The hospitality sector is booming thanks to the success of The World Cup, as such now is the time for the PA industry to ‘pounce’. Here, Gideon Schulman, HR Director at Pytronot, provides three ways HR processes can benefit PAs.
The World Cup is a time for celebration, especially with England bringing their ‘A’ game and surprising us all by not only winning a penalty shootout, but also getting as far as the semi-finals. The World Cup brings in a huge amount of money to the UK economy, reportedly around £1 billion. This ultimately has a positive impact in multiple industries, hospitality in particular with fans splashing out on trips to the pub to watch the games.
However, while the hospitality industry is experiencing a boom, our high streets continue to suffer as we see huge companies like House of Fraser announcing it is closing 31 of its 59 stores, including the flagship Oxford Street store next year.
They aren’t the only major retailer experiencing the squeeze; Marks & Spencer has also gone about closing stores and promises to shut over 100 of them by 2022. This dip in customer spending reflects the falling amount of disposable income people have to spend.
This fluctuation and uncertainty will mean changes for retail staff, as well as those in the PA industry. With the World cup and major events of this type having a positive effect on businesses, those working as PAs in related industries such as hospitality will find there is a varying amount of work for them:
Training
The duties of a PA will vary depending on the type of industry. PAs in hospitality will likely be responsible for diary management, event coordinating and customer service. Offering your employees training on different things within a PA’s job role will help them cope under pressures and under unique circumstances. For example, trained to be able to handle an influx of workload is crucial when certain events bring in business for different companies. Encouraging staff to take responsibility for their own training and development is important for someone working as a PA; this is due to the fact they need to work as ethically and independently as possible.
“With the World cup and major events of this type having a positive effect on businesses, those working as PAs in related industries such as hospitality will find there is a varying amount of work for them.”
Annual leave
Organisation in any company is crucial to any business running as smooth as possible. It could be beneficial to set some guidelines on when your staff can take their holiday to accommodate both busy and quiet periods. Offering incentives to staff can also benefit the company and keep the overall morale high.
Performance management
Ensure that despite uncertain times, your employees are still being praised for their work and given ways they can improve. Make sure their efforts aren’t going unrecognised and you still make time for appraisals alongside getting feedback from your staff. Ensure they feel supported and keep them up to date with any changes that might affect their work.
What effects big events have on industries?
A report from the Centre for Retail Research estimated recently that the UK economy has benefited from a boost of £1 billion this year as a result of the World Cup. They predict this will rise to 2.7 billion should England get to the final. With a significant boost in electrical, food, and merchandise sales, the PA industry has the potential to be directly impacted off of this increase.
