“There is a lack of qualified personnel and in addition the aftermath of the pandemic. There is the citizenship income effect which, together with other allowances, very often alienate seasonal staff »adds Alessandro Nucara, general manager of Federalberghi. In the hotels it was hard to rebuild especially the dining and kitchen teams because among other things the seasonal regulars this year preferred to take advantage of the newfound freedom to enjoy the summer also thanks to subsidies.
«2021 was the most difficult year in personnel research and management – confirms Patrizia Rinaldis, president of Federalberghi Rimini -. In order to offer the service to guests, in several cases the operators were obliged to tackle the problem with ad personam negotiations as well as with a greater commitment of the entrepreneurs themselves ». To worsen the situation, a high turnover while in those cases in which the staff was forced to quarantine, hoteliers and restaurateurs preferred to close the business due to the impossibility of finding new replacements in the staff.
The stringent rules for quarantine, the stop to the flows of workers from some non-EU countries, the allowances received by seasonal workers have made a shortage of staff from Eastern Europe, while very often the recipients of citizenship and emergency income asked expressly and without hesitation to work illegally.
Until August 15th, entrepreneurs in the greatest staffing crisis exchanged hot messages on chats in search of seasonal staff in the dining room and for cleaning the rooms, the two areas in which the deficits were greatest. “There has been a lack of professionalism that we must all aim for because we cannot improvise waiters or help in the kitchen” adds Patrizia Rinaldis. There is a hunger for personnel who know Haccp procedures, the rules to follow to guarantee the healthiness of food, employees who know the stories and dishes of the territory, who know how to welcome and offer guests the tradition of Italian hospitality. In some cases, employers had no choice but to pay staff more or to resort to extra help.
The companies in the sector can still count “on at least 40-50% of loyal expert staff, a hard core that helps us a lot and on which we can count” concludes the president of Federalberghi Rimini.