If hiring feels tougher right now, you’re not imagining it. In 2025, the talent market is more competitive, recruitment is slower, and understanding candidate needs has changed dramatically, especially in hospitality and gaming. Here’s what’s really going on, and how you can adapt as an employer.
The Talent Pool Has Gotten Smaller and Pickier
A striking 76% of employers worldwide say they’re struggling to find skilled talent in 2025.
That’s a step back from the record 80% in 2024, but still huge, especially for industries like hospitality and gaming competing for high-demand roles.
Hospitality & Gaming Are in the Hot Seat
Frontline roles in hotels, casinos, and restaurants are especially hard to fill and even harder to hold onto:
- Hospitality turnover averages around 73.8% annually, meaning most employees cycle through in less than a year.
- About one-third of hires quit within six months.
- And the critical first four weeks? That’s when 70% of new hires decide whether the job is right for them.
That adds up to fewer candidates across the board and even fewer staying long enough to matter.
Candidates Are Looking for More and You Might Be Missing It
Studies and surveys continue to show the same theme amongst qualified candidates: They don’t just want a job, but a clear path to grow in their career.
94% of employees say they would stay longer if employers invested in their growth and development. Because they want career momentum, which is only created through opportunities for skill-building and advancement. Meanwhile, many traditional job roles in hospitality and gaming still focus on rigid hours, repetitive tasks, and generic training. That mismatch is the reason you’re not getting a retaining the kind of talent you want.
Rethinking Attracting and Retaining Talent
You don’t need to overhaul your entire operation to start winning talent, but you do need to rethink how you attract, onboard, and retain:
- Invest in microlearning. Short, targeted modules that teach real-world skills make onboarding quicker and less overwhelming. Plus, they can be used for ongoing training, advancement, and employee engagement.
- Show a growth journey from Day 1. Talk about how the role can evolve and what skills employees can build next.
- Sell your culture, not just your job. Highlight values like teamwork, respect, flexibility, and learning because those matter more when you’re working to climb in an organization, not just work a job.
Ready to Shift Your Hiring Strategy?
Stop focusing on filling roles and start being strategic about building a reputation as a place people want to join and grow.
Our “How to Attract and Retain Top Talent” course can help you do this. You’ll learn how to reinvent onboarding, showcase paths, and ramp up engagement without draining operations.
Plus, our expanding microlearning library is tailored for hospitality and gaming, so new hires can hit the floor confidently and stay engaged.