Acquiring the best professionals to fill open hospitality positions takes time—a luxury many companies find in diminishing supply. Hiring managers within short-staffed businesses are pitching in to cover day-to-day duties, further reducing the time they can devote to recruitment. Fortunately, hospitality is a booming industry—and eager job seekers are taking notice. Employ the right approach and you’ll have no problem staffing your hotel, casino, or restaurant with the best and brightest. Make the recruiting errors below and it’s an entirely different story.
Error 1: Believing if you post it, they will come.
In Field of Dreams, Ray Kinsella built a baseball diamond in the middle of his Iowa cornfield—baseball players arrived shortly after. Not just any baseball players, but Shoeless Joe Jackson and the rest of the Chicago Black Sox. Sure, they were dead, but they could still play ball like pros. That’s Hollywood, not the real world. Unless your business exists in a fictional time or place, posting a “Help Wanted” ad on the door alone will not be enough to ensure you reach job candidates.
Error 2: Posting a position like you’d shoot a shotgun.
To reach a large pool of candidates, you need to utilize multiple avenues. These include newspaper ads, online job boards, social media, and yes, even a “Help Wanted” sign within your establishment. However, targeting your approach will produce the best results. Aiming vaguely in the right direction and hoping for the best is rarely as efficient. Perfect your shot with a detailed job description, industry-specific job boards, and social media outreach to relevant groups of prospects.
Error 3: Seeing the forest instead of the trees.
Have you ever been searching for your glasses only to find them on top of your head? The best candidate for your open position may be just as close—within your current staff, in fact. Before you begin external recruiting efforts, take a look at your internal resources. You may find an employee who is perfect for that promotion or even a lateral move. Award opportunities like these and you’ll increase staff loyalty and job satisfaction as well.
Error 4: Never asking for help.
Your best current employees may actually know your best future employees. If you have not already, start an employee referral program. Most work by encouraging the referral of qualified candidates with a monetary award to the referring party. Others award both the referrer and the referee after a number of successful months. Whatever your chosen structure, tap the resulting pool of candidates before devoting resources to external recruitment.
Error 5: Maintaining the status quo.
Running short-staffed only works for so long. Sure, the company is ‘saving’ money on the payroll in the short term, but you’ll lose big in the long term. Eventually, staff performance will begin to slip. You can bet customers will notice shortly after. Lost customers equate to lost revenue. Overworked employees are also more likely to jump ship, leaving you with an even bigger hole to fill.