How to hire the right hotel team for growth.

Ok, friends, I get asked this all the time, “Buck, how do I know if I have a good hiring process and how much time should it take? I don’t have countless hours to spend on finding the perfect fit, I’ve got stuff to do.”

And I want to start off by saying, that’s right!

You have a lot to do and if you have the responsibility of hiring a new team member you are in a very critical role of your organization. Plus, it’s a lot of responsibility to make the right hire and not stress over it.

Hiring Hotel Staff (including a hotel controller)

Let’s break this down and first and foremost there isn’t a single straight answer for the number of interviews, or a set time of each interview that you need to have. What you do need though is to make sure that you feel confident you made the right hiring decision for your hotel.

If I broke out every step we handle for the hiring of a hotel staff accountant it would be roughly 15 individual steps. But that does not mean that I have 15 individual interviews with every single person. No, that would be crazy and very demanding on my schedule and would be an absolute nightmare for an applicant. Instead, you need to partner and combine steps together so that the applicant can devote a few hours with your team at a time.

This could be having a first-round interview, applicant quizzes and assessments, and a culture interview all at one time. This way you and the applicant have a set period to answer questions together and not be jumping on/ off of calls or setting multiple appointments to get together.

Next, you need to bring others into your hiring process. That’s right, you need experts, those who aren’t you, to join you as part of the interviewing process. This is important because they will notice quirks and answers that you didn’t necessarily catch up on. Plus, this free’s up your time. So having other teammates conduct at least one interview is a must and it’s a great opportunity to have shadow interviews as well.

And when it comes to having a good hiring process, can you say confidently that I’m not hiring for this position again and again but instead the people I bring in are not only excelling at this role but I can see them growing as well. You see that second point, about growing with you as well is a key metric.

You aren’t just interviewing someone for one specific role but all other roles as well, leadership roles, cross training roles with another department, maybe even a new role you haven’t even started yet.

When I interview for any position it’s not just for their current role but I’m thinking and challenging myself and our applicants to see what could they accomplish where if they had a team working for them. I mean they would have to excel in their current role but do they have a few characteristics of leadership and communication that they could lead a few people. Or if you are hiring for a front desk agent could this person do well at conversing with guests and handling the breakfast bar, or are they very organized and could they assist with housekeeping and scheduling, or even being an assistant to the sales team? You see, you need to stop thinking about just the individual role at hand but how can this person excel throughout the organization. This allows for greater cross training and development and provides opportunities for growth within your organization. And that type of growth is what keeps your team energized, engaged, and excited.

So our tip for this week is to not micromanage your hiring process but instead keep it simple enough for you and your team to feel supported, positive, and self-assured that the amount of time you are spending with your applicants is correct. Plus, to remember to not just think about the current position you are hiring for your hotel but how can this individual help themselves and our current team to grow and prosper.

Now, if you don’t have a interviewing plan, are unsure of what to ask, and are up at night wondering if this person can do the job then jump over to our simple interviewing course, Interviewing Made Simple. Here we walk you through a simple, easy to implement interviewing plan that removes the mystery of how to hire A+ Talent.

You can check it out at Interviewing Made Simple

Alright, I hope that was helpful! If you haven’t signed up for our weekly videos, please do so below and if you know someone who this would help, share it! All right talk to you soon!