Five Steps to Hiring Exceptional Staff for Your Hotel Business

Services Jan 13, 2020 0 1360 Add to Reading List

There is no question that the hospitality industry is one of the most in-demand and predominating businesses these days. As travelling becomes mainstream and many people are choosing to spend their extra income on leisure, hotels and other hospitality industries such as restaurants and casinos are expanding their workforce in order to meet the increasing demand among consumers.

As hotel owners, your priority is to provide your guests with great experience and exceptional customer service and the best way to accomplish your mission is to recruit the right people to run the show on your behalf. However, hiring the right staff for customer-service oriented positions is not necessarily easy but it also does not have to be very difficult. We all know that great customer service in the hospitality industry begins and ends with the right people, but how do you know that you are hiring what you are looking for?

Here are some of our key tips to guide you on hiring the best possible staff for your hotel business.

Describe the position and the skills you’re looking for.

If your task is to recruit people, then you must be aware that you are responsible to understand everything about the position you are recruiting for. This way, you easily identify the required skills that the candidate should possess in order to qualify for the job. The first step, figure out the total number of staff you need in order to produce a specific department that will deliver great customer service. The size of each workforce may depend on the requirement and heaviness of its functions.

The next step is to identify each role and the number of employees per role. Consider the number of receptionists you need. Are you going to hire bell boys, chefs, food and beverage assistants? Are you taking your hotel business to the next level by recruiting an IT department to maintain your computer systems; a revenue management team to monitor the market and profits; or a digital marketing unit to monitor sales, product distribution, branding? To ensure you’re covering all the criteria you’re looking for, create a staffing plan that includes all the roles you need and the skills to get qualified for each role.

Ask behavioural questions.

Training skills is a lot easier than behaviour. Never break the promise of giving a great experience to your customers by hiring people that do not incorporate proper customer service to their role in the company. One way to determine someone’s personality is by asking behavioural and experiential-based questions that highlight the candidate’s personality and work ethics. Some critical soft skills to look for are crafted in a WETCO approach that means warmth, empathy, teamwork, conscientiousness, and optimism.

Assess the candidates carefully.

There’s no magic formula to finding the best candidate on your own. Hence, include a few existing members of the team during the interview to help you come up with a more careful evaluation. The existing team leaders and members know how to determine the best possible person who can work with the team well. Let them ask questions and hear their opinions during the final assessment. After all, they are more knowledgeable about the necessary skills needed in similar positions of their own so make sure to get them involved in the interview and decision process.

Conduct background and reference checks.

The length of service experience can be a great ticket to employment, which is why most employers would require the same job experience to make sure they’re hiring the right person in the same field. Aside from skills and character, secure the potential hire’s information by conducting background and reference checks from their previous employers and other sources to confirm the reliability and validity of their work experience sheet.

Be the employer of their choice.

Establish a good employment reputation by offering a fantastic work culture and environment in order to attract new potential hires and retain superior employees at the same time. Below are factors that make an employer an employer of choice: