Hiring the Hospitality Gene

Dining at one of my favorite restaurants in town last week, I mentioned to my husband that our server has “It”. He had no idea what I was talking about until I mentioned our server greeted us with a warm welcome, anticipated and fulfilled our needs, and sent us on our way with a positive opinion about the dining experience. Yep, she really did have “It”.

“It” is the Hospitality Gene, and it would be amazing if all service workers encountered at a restaurant, retail store, hotel, winery, or any other service organization in town, possessed it. Not everyone working in a service role has the innate ability to genuinely serve. You can picture in your minds the ones who curtly ask, “What do you want”, or those who make you feel like you have done something wrong in asking for help. However, there are those who have the Hospitality Gene. They are the ones who serve you authentically with a sparkle in their eye, engage you, and demonstrate a desire to accommodate you as a customer. These are the type of employees you want to represent your company.

Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a guest and a host, the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, with kindness and genuine goodwill. As you look at your staff, identify those with the Hospitality Gene; those without it are your challenge.

You might wonder, “How do I hire one of these Hospitality Gene individuals?” According to The New Gold Standard, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company by Joseph Michelli, “A thoughtful process for finding job candidates who are dedicated to service pays bountiful dividends…in employees who produce more, are happier, and stay longer.” It would make sense then, as a business owner, to place importance on the hiring process.

We often hire people because they can “fog a mirror”, that is, they are living, breathing individuals who happen in to your workplace just as your star employee has walked off the job. A few cursory inquiry questions later, and an offer is made. Hiring is often done in haste, leaving the company to repent in the long run.

No one loves to go through the recruiting process; job descriptions, job posting, resume reviewing, interviewing… who has time for this stuff anyway? Each time you interview a candidate you question, “How do I know this applicant can do the job?” or “How do I know if this person will fit in to my organization?” The wrong hire can be expensive to your organization, but the recruitment process doesn’t have to be risky. Follow these tips and your hiring will be more effective:



Tip #1: Prepare
Establish what Hospitality means to you and your service-related company. Organize your hiring practices for the best advantage to hire the Hospitality Gene.

* Prepare by developing job descriptions for each position, including the desired and required service criteria. This may not sound critical, but it is the only way to match required skills to the skill set of the applicant. At the very minimum, develop a list of skills necessary for each position and determine if the candidate’s skill set is sufficient, or if they can be trained.

Tip #2: Establish Rapport
Hire for attitude: Why focus on attitude? Skills can be taught. Attitude can’t… applicants are either born with the Hospitality Gene or they aren’t.
* Spend time making small talk with applicant before getting to the interview questions. This initial “breaking ice” moment gives you insight into the applicant’s hospitable style.

Tip #3: Gather and Provide Information
Use behavioral questions to evaluate if the applicant has the Hospitality Gene. Remember, just as important in asking the question, is listening to the applicant’s answer.
* Have you worked in the hospitality industry? Where? What did you do? What did you like (dislike) about this (these) job(s)? (Listen for relevant work experience and likes or dislikes that may or may not fit the job.)
* How would you go about helping a customer feel welcome? (Listen for accommodating style, knowledge of hospitality)
* How do you think you would handle a delicate or complicated request if you didn’t know what resources we could offer? (Listen for resourcefulness, creativity)
* Tell me about an example of how you turned around an initially bad customer exchange into a positive outcome. (Listen for knowledge of effective service recovery, independent thinking, accommodating style). * Describe what you would say if asked to talk about your service philosophy to a group of subordinates. (Listen for personal hospitality philosophy).
* What type of people do you like best? And least? Why? (Listen for openness and a lack of prejudice.)
* What do you think excellent customer service would be in our business? (Listen for service knowledge and values.) * Tell me about a time when someone failed to provide good service to you. Give me examples of what the person did poorly. How could he/she have improved? (Listen for service knowledge and values.)
* What do you think is most important in building long term, repeat customer business? (Listen for work ethic, service values, and willingness to serve.)
* Sooner or later, we all have to work with an unreasonable customer. What types of behavior would you find most frustrating? How would you respond under such a circumstance? (Listen for openness, tact and ability to handle difficult people.)

Tip #4: Evaluate and Select
Remember, past behavior tends to predict future behavior.
* Call applicant’s business references. Talk to business owner, describe your position, customer base, products and services… ask them if they believe the candidate would be qualified.

Make the right hiring choice. The real job of hiring for service-related positions is finding individuals who possess the Hospitality Gene!

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or follow her on Twitter at Temecula_HR, and Facebook: Inland Management Group

Connection

Connection

Ever hear a song, smell a fragrance, look at a picture, or meet someone, and immediately connect it with something in your mind?

I do, especially when my Plumeria plant finally blooms. I take in the aroma, close my eyes and quickly connect to a warm sandy beach somewhere in Hawaii!

The point is, we are always connecting one thing to another in life and as a job seeker, you want to ensure that people associate you as a great candidate.

When someone looks at your resume, or meets you in a networking situation, do they immediately connect you with someone they want to interview, and eventually hire? You have the ability to change the course of your unemployment today. If what you have been doing to find work isn’t working, look introspectively and figure out what is going wrong. Find out where the “disconnect” is and turn it around.

It’s often the unexpected connections in life that surprise us the most. It might be someone you run into at the store, who shares with you the company they work for is hiring. Maybe it’s a parent of your child’s teammate who, in a casual conversation, discloses they own a company in town that is hiring. Or it could be someone you have met along your unemployment journey who hears of an opening and lets you know about it. Your “brand”, (expertise and personal presentation), is better served if you have a widespread network who can extend the reach of your job search.

As you continue to brand yourself in the marketplace as a candidate of choice, do things that will ready you for the time when a connection puts you in contact with a hiring individual. Look over your resume. Is it clear and concise? What about your social networks? Have you cleaned up your “digital dirt”? Are you connected online with those who will help you, both personally and professionally, and do either of these groups increase the likelihood of moving you forward with your job search? Have you tried to connect your skills and expertise to positions that are outside of your original search parameters?

“Regardless of how you make a connection, remember to always represent yourself in a positive and professional way.” ~ J. Smith

GOOD NEWS: Although the mainstream media reports high unemployment figures, I continually see BACTS participants interviewing and getting job offers. The July figures for national unemployment are being reported as the highest figures for the Inland Empire in years. If this is the case, why are there over 400 jobs listed today on www.simplyhired.com? There ARE jobs available. It’s up to you to connect to them.

BACTS FACT: “Connect with someone each day who can offer referrals and ideas to keep momentum in your job search.” ~J. Smith

THAT'S IT: It’s important to find a way to be a candidate of choice when interviewing. One way to do this is to ace the interview! You want the recruiter to connect the dots and see you as a perfect fit for the position. Here’s a great link to the Tough 64 Questions in an Interview, and it includes how to answer the questions. This is a must-look-at site for job seekers. http://dev.fyicenter.com/Interview-Questions/Sixty-Four/

Keep telling yourself you are a great candidate. I know it’s hard to do when you haven’t yet found the right job, but you need to be your own best advocate as a job seeker.

Have a great week everyone,

Jan

Jan M. Smith
Inland Management Group
Human Resource Consulting & Support to the Service Industry
(951) 302-6483
www.inlandmgtgroup.com
www.janmsmith.com
Twitter: @temecula_hr
Facebook: http://facebook.com/#!/InlandManagementGroup
LinkedIn: http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/janmsmith

If You Don't Believe in Yourself, Who Will?

"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest."

~Muhammad Ali


Just returned from a week of vacation in beautiful Colorado where I saw some of the most beautiful roads, rivers and mountains! There's nothing like getting away to help clear your head, focus on the future, and affirm goals. During my week away, I read through Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love. The story reminds me of the last BACTS Update I sent, where I asked that you keep "Believing" in yourself, your abilities, and affirm your success.

This week, I'd like to continue with the theme about how you must believe you will find work soon. Regardless of how long you have been off of work, you are either your own advocate or your worst enemy, by the words you choose to use to describe yourself. Affirmation is powerful, if used in the right direction! The choice is certainly yours, but as a job seeker, it would be best to be your own cheerleader and keep yourself pumped for the "marathon" of job searching.

There is a great quote in Eat, Pray, Love that describes how people repeat the same words over and over to themselves, and how these words so often have a negative affect. I have mentioned this before, about talking yourself up, not down, but I continue to speak with many unemployed who either are not getting interviews, or getting interviews but not getting offers. The conversation often leads to, "I guess I'm never going to get a job", or "I don't think anyone will hire me because....", "I can't take that job, it's too little pay", or "I won't apply for that position because it's a title I had 5 years ago"....

In the book, there is reference to how "All the pain of a human life is caused by words, as is all the joy. We create words to define our experience and those words bring emotions that jerk us around like dogs on a leash. We get seduced by our own mantras (I'm a failure...I'm lonely...I'm not employable...(I added this last one to this quote), and we become monuments to them. To stop talking for a while, then, is to attempt to strip away the power of words, to stop choking ourselves with words, to liberate ourselves from our suffocating mantras."

It's important for all of you to stop beating yourself up for not yet finding work. It doesn't do you any good. Be quiet for a while. When you are ready to start talking to yourself, say only positive things, with affirmations that you will be successful. Try it, and you will find that without the little voice in your head telling you that you can't... you just might be able to do what you want to do!

I know week after week, without employment, the "mantras" get louder, but please, try to silence them. Each one of you has potential to find work. Don't accept that you will be unemployed forever, because you will not.

"Affirmations are like seeds planted in soil. Poor soil, poor growth. Rich soil, abundant growth. The more you choose to think thoughts that make you feel good, the quicker the affirmations work." ~Louise L. Hay

BACTS FACT: "A recruiter is looking for the most confident, talented, personable, capable, and experienced candidate. That's you, right?"

THAT'S IT: In the last BACTS Update, I shared a thought about volunteering in the field you have interest in for full time work. I heard back from Bill S. who wrote, "I'm one of those still unemployed, but a very slow process a getting a job is closer. In your updates, you have mentioned to volunteer in the area of work interest. My neighbor told me of an opportunity and I have been volunteering twice a month since October, 2009. The reward is great, as the 7-14 men look forward to myself and others who come to see them, as they sit in their jail cells. About 4 months ago, I was asked to be a volunteer chaplain in the jail, which has now turned in to a 20 hours a week paid position, as they found some funds. Sometimes we are given hurdles to overcome, but remember there is a plan, that we may not see right away and we need to wait for His time."

Bill's story confirms my suggestion to not turn away an opportunity because it doesn't fit exactly what you had in mind, or what your MIND was telling you it HAD to be. Go after everything, with earnest, and hopefully, you'll be working soon.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." ~Napoleon Hill

Have a great week everyone,

Jan

Jan M. Smith
Inland Management Group
Human Resource Consulting & Support to the Service Industry
(951) 302-6483
http://www.inlandmgtgroup.com/
http://www.janmsmith.com/
Twitter: @temecula_hr
Facebook: http://facebook.com/#!/InlandManagementGroup
LinkedIn: http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/janmsmith

Retaining Your Top Talent, Where Do You Go from Here?

Jan M. Smith
Inland Management Group


Barry Manilow’s song, “Looks Like We Made It” is blaring somewhere in the background as I eat my lunch at a local restaurant…

The song makes me think about how our hospitality community has made it through the first half of this year. That’s a decent accomplishment we should all be proud of! Part of making it can be attributed to your great employees; the service ambassadors for your organization.

As we enter the second half of 2010, I’d like to challenge you to think more about your employees. As we start to see a plateau in the economy, with most signs pointing up, a key issue for hospitality organizations will be the retention of key talent.

Battle-fatigued employees who have long felt underappreciated and underpaid are already starting to exit employers at record numbers in search of a better situation. Most have held tight to their jobs until the availability of others surface.

Each day, increased numbers of hospitality jobs are becoming available, so here are a couple of things to ponder:
· In a recent poll by Right Management, 60% of workers said they intended to leave their jobs when the market got better.
· This past May, the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or discharged for the first time since October 2008.

There has been a lot of talk recently about “Talent Wars,” where an increasingly competitive landscape for recruiting and retaining talented employees is starting to appear. It probably sounds crazy for an era with high unemployment figures, but the reality is YOUR talent might be already looking elsewhere and taking all the training, expertise, and knowledge you have provided them, as they skip over to your competitor. Yikes!

Here is a look at some important ways to keep your best talent:
· Re-engage & re-establish trust. Holding regular company-wide informational meetings and one-on-one “stay” interviews with employees where they can offer ideas, ask questions, and air grievances without fear of repercussion.

· Pay fairly & offer competitive benefits. Being cost-conscious and thrifty on salaries, health insurance, paid leaves, 401K plans and other benefits was necessary for many of you to keep your business going during the past several years, but this is a key reason valuable talent is moving on. Keep on top of regional salary averages and benefit packages.

· Recognize & reward good performance. Consider relaxing the noose on employee’s pay. Celebrate when major goals are reached. Bonuses are great for morale, and workers who feel appreciated work harder.

· Share Company mission. Communicate mission statement to help employee connection to the organization’s goals and keep employees mentally and emotionally tied to your company.

· Communicate openly. Allow employees to have a say in major decisions that affect them, such as the direction of the company and changes within their department. Listen to and respect their ideas and opinions with an open mind. When an employee has an “ownership mentality,” they are often more apt to stay with an organization and serve the guest more effectively.

· Provide perks. Offer company discounts, free product, and perks that make your company stand out over your competition. Be flexible about your employees' schedules whenever possible. Today's workers want a work/life balance. Flexible starting and ending times for shifts can help employees get important personal tasks done. They’ll appreciate it and may be more likely to stay with your company.

· Provide opportunities. Give employees a clear path of advancement. This will eliminate frustration as they will see a clear future for themselves at your company. Offer cross-training, workshops and presentations, and encourage mentoring within the company. Get managers involved to spend time coaching employees, helping good performers move to new positions and minimizing poor performance.

· Communicate expectations. It may seem basic, but often in companies, employees have a wide breadth of responsibilities. If they don’t know exactly what their jobs entail and what you need from them, they can’t perform up to standard, and morale can begin to dip.

· Give honest, constructive feedback. Good efforts should be commended, or employees may feel you haven't even noticed their hard work. If there's something you feel they can work on, let them know in a way that doesn't imply that they've done something wrong.

An increase in turnover can be costly for companies. The average cost of turnover for a minimum wage hospitality worker could be as high as $11,609.00. (based on research conducted by Cornell University)

So where do you go from here?

· Pay attention and get a pulse on your employee morale.
· Listen to what employees are saying about you and your organization.
· Ensure you offer the best pay, benefits, and opportunities.

There’s something to be said for retaining great employees who can absorb the brand and communicate it effectively. More then ever, as the economy starts to turn around, it will be essential to keep your talented and trained employees to exceed guest expectations.

Jan M. Smith is the Founder and Principal of Inland Management Group, a Human Resource Consultancy located in Temecula, specializing in the Hospitality and Entertainment industry. You can contact Jan at (951) 302-6483, email at jsmith@inlandmgtgroup.com, www.inlandmgtgroup.com, or follow her on Twitter at Temecula_HR, and Facebook: Inland Management Group