You know that the success of your hotel depends on your people. Afterall, without the right staff on board it’s impossible to book your hotel to capacity, provide a top-notch guest experience, and drive long-term loyalty. In the hospitality space, your employees truly are the heart of your business.
But at a time when job seekers can afford to be more selective than ever before, folks aren’t going to knock on your door looking for work. To hire the right people and fill your team to capacity, you need a repeatable and intentional process — one that helps you attract and hire people with the right skills, move fast on top candidates, and maintain a solid pipeline of talent.
Now, you might be thinking that you’re too busy to take the time to revamp processes and workflows right now. Take what free time you have now to re-evaluate your approach before the next surge in travel and we see another increase in hotel bookings.
Where should you start? Here are five changes you can make to your hiring process now in order to attract and hire top job seekers who will ultimately help you add to your bottom line.
Define repeatable and predictable steps
Do your hiring process steps change every time you have a new open role? If you answered yes, it’s time to take a step back and define exactly what your team needs to do along with a timeline to follow, so that your recruitment process is consistent — no matter the role you’re filling.
For example, how long after an application is submitted should someone review and respond? Who needs to interview each candidate? Repeatability ensures that you’re evaluating every candidate with the same criteria. And predictability helps you move faster because you know exactly what to do next in the process in order to get someone hired and onboarded quickly.
Get more organized
When you use email, spreadsheets, or siloed systems to track and manage candidate information, you’re much more likely to lose track of details or take too long to complete the process. Candidates can sense when you’re disorganized — and for many, this is a major red flag. Get more organized by using a great applicant tracking tool that keeps all applicant and candidate information in a centralized location. Look for one that’s not only easy to use but also includes features for post-hire tasks like onboarding and payroll.
Improve candidate communication
Job seekers with plenty of options for work will lose interest in you fast if you don’t communicate with them effectively and frequently. That means you need to think beyond email and phone calls. Inboxes are cluttered and it can be difficult to respond to emails and calendar invitations from a mobile device. Use texting to reach candidates directly and make it as easy as possible for them to respond, schedule interviews, kick off reference checks, and more.
Consider adding verifications
If verifications like skills tests and reference checks aren’t already a part of your process, it’s time to consider them. It’s no longer enough to just have warm bodies on staff — you need folks who are highly skilled and qualified for the role. And sometimes, interviews don’t allow you to sufficiently identify the best of the best. Skills tests and reference checks are a great way to confirm or deny that a candidate possesses the abilities necessary to excel in the role.
Automate wherever possible
Another really easy way to streamline your process is to automate tedious time-consuming tasks that are likely slowing you down and wasting your time. For example, if you’re manually reviewing every resume that comes through the door in order to identify those who are most qualified, consider adding automated pre-screen surveys to your process. These allow you to automatically eliminate candidates who answer certain questions incorrectly (e.g., do they have weekend availability?), freeing up your time to focus on engaging with the candidates who are a great fit.
It’s time to put hiring and talent management at the center of your business operations. In an industry where success depends so heavily on the people you employ, the effort you put into cultivating and engaging with talent can have a profound impact on your competitive edge and ultimately your bottom line.
Don’t wait until travel heats up again to make these changes. Schedule a demo with Hireology to learn about how our all-in-one recruiting, hiring, and employee management platform can help you enhance your hiring efforts today.
