By Leith James
Hospitality staff hire is always challenging - it is a demanding industry that requires high standards of service. It is not just experience and qualifications that the employer is looking for, it is also 'people skills' - the ability to deliver 'service with a smile' while maintaining high standards, all the time. Here are some questions that employers are faced with when it is time to fill a job vacancy.
· How do I create a job vacancy advertisement that will attract the right people and filter out the unsuitable candidates?
With hospitality staff hire, it is impossible to ensure that all those applying for you will be suitable candidates, but you can narrow down the initial flow of applications by wording your ad so that it is directed at a very specific group of people. It's just a matter of providing the right information for the job seekers.
First, decide who your target group is, then make a list of all the essential requirements of the applicant, and prioritize them. What is more important - a qualification from a top training institute or experience at a 5-Star hotel? Be precise about the experience, qualification, skills and other qualities that will be required. This will short list the number of applicants and make your work easier. Include as much details of the job as possible, to short list the number of people with unrealistic expectations. This includes special terms of work, such as shift work, holiday, the need to work under pressure or as part of a team, etc. Listing your website will give prospective employees an idea of the workplace and standards expected; the more information you can provide, the more chances you have of reaching the right person.
A mention of the pay scale that comes with the job might also narrow down the list of applicants.
· What should an employer be looking out for in the job interview?
Do your homework - have the right questions ready for the interview. Remember that part of job training today is preparing people for job interviews. So your applicant might come prepared with all the right answers to all the regular job interview questions. If you want to find the real merits of your applicant, you have to be innovative with your questions. Before the interview, it is important to make a list of all the skills, qualifications, experience and personality traits that are needed for the job. The questions you ask the candidate should verify all of these, and also give you an indication of the applicants ability to handle specific situations that will arise on the job. Try and bring up situations that will give you an opportunity to gauge the applicants ability to solve problems under stressful situations, or be a good team member, or whatever other personal skills are necessary for the job.
If you have a range of candidates with a range of experience and qualifications, in the end, you will probably have to rely largely on your intuition to decide who is the right person for the job. Only a combination of intuition, your experience in the hospitality industry and knowledge of the job and workplace, will enable you to pick the person that has not only the skills and experience, but also the right attitudes and personality that you are looking for.
· I am finding it hard to assess candidates' personality traits - are there any means of finding out how they will fit the job?
Most applicants will send you CVs listing all their qualifications, work experience, references, and excellent personal qualities that will make them the ideal candidate for the job. You can check on all of the above, except those all-important personal qualities - how do you verify those? How do you evaluate personality trends like positive attitude, genuine caring attitude, adaptability, reliability and decision-making?
The best way to find the answers to these questions for hospitality staff hire is through psychometric testing. These personality assessments are used widely by career consultants, academic institutions and businesses to help people choose their career and help employers quantify peoples suitability for certain jobs. Many trends that are very hard to assess in a short interview will be revealed in such tests, and you can even find tests that are tailored for hospitality staff hire. There are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers in these tests, they just spell out the persons tendencies - those which are so important for the employer who is looking for a reliable and trustworthy staff member.
When it comes to finding the right person for a hospitality staff hire vacancy - a good screening process, well-planned interviews, personality assessment tests and your intuition, born from your own experience in the hospitality industry, will ensure the right candidate finds you and is picked for the job to fulfil your and their expectations.
Leith James has been a chef for over fifteen years and knows the secrets of effective business management with a book titled "The Secret ingredient to finding hospitality staff". His vision is to improve hospitality quality and educate employers on effective hiring techniques through personality assessments. Read more articles like Hospitality staff hire or Get instant Access for the Free hospitality mini course at http://www.hospitality1.net/.