In my last ‘skills and labour shortage‘ blog, I talked about various areas of a hotel that need attention including hotel recruitment strategy.
If you remember, I also mentioned that the recruitment and selection process in the hotel industry isn’t really effective. As a result, not just employee retention but hiring the best candidate for a role becomes a challenge.
Is there a way to deal with this sticky wicket? How can hotels enhance their hiring process? How should a hotel recruit its staff? And several other questions arise.
Let’s take a deep dive and figure out how to make a better hotel recruitment strategy.
Table of Content
- What are the Major Recruitment Challenges in the Hospitality Industry?
- Effective Strategies on How to Improve Hiring at Hotel
What are the Major Recruitment Challenges in the Hospitality Industry?
Before discussing the hotel recruitment strategy, it is important to first understand the challenges of staffing in the hospitality industry.
If I go on to list out the challenges, they might just sound generic.
- Finding the right candidate
- Retaining the best talent
- Lack of quality hospitality training or education
- Wage in hospitality is intriguing
- Pressure at work is a little higher
- Lengthy hiring process and more
These recruitment challenges faced by the hotel industry can’t be overlooked. However, it’s just the tip of the iceberg; there are various underlying voids.
First and foremost, the hiring process in most hospitality establishments isn’t a play for keeps.
If you have read my previous blog, I have mentioned that most hotels tend to jargonize job descriptions and role expectations aren’t clearly communicated. As a result, candidates don’t get to know what they are opting for.
Moreover, many hotels lack a growth model. Employees don’t see growth going forward, which is why they rather prefer to switch careers or never step into this domain.
This article isn’t about the nooks. But, to make better decisions and enhance the process of recruiting new staff, we must learn about the issues.
So, how can these be fixed? Are there any ways?
The solution to this whole scenario of hiring setbacks is a strong strategy. And that’s exactly what I will discuss in the next point.
Effective Strategies on How to Improve Hiring at Hotel
Here, I have listed almost all the things you must consider for your hotel recruitment strategy. And for better understanding, I have split it into two sections.
The first section will help you understand the hotel hiring process, while the latter is about employee onboarding and retention.
Screening & Interview
1. Establish your hotel as a brand
Hiring staff is one thing, but first, you have to make a good name for your hotel in the industry. Call it human nature or anything else, people want to work with popular brands.
Simply put, branding helps to land the right talent as well as retain existing employees.
Convey the message about the functional, economical, and psychological benefits that you offer, and why it is valid for a potential employee to choose you.
Here is a blog on hotel marketing that will help you spread the word in a much better way
2. Identify the exact designations you want to fill
There is a sheer range of hotel positions that exist but what most hotels do is they don’t determine the exact designations/positions they want to fill.
As a result, they end up hiring people for roles that don’t require more manpower. Worst still, it becomes a challenge to post the employees to some other department.
If you want to make better hiring decisions or have a sound hotel recruitment strategy, you must have a sound approach. You have to ensure that the candidate isn’t regretting his/her decision of joining your hotel. And for that, the human resource team must possess a rounded understanding of all the roles.
3. Post vacancies on the right platform
There are various job boards for vacancies. But not all of them work for hotels.
Finding the right talent for hotels is anyway challenging. Why would you want to make it more complicated with some random portal?
If you want to know what are the best platforms, Les Roches has a blog that lists 11 job boards for hospitality.
The blog is for aspirants; however, I am sure even hotel HR folks would also benefit from it.
4. IMPORTANT: Do not Jargonize job descriptions
Jargonised job descriptions are a blunder. Period.
The sole purpose of a job description is to summarize the essential responsibilities, activities, qualifications, and skills for a role. Then why would you want to riddle it with needless technical terms or business buzzwords?
According to a research by Canva that analysed 6.3 million job ads, 38% of job postings contained confusing jargon words and phrases with the top three being "team player," "dynamic," and "self-starter."
That is not all. The research also suggests that using jargon in job postings puts applicants off of applying. And as a result, many suitable candidates don’t even apply.
If your hotel is also a part of this bandwagon of poorly worded job ads, then it’s time to opt out.
5. Ditch the old, generic application and assessment methods
Today, almost every aspect of a hotel is powered by some sort of technology. It is indeed making things much simpler for hoteliers.
Then why not implement technology in human resources?
Traditional methods of candidate application and assessment are tiresome. HRs get inundated with resumes and it’s harder to shortlist the best candidates.
But with technologies like AI-powered video interviews, job simulations, cognitive ability testing, you make the entire process of hiring simple.
Here is a blog by AIM that lists 5 AI-Powered Job Interview Tools. Check them out and see if you can use any of them.
6. Conduct background checks
It is imperative to have certain guidelines in every hotel recruitment strategy. One of them is the background check.
Some candidates overstate educational qualifications, fake their work experience, or have a history of a criminal offence. This is where a background check comes into the picture.
It is nothing less than a lifesaver for a company.
The background check not just ensures better hiring decisions but also helps employers safeguard their reputations.
7. Outsource recruiting Services (if required)
Many might argue outsourcing hiring services is expensive. But that’s not true.
For instance, even if we accept that it is more expensive than having an in-house HR team, that’s just one con. And the benefits just outpower it.
Outsourcing recruiting services ensures that you get the best talent without sweating over it. Meaning, you can focus on your hotel while they take care of the hiring process.
Onboarding
1. Don’t wait for day 1 to welcome the new employee
When you hire new staff, do not wait till the moment s/he walks into the hotel premises. Rather, send a heartfelt welcome email or a text.
You can make it more special by forwarding him a personalised letter from someone in higher management.
The idea is to set the right atmosphere from the very moment s/he is selected. And these sorts of gestures do just that.
2. Convey the brand purpose and USPs to new hires
From personal experience, I can tell you the value of a good story is priceless.
When someone new joins your hotel, make sure you convey the purpose and USPs of your hotel. You can do it through a story.
Let me share an instance.
A friend of mine recently joined a biometrics company in the Philippines. When I asked about his first day at work; I kid you not, he was super motivated and excited. He was all gaga over how Mr Dela Cruz built the company from the ground up, how it is revolutionising biometrics.
When I asked how he got to know so much on day 1, he said they had an induction event. The founder himself gave a talk and presentation about everything.
See, how much of an impact a good story makes.
Got an idea for your next employee induction? Do use it!
A clear purpose is an organization’s soul and identity, make sure all your employees are aware of it.
3. Provide gift hampers or merchandises
When your new staff joins your hotel, make sure you offer them some sort of gift hamper or merchandise.
Corporate Gifts to new employees are a token of appreciation or goodwill. It drives a sense of good feeling among new employees that further helps them to stay loyal to the employer.
It is something that never goes out of fashion.
4. Word to the wise
When it comes to employee onboarding, it is all about making them feel valued and special. You don’t need to stick to certain rules, you can always find ways to make them feel welcome.
For example, give them a fun tour of the entire hotel, introduce them to other staff, let them have a free walk around on Day 1. This will help them adjust and prepare.
Be it hiring or onboarding, at the end of the day what matters is the work culture and benefits.
Conclusion
The hospitality industry has been facing recruiting challenges for a long time. In the past, hoteliers didn’t emphasise much on the strategies for hiring talent; they would conduct generic interviews and hire whoever they wanted.
But, lately, when the industry was hit hard by the pandemic, it realised the importance of a robust hospitality recruiting strategy.
No doubt hotels faced severe losses but so did the staff. Many were laid off, countless of them had to go through significant pay cuts, and whatnot.
Now people are more reluctant to get into this domain. So, if hotels want to hire the best talent, it is time to reinvent a lot of things other than just the hiring process.
They have to deep dive into their employees’ arena, understand them, offer them all the benefits and make them feel they are important.
Further, they should accept the fact that it’s not just the HR department who is responsible for employees’ wellbeing, the top management needs to step in as well.
