It’s not just me, right?

There is a huge skill gap when it comes to new hires.

We’re hiring staff with less experience than before. We’re spending more time teaching them the basics. Have you experienced this?

This skill gap isn’t temporary, and it’s causing bigger problems than you probably think.

More candidates are applying for jobs in your restaurant or hotel without previous work experience or formal training.

It’s obvious that they need help in one of two areas:

Many new hires walk in without the basics.
They struggle with advanced prep.
They freeze when the POS throws an alert.

They click through inventory software without knowing what they are looking at.
Even guest check-in systems slow them down.

The work moves fast and they do not.

Some cannot read a guest’s tone.
Some avoid conflict until it explodes.
Some shut down when the tickets start stacking.

They want to do well, but the pressure hits harder than expected.

The result is the same in each venue.
You hire people who are not ready because you need bodies on the floor.

Guests feel the drag and your margins take the hit.

Handbooks do not fix this.
Orientation does not fix this.

The current skill gap is a perfect storm of three major factors:

Hospitality has always seen high employee turnover and a perception of jobs as temporary or entry-level.

More-so in restaurants than hotels.

This led to a vicious cycle where companies invested less in comprehensive training programs assuming employees would leave anyway. 

As a result, the industry failed to build a robust, skilled talent pipeline.

COVID-19 was gasoline to the fire.

Mass layoffs led to a big chunk of the experienced workforce leaving permanently for sectors offering better pay, benefits, and work-life balance.

They got a taste of not working doubles for someone who called in sick. They finally had the chance to spend time with their loved ones.

When the industry rebounded, it was forced to hire a bunch of newbies because many skilled players weren’t prepared to return to long hours and low pay.

While guest-facing technology (online booking, digital menus) has advanced rapidly, the back end systems have often lagged. 

New hires need to navigate complex tech stacks like the POS, PMS, or inventory software with minimal and, let's be real, outdated training.

That technology skill gap compounds the soft skills deficit.

AI tools can give managers a practical way to reduce this gap. 

AI training platforms adapt to each employee.

These tools identify what a staff member struggles with and guide them through short modules that focus on those exact points. 

Operators using these systems report a 20-25% reduction in training time and up to a 30% improvement in service efficiency.

This matters when your team changes often. 

Even experienced staff can get targeted feedback instead of vague reminders.

Everyone receives the same standards.

You remove the guesswork that causes mistakes and service drop-offs.

AI also helps with cross-training- a huge help for those with smaller teams.

Staff can learn new stations through scenario-based lessons improving flexibility on the floor and reducing the stress when someone calls out. 

And we know someone is going to call out.

Take Lingio for example. Lingio is a mobile-first training platform for hospitality that offers bite-sized, gamified courses with adaptive content.

Food safety, customer service, compliance issues, you name it.

It’s widely used by hotels and restaurants across the Nordics and broader Europe.

AcademyOcean is an AI-driven learning system that creates role-based training paths, tracks each employee’s progress, and adjusts modules to close skill gaps.

So far there has been strong adoption among multi-unit operators in Europe and North America.

Flow Learning by Mapal OS is another LMS that supports personalised, modular training and is commonly used in the UK and wider Europe.

I’ll add Docebo and TalentLMS so you can compare a few strong options.

Teams that feel supported stay longer, which can improve retention by up to 25%. Most of us actually want to learn something new at work.

If we don’t see a future we’re outta there.

When teams don’t understand menu flow, pacing, or prep timing, the work slows down.

AI systems predict demand and help managers allocate tasks based on strengths. This reduces friction during the rush and can avoid service delays.

FohBoh.ai is an operations platform that links your POS, labor, inventory, and finance data to give managers real-time guidance on staffing, food costs, and daily decisions.

This one is commonly used in the United States.

In the UK and Ireland Nory brings scheduling, inventory, forecasting, and performance data into one place so operators can run shifts with more control.

It works well for multi-site groups.

AIO is an all-in-one platform that automates daily restaurant ops such as marketing, accounting, staff management, and inventory.

It’s used by independent and chain restaurants across the US.

Altametrics is an operations platform with digital checklists, task tracking, and workflow tools.

It helps teams run opening, safety, and service routines and is used across many US multi-unit brands.

ChecklistGenerator.ai creates AI-driven checklists for opening, cleaning, hiring, and food safety. It helps teams follow consistent daily routines.

Operators use it across North America and Europe.

Some managers worry that AI removes the human touch.

But that’s only going to happen if you have robot servers and literally replace the humans.

And yes, there are places that have done this.

The rest are using AI to support routine training and task management while keeping mentoring and guest interaction human.

There are so many decisions that need to be made during service that we could use the help clearing up some mental space.

Staff get to spend more time talking to guests and less time trying to remember instructions.

Small businesses can start with simple tools.

Off-the-shelf AI training modules can teach key tasks and support consistent standards.

They run on phones or tablets. They’re affordable. And they’re fast to deploy.

Medium-size operations can use tools that combine training with performance analytics.

You’ll see where the team struggles and can set up targeted coaching instead of broad retraining. 

This raises the baseline across the whole operation.

Big groups can benefit from AI ecosystems that support continuous learning, leadership development, and predictive task allocation.

These systems cut variation between sites and help teams meet brand standards with consistent execution.

As I’ve said before, start small.

Once you’ve chosen the right tool for your needs, pick one station to start with and assess your needs.

Use a short diagnostic to see where your staff fall behind. This shows you what to work on.

Track their progress for a week, and expand from there.

Let the system handle the routine teaching. Spend your time coaching guests service and leadership- AKA spend more of your time being human.

It’s humans plus AI. Not humans replaced by AI.

I’ll repeat: review the data often.

AI analytics will show which tasks cause the most mistakes. Solve these early and you’ll prevent compounding issues.

You should also celebrate the wins. 

When staff see their own progress and are recognised for it they become more engaged.

They’ll take to the tech quicker because you’ve built a culture of learning.

This skill gap in the industry will probably get worse before it gets better. But with the right tools, you can get back some stability.

-Anthony