring decisions makes them feel invested in new team members' success.

Pay Smart

Competitive wages are table stakes.

Creative compensation separates the keepers from the leavers.

GEM Journal research reveals poor management and lack of recognition drive 74% of annual turnover in hospitality.

While you need to pay competitively, creative benefits often matter more than base wages for retention.

Consider:

Retention bonuses for core team members who stay through busy seasons.

Health benefits and profit-sharing.

Simple perks like free meals, discounted drinks, or priority scheduling for time-off requests.

One restaurant group offers quarterly bonuses to core team members based on customer satisfaction scores and team stability metrics.

The investment in retention bonuses costs less than constantly recruiting and training replacements.

Read more: Restaurant Retention Secrets

Lead With Empathy

Your managers are either retention magnets or turnover accelerators.

(Tip: Avoid those laptop managers. They are not retention magnets, for sure.)

There's rarely middle ground.

HotelManagement.net's 2025 research identifies empathetic management as a proven retention booster.

When burnout and feeling unheard push staff out the door, managers who listen and respond become powerful retention tools.

Sounds obvious and easy, but you'd be surprised how rare this is in real life.

Train your managers in:

- Active listening techniques.

- Conflict resolution skills.

- Recognizing early signs of burnout.

(Hint: It's easier to use people tech to spot early burnout than gut feel.)

Empower managers to make small accommodations that show they care about your core team's wellbeing.

One restaurant group reduced turnover by instituting monthly "stay interviews." Managers ask core team members what they love about their job and what might make them consider leaving.

These conversations catch problems early. They show employees their voices matter.

It's a bold move, but it worked.

Measure and Adjust

What is it they say: "What gets measured gets managed."

Retention requires constant attention to stay effective.

With hospitality maintaining the highest turnover rates of any industry (NetSuite 2025 data), constant adjustment isn't optional.

It's survival.

Track retention rates, exit reasons, and engagement scores. Especially for your core 60%.

Use pulse surveys. Quick feedback tools. Simple monthly check-ins to spot risks early.

Set quarterly "core team health checks" where you review:

Who's thriving?

Who's struggling?

What patterns emerge?

The data tells the story. Your response to that data determines whether your core team stays solid or starts looking elsewhere.

Play the Long Game

High turnover will always be the hospitality norm.

But keeping your core team solid gives you a competitive edge that guests notice and competitors envy.

Start by identifying your essential 60%. The team members whose departure would genuinely disrupt your operation.

Then pick two strategies from this list to pilot next month.

Whether it's implementing flexible scheduling, creating development opportunities, or training managers in empathetic leadership, small changes compound into major retention wins.

Your core team becomes the foundation that supports everything else:

Consistent service.

Institutional knowledge.

Cultural continuity that turns first-time visitors into regulars.

In an industry where everyone's always hiring, having a stable core team isn't just smart business.

It's your secret weapon.