Hospitality | 8 Tactics To Attract & Retain The Right Talent In Hospitality

The fifth in our series of challenges focuses on Talent Acquisition in Hospitality.

The pandemic has decreased the pool of suitable candidates that want to work in the hospitality industry. Businesses are forced to implement the right tool to filter through the applications as efficient as possible to be ahead of their competition.

Check out this article and discover how finding the right talent helps both your bottom line and overall turnover rates.

👉 Interested in more articles about hospitality? Check out this page

Talent Acquisition in Hospitality

Due to the high turnover rate as well as more short-term employment, businesses in hospitality require a steady influx of new talent. However, the hospitality industry has recently experienced difficulty consistently recruiting candidates with the skills necessary to succeed in even entry-level jobs. Primarily it is hard due to a shortage of skills, consistently high turnover rates and the ability to retain good employees.

Business success can never be achieved by just one person; it takes a team – and the right team – for you and your business. So how do you find, attract, and keep the right people to work for you and your business? You do this by putting employees first.

Some of the overall benefits of good human resources (HR) practices include

⭐️ higher employee satisfaction,

⭐️ lower staff turnover,

⭐️ superior customer service and, of course,

⭐️ increased profitability.

In short, A human resource department’s main goal is to implement a variety of functions that are strategically designed to both attract and maintain an effective workforce.

You may not have a specific HR Manager, but you can implement some tactics they use to attract the best talent & retain them. Check them out below

Be Clear About The Skills & Experience Needed For The Job

This helps you to understand where your priorities lie in terms of necessary skills and abilities. Job analyses like these support you in finding the right talent required to successfully fulfill the job requirements. Once you figure out what’s most important, you can go through the interview process with a clearer picture of who and what you’re looking for. You also may realise, that not that much experience is needed for you can train them easily. This gives you access to a wider talent pool and more potential candidates.

Write Out An Detailed Job Description

Based on your job analysis you can write out a detailed job description. The analysis allows you to target exactly that group of potential candidates. A job description is also helpful for a candidate, as it allows them to learn exactly what the role would include should they receive an offer and can better estimate whether this roles suits them or not.

Imagine your Applicant in the Job

A hotel’s staff directly relates to that facility’s success. Hotel staff members have a major impact on a guest’s stay, for better or for worse. To ensure that your customers return for another visit soon, keep the focus on hiring the very best that your industry has to offer.  Imagine the applicant in that job. Give them day-to-day cases and ask for them to explain how they would react. Allow some candidates to work for a day in your business and ask colleagues about their performance. For this to work you must have a business culture of openness & trust. Make the process fun so that the applicant feels save to be themselves and both parties can get to know each other on an honest level.

Why Not Look At What Talent You Already Got?

Divide your time equally between internal recruiting efforts and spreading your message to outside candidates. Both types of recruiting have value. Many businesses inadvertently end up focusing too much attention on one over the other. If you have an employee working the front desk who appears to have potential to fill another role, start considering them. Let them know what the other position would entail and find out whether they have the drive and skills to handle this new position.

Choose Untraditional Methods Of Finding The Right Fit

If you’re out and meet someone who you think would be perfect for your team, have you ever thought about asking them?

Exchange contact information and stay in touch. Even if they’re not currently looking for a new job, you may find that they’re your next great hire. It’s easy to teach someone how to do a certain activity. It only requires practice. Though, it’s much harder to teach them customer service abilities or other soft skills. If you think they’d represent your hotel well, contact them when an opening comes up. You may be surprised how easy hiring can be.

Ensure You Complete Background Checks

Background checks are especially important in the hospitality industry. Your staff will have access to guests’ personal possessions and information. As busy as you may be during the hiring process, never neglect this key step.

Do Not Forget To Invest In Proper Onboarding

Talent acquisition in hospitality is one thing, but retaining talent has a lot to do with the onboarding phase. Onboarding is the first phase were not only you get to see how the new employee actually performs, but so is it a period for the employee to check out the company.

This first impression is essential to build the fundament for a long-lasting employment. It is like with a new customer- first impressions count and for them to come back, you must invest and offer them a better experience than the competition.

Clearly Communicate Expectations & Tasks

Everyone who works in your facility, regardless of their duty, should know what’s expected of them. They should understand how guests should be treated, how to handle a dissatisfied customer, and who to talk to if they have concerns. It brings clarity to the new employee and offers them an opportunity to understand your restaurant’s, hotel’s or café’s vision much faster.

Are you ready to improve your chances of hiring the right talent & better Talent Acquisition in Hospitality? Focus on streamlining your hiring process & get the best of the best for your hotel, restaurant or cafe.

👉 Continue reading our blog and learn how to solve other HR struggles in hospitality.

We can support you each step of the way! NOVA Smart NG is the solutions to cover your Hospitality needs. Learn More