Hospitality has always described its teams as its “greatest asset”. Yet when margins tighten, people are often the first line on the cost sheet. That tension sat at the centre of the session “People: Humans or Headcount?” at Service 2026, a Tech on Toast event, where leaders challenged the industry to rethink retention, culture and performance in 2026. 

Hosted by Trudi Parr, Head of People & Development at Mollie’s, the panel brought together Lucy Craig, People and Culture Director at Bill’s Restaurants, Karen Bosher, Non-Executive Director at Hops, Livelyhood Pub Group, Eposability and Hospitality Jobs UK, and Hayley Connor, Head of People at Little Houses Group, previously at Gail’s. Together, they explored a pressing question: are we truly building human-centred businesses, or are we still managing labour costs? 

The mood was honest. Hiring has never been so expensive. Technology has never been so accessible. But as Karen Bosher put it, “God forbid we lose the human touch.” In a sector built on connection, reducing people to headcount is a strategic mistake. 

The discussion reinforced why Hospitality Tech360 exists: to connect technology and leadership strategies that improve operational efficiency while protecting culture and performance. 

The churn issue 

In hospitality, transient workforces are a reality. The problem is not churn itself, but how organisations design around it. Early expectation-setting, honest conversations in the first 90 days and flexible workforce planning can dramatically reduce avoidable turnover. Rather than chasing the mythical perfect hire, leaders should design roles around real demand patterns and recruit for specific shift needs. Deep investment in a core career cohort can stabilise performance while accepting that some turnover is part of the ecosystem. 

Retention improves when expectations match reality. 

Data overload is draining your managers 

One of the most striking themes was the psychological impact of constant data monitoring. 

Dashboards left, right and centre. Real-time KPIs. Margin alerts. Labour targets every 30 minutes. 

As Trudi Parr observed, the cumulative effect of that constant monitoring can be unsettling. When general managers are repeatedly justifying numbers to head office, their energy shifts from leading people to firefighting metrics. 

Karen Bosher highlighted how quickly energy drains when managers feel they must defend data rather than develop teams. If leaders are in permanent crisis-response mode, they are not coaching high performers or building culture. Technology should remove friction, not create anxiety. 

Invest in leaders, not just systems 

Strong retention correlates with strong relationships. The businesses with the highest-performing teams are often those where managers feel trusted, leaders speak positively about their teams and people have time to coach rather than react.  

Lucy Craig outlined plans at Bill’s to invest further in leadership development, with a renewed focus on mindset, connection and trust across the business. Karen Bosher suggested identifying those who want to build a career in hospitality and investing in them deliberately.   

Artificial intelligence can personalise learning, identify performance gaps, reinforce retention of training content and automate compliance processes. Used well, it can give managers time back. Used poorly, it risks overwhelming teams or eroding trust. 

The competitive edge of 2026 

Operators are investing heavily in technology to drive growth, with 100% of leaders stating tech will be important to achieving their objectives . But the businesses that thrive will be those that combine smart systems with deeply human leadership.