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So how do you find Great Employees? Employees that share your philosophy. Follow your operations manual. Will care about your guests? Are willing to bend over backwards when offering service? And have great attention to detail. In this post, I will tell you how.
Welcome to another edition of hospitality property school.
I’m your host, Gerry MacPherson.
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If you are the operator of a Hotel, an Inn, Bed & Breakfast, or a Resort there is a good chance you have an understanding of the day-to-day operation of your property.
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In a perfect world, you would clone yourself so you know that everything is done to your satisfaction.
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Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and you will need help.
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Depending on the size of your operation, this can be a very time-consuming job.
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So How Do You Find Great Employees?
- Employees that share your philosophy.
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- Follow your operations manual.
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- Will care about your guests.
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- Are willing to bend over backwards when offering service.
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- And have great attention to detail.
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To begin with, when advertising a job don’t waste your time interviewing everyone who sends in an application. There is a way to weed out many applicants by using a simple technique when writing the ad. In the job description, instruct, to anyone replying, to include a specific word or phrase in their cover letter. A word or phrase you have placed in the ad.
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For example: football
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When you receive the applications, just plan on reviewing those who have included the specific word or phrase. This shows attention to detail and it is a start in the right direction.
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During the first interview, start with your
- Business History
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- Experience and Philosophy
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- Your Properties & Responsibility Guidelines
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Meet with each applicant individually to discuss their reactions to and feelings about the guidelines, as well as their background and experience. At this meeting, each applicant should also be asked why they feel they were right for the position.
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The next phase is very important; role play with situations they will probably encounter at any property. Make it clear that you do not want them to answer the way they think you want them to answer, but to react the way they feel would be right.
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.This should be done for every position at your property. You have to remember your priority is customer service and all your employees should embrace this, as studies have shown that the better the customer service the higher the profits.
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Hire those who show empathy, kindness and humility.
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“Wait a minute!” You might be thinking. “Isn’t experience more important?”
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Emotional skill can’t be taught, you can’t give staff the wish to bend over backwards for customers.
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Hire for the emotional skill, trains for the others.
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Before the break, I said that you need to hire for the emotional skill and train for the others. It does not end there …
First day of training for a new employee should
- Start with a meeting with you.
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- A review of the properties policies and any employee benefits.
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- They are now a part of your facilities family & that you are there to support them.
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- Take the new employee on a tour of the facilities, highlighting people & systems at work.
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- Answering clearly & fully all the employee’s questions
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- Issuing the employee their uniform
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- A copy of the operations manual
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- Review the operations manual
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- Review contract of the employee’s position and any Employee Benefit Plans
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- Complete the employment papers
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You might be thinking “This is a lot of time to be taking on one new employee.”
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Think of it this way. Isn’t better to spend the time up front and to get your employee off on the right foot or take the time down the road to replace them?
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How do you keep great employees? … support them!
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This next point I cannot stress enough.
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A customer is not always right but they should feel like they are. For this to work customer has to feel the staff is on their side and the staff have the flexibility to handle situations the way they see fit.
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Give them the ability to look for customer service opportunities and WOW your guests.
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Customers should not just leave your property satisfied but happy and this is much easier to carry out if you have great employees.
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I have seen hospitality property owners go from one extreme to another when it comes to their hiring process. One property owner might take the time to study the candidate and ask thoughtful questions while another might look of a new person and say
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“Do know how to use a computer? Okay are hired.”
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For it to work, the interview process has to be consistent. It has to be scripted the same way every time.
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As in all other tasks in your hospitality property, your hiring process should be documented in your operations manual.
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When looking for new employees, before doing anything else, talk to business associates, colleagues and competitors. You might find that a little strange but if you have a good working relationship with your competition, they could be a great source of information.
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Alright, what is the next step?
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When you have found candidates that you feel might be suited for the position, you will want to talk with them individually and ask the following type of questions.
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Where have you been employed in the past and what did you learn from those experiences?
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How long were you employed in your previous position?
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Why would you like this to take your position?
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Why do you feel you’re suitable for this position?
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What do you have that other candidates don’t?
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Ask about handling a customer complaint; an emergency; a problem while working with a team.
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Let them talk!
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What accomplishment are you most proud of personally, as a team member?
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What would you do if you find your co-worker stealing, doing any wrong activities or spreading rumours?
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What would you say if I told you this interview was going badly?
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Why haven’t you progressed more in your career?
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Is that the best answer you can give me? Let’s move on.
They may sound a little harsh but they are nothing compared to angry customers yelling at you because the rooms are not ready.
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Why do you want to work with our property and what are your goals for the future?
With this question, you can best judge the candidate on their expectations from this job and if their future plans involve working with your property.
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In general, I do not feel is appropriate to ask about a person’s age, gender, sexual preference, religion, family planning or political leanings when it comes to hiring at hospitality property.
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In some countries these questions are illegal.
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Is this making sense? Let me know by leaving a short comment.
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It is here you can decide if the candidate is right for your property and you can invite them back for a second interview or hired them.
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For some of you might seem a little much, for others is totally clear, either way, the step-by-step process, if done consistently works and your reward that – incredible, loyal employees.
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To go more in-depth with the employee interview process, check out our training tutorials at keystonehospitalitydevelopment.com
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Speaking of Keystone Hospitality Development Consulting, it’s our anniversary and we want to celebrate with you.
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We want to give you an UNBELIEVABLE ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL.
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If YOU are looking for ways to increase your hospitality properties (your hotel, resort, inn or bed & breakfast) patronage and profit, we have a special offer for you that is worth $1832.00 for the first year and would be worth tens of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.
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With this Unbelievable Anniversary Special, you will get complete access to
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#1 -“The Guide to Operating an Independent Hotel or Bed & Breakfast” Training Tutorials (Value: $398.00)
#2 -Your Own “Hospitality Property Promotional Video” (Value: $795.00)
#3 – Your Own “Hospitality Property Review Video” (Value: $195.00)
#4 – Lifetime Access to the “Hospitality Property School Group” Membership(Value: $444.00 per year)
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All this is yours for only $495
But you have to act fast as there only a limited number
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To see what is included in the amazing offer visit
KeystoneHospitalityDevelopment.com/All-This-Will-Be-Yours/
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If you like this video, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below and if you know someone who might benefit from the video, please feel free to share it.
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Make sure you hit that like button or dislike button if you didn’t like it. I appreciate the feedback. And don’t forget to subscribe and then hit the little bell to be notified when I upload a new video.
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Thank you so much for your interest and let’s continue to work together to put heads in your beds.
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Until next time, have a fun day.
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⇒ TO READ OR LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE ON KEYSTONE HOSPITALITY PROPERTY CONSULTING:
https://keystonehpd.com/KHDC114
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⇒ And don’t forget to join the “6 Day Challenge” here:
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RESOURCES & LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The Keystone HDC Training Tutorials
https://courses.keystonehospitalitydevelopment.com/
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Join our community in “The Hospitality Property School Group” – Check it Out for One Full Week for Only $1
https://keystonehpd.com/membership-site
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TWEET THIS VIDEO:
Great Employees – How to Find and Keep Them @KeystoneHDC
https://youtu.be/aLAcQFBF3Bk
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Say hi on social:
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeystoneHDC
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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/keystone-hospitality-development/
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Listen to The Hospitality Property School PODCAST here:
https://keystonehpd.com/itunes-podcast
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Hospitality Property School is a division of Keystone HDC
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