Recruiting Best Practices: Lessons Learned this Summer

As we head out of summer into fall months, your HR team recognizes what a challenging summer it has been from a recruiting and retention perspective. We have some real superheroes among us who have taken the hiring challenge to heart and done whatever it takes to keep their positions filled and their teams happy! For those who continue the upward climb to find a steady staff… here are some best practices for you. These are all firsthand lessons we’ve learned from this summer’s challenging recruiting market.

TIP #1: Recruiting, Hiring, Onboarding and Retention takes TIME

While we know time is exactly what you don’t have… those GMs that have truly dedicated time each week to searching resumes, calling candidates, talking with them and getting them onboard. When they start, they are not quick to put them out on their own, but carefully plan and execute their onboarding and training process. Taking the time now will save you time in the long run. The more people you contact… the better chance you have to fill those open positions. Oh – one last tip. If they apply and you see their resume within 24 hours, contact them now! If you wait – someone else will get to them first.

TIP #2: Your PHONE holds the power!

We tend to assume that with the recruiting technology we have today… that contacting a candidate through the system is the best way to communicate with potential candidates. However, what we have learned this summer is that a good old-fashioned voice to voice phone calls tend to work best! When you can actually spend a few moments talking with a candidate on the phone – you need to take that opportunity to SELL your business to that candidate. THINK SALES STRATEGY! You need to have your “30-minute elevator speech” ready to go. What’s in it for them? What are some advantages to working for you? Be positive, even though you are dead tired from cleaning rooms. Dig deep to make the best impression to the candidate!

If they don’t answer – send a text – but make sure it’s friendly, upbeat and gives the candidate a reason to call you back! (tip: Save the text to your notes in your phone – so that you can cut and paste each time.)

And finally, when you do speak with them – do they sound like an initial fit over the phone? Tell them to bring their I-9 documentation with them… it will not only make them think “ooooo… I already have the job” and might help get them to actually come in – but it will also help “weed out” those candidates that do not have the proper authorization to work.

TIP #3: When they actually show up to meet you… No One Walks! (where have we heard that phrase before?)

Take the opportunity to make them feel welcome! Make sure your staff knows a candidate is coming today and let them be a part of the “property presentation”. How great is it if a candidate arrives and the front desk GSR knows their name? If you have a strong employee working that day, don’t forget the “Day in the Life” interview step that we allow. This is a 10–15-minute shadowing of the job. (no actual work can be completed by the candidate). It not only gives the candidate a snapshot of the position – but it allows your key employees to be engaged and empowered to help you with the recruiting process. A side benefit of this step is that often the candidate will be a little more conversational with your team which will give you some insider info into who they really are!

Lastly, if you get a candidate to actually come in and talk with you and your team – be prepared to make a decision that day. Again, don’t wait! If they are available – you may even want to start them that day. They can do their onboarding paperwork, meet the team, etc. All of this effort makes them feel engaged from the beginning.

TIP #4: When Interviewing, focus on their SCHEDULE and RELIABILITY

Ever wonder why you interview a candidate, you hire that candidate because they said they could work “whenever”, and then turn into a scheduling nightmare on day 1? Most often it’s because the GM started the interview with “here’s what I need”. The candidate will always say yes – because they want the job and then you run into scheduling issues once they start. A good interviewer will always lead with “what is your availability” … and determine if that availability can work into your needs. If they can only work Mon and Wed… how can you make that work? Is 2 days better than no days? Is Part Time better than an open position? Remember, the more flexible you can be these days with scheduling, the more success you’ll have on hiring.

TIP #5 – Don’t forget these other KEY RESOURCES for Help.

• Call HR when you’re struggling. The properties that have partnered with the HR team when they are struggling have realized that it takes a village to overcome these labor challenges. We can do wage surveys, post on social media for you, look at the market on Indeed to see what’s happening, and post jobs on sites (if budget approved) to help you spend more time talking with candidates and less time administratively posting jobs.

• Call back past resignations and layoffs

• And Don’t forget the BFF Program. Your best employees can bring in a friend and together, they can earn $500 over the next 6 months!

A challenging labor market is in the cards for the immediate future, with no signs of shifting any time soon. Don’t give up, take time to recruit, reach out for help and we will succeed together.

CONGRATS TO THESE INNS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY

RETAINED THEIR TEAMS THIS SUMMER!

Properties with less than 10% summer turnover between 5/23 and 8/23

South Deerfield, MA - 0%

Rockville, MD - 0%

Seattle Airport - 5%

Framingham - 5%

St. Clairsville - 6%

Parsippany - 6%

Buffalo Niagara - 6%

San Francisco - 6%

BWI Airport - 8%

5 Best Practices for Hotel Sales

1. Networking. Attend local community networking events, get involved on committees, attend dinners, galas, grand openings. Partner with your local Chamber of Commerce, Visitor’s Bureau, Economic Development Council, Sports commission, etc… Join an association, attend meetings that are open to public and members, know what is going on in your community.

2. Lot Shops. Good old fashion parking lot shops. Know your comp set, drive through before 6:30am and after 8pm during weekdays and weekends. Vehicles love to wrap their business name for visual. Share your findings with your ADOS for follow up.

3. Shop the Competition. Visit your competition as if you were a potential client. Have they had a recent renovation? Does your hotel have something extra to offer that they do not? Know who you are selling against, and how to sell against them.

4. Social Media. Make sure you are taking every effort to keep up to date on your hotel social media channels. Follow your competition. Follow your corporate accounts. Know what they are up to before your competition does. Be proactive vs. reactive. Sign up for their newsletters, blogs, white pages, linked in, Facebook, twitter, and trip advisor. You can research your competition as well through many search options. You can research your corporate accounts, and uncover new business (who else is coming to town to work on the same project?).

5. Online Competition. We all know the importance of parking lot shops. Did you know you can also "shop your competition online"? By reviewing your competitors' websites and looking at the demand generators that they list on their site (local attractions, events, businesses,...), you could find a new source of revenue! Take a look at the things they are listing that are missing from your webpage. Is there an opportunity to add these to your Experience Page as well?

Phone Scam Prevention

To ensure the safety of our hotels, it is important to know scams are on the rise. Phone scams come in many forms, but they tend to make similar threats, or ask you to send money. Please take all precautions to ensure you and your staff don’t fall for a scam.

There’s never a good reason to send cash, and we as a company we will NEVER call a property and ask for money to be taken from the drawer, deposit, etc. to be wired or sent to anyone from the company. The only people that will ask you to do anything with money is accounting if your daily deposits are missing and the only place they will ask you to take money is to your properties bank with our deposit slip.

Here is what you need to know:

• Scammers create a sense of urgency. They rush you into making a quick decision before you look into it.

• Scammers use intimidation and fear. They tell you that something terrible is about to happen to get you to send a payment before you have a chance to check out their claims.

• Scammers use untraceable payment methods. They often want payment through wire transfers, reloadable cards, or gift cards that are nearly impossible to reverse or track.

• One thing you can count on is that a phone scammer will try to get your money or your personal information to commit identity theft. Don’t give it to them.

Train Your Employees

• Your best defense is an informed workforce. Explain to your staff how scams happen.

• Encourage people to talk with their coworkers if they spot a scam. Scammers often target multiple people in an organization, so an alert from one employee about a scam can help prevent others from being deceived.

• Train employees not to send passwords or sensitive information by email, even if the email seems to come from a manager. Then stick with the program — don’t ever ask for sensitive data from employees by email.

• If you are unsure who is calling and what they are asking of you, do the following:

  • Ask for name of person calling and the company they are with

  • Ask for a call back number

  • Inform the caller that you are not authorized to provide this information or perform a task and you will have your supervisor call them back. If this is a legitimate business, they will not take offense or try to persuade you to give them information.

  • Contact your General Manager and/or RVPO. Supply them with caller information: name, company, call back number and details of the request.

  • Never give out your co-worker’s personal information, such as cell phone numbers. If the caller is a legitimate business, they should be calling direct to the hotel business number or can call back to the hotel phone to reach the manager.

• If someone calls requesting money notify your General Manager and/or RVPO immediately and complete an incident report for it to be on file whether no loss of funds occurs.

• Call the police and report it with the information you gained from the caller.

Phone Scam Prevention Flyer RRI West.pdf

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