Given the hotels stated employee preferences, what recruiting sources would you suggest they use, and why?
The hotel fronts three criteria for the ideal employee. First, they prefer employees who put the customer first. That is, the customer, rather than the employee or the hotel itself, should receive priority. Second, the hotel prefers employees who take initiative to satisfy guests. Not only should workers check the status of guests or simply respond to their needs, they should proactively seek to please anyone who stays at the hotel. Third, employees should work tirelessly to exceed the expectations of guests. Rather than quitting, leaving a job half-done, or offering only acceptable work, the employees must overshoot their task to the surprise and pleasure of the guest. In short, the hotel prefers employees who prioritize, initiate, and impress.
Barry Shamis, author of Hiring 3.0, wrote a recent article on employee recruiting sources (2014). Two of his insights pertain to the Hotel Paris case. First, he mentions “focused advertising,” where the recruiter focuses their ads in strategic locations. He writes,
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The key to recruitment advertising is deciding where to place the ads. More than any other decision this will impact the results. Previously I mentioned working backwards. Work from the prospective candidates back to your company. What does the person you are trying to recruit read? What publications do they get?
This strategy appears to apply only to written forms of recruitment, such as newspaper advertising. However, Shamis’ concept extends to the entirety of employee recruitment—start with the desired employee.
What might starting with the desired employee look like for Hotel Paris? First, they must determine what sort of employee they want. They already provide such information as outlined above. Then the hotel must discover what sources and channels of information these types of employees use. In other words, what sort of literature, websites, or means of communication confront our ideal candidate most regularly?
In order to answer such a question, the hotel might consider the geographical region, such as Paris, and therefore limit the study to means of communication within Paris. They many also approach the question from a personality or temperament point of view. Maybe such candidates don’t typically respond to web-based ads of any sort but prefer magazines and newspapers. Similarly, the hotel should consider preferred backgrounds. If their ideal customer has held a certain job or earned a particular education, such a population may organize by some means. A list or directory may actually be available as a resource to direct the recruiter.
Shamis also mentions customers as a possible recruitment source. He remarks, “I am not suggesting you recruit your customers. Instead, view them as a source for referrals. Let customers know about your employee recruiting needs. Reward them with a discount or something else of value for making the referral.” This method may prove strongest for Hotel Paris, because their preferences begin with the customer. Thus, why not start with those they hope to serve? If you want employees who please the customer, then your customers should be able to offer valuable direction in who and who not to hire.
For Hotel Paris, such a method requires gathering information. They might check with current and near-future guests and even contact those who stayed at the hotel in the past. A questionnaire might offer guests choices between certain departments or even photographs of the employees with a ranking system. Guests would then mark the level of performance given by each department, possibly in terms of “priority to the customer, initiative of the employees, and impressiveness of the employees.” They could also leave comments on particular persons, recommendations for improvement, or overall impressions of the hotel’s services.
This information provides Hotel Paris with direct feedback from their most valued source. Furthermore, they can assess their immediate state, as many of the employees evaluated by the guests will currently work at the hotel. And if the hotel provides incentive for customer feedback, this may prompt former guests to revisit the hotel or refer new clients, increasing business. This creates another source for recruitment: the employees.
Hotel Paris should identify those departments and employees who received the highest ratings from customers and then correspond with these workers as sources. Such employees might refer the hotel to friends or family or former co-workers who demonstrate similar work habits. This assumes, of course, that those with the preferred work ethic associate with those who share that ethic. But this seems to a be a safe assumption to make.
What would a Hotel Paris help-wanted ad look like?
The ad would emphasize customer service and relations. It should suggest no employee-centered messages, regardless of how lucrative that may be for the hotel. Hotel Paris needs employees who prioritize the customer, thus, the customer should attract them to work for the hotel.
However, the ad may also feature the quality of the hotel. Employees who exceed the expectations of customers probably want other to exceed their own expectations. Thus, if Hotel Paris presents, say in a photograph, the luxury of their accommodations and dining, then that should attract like-minded employees.
How would you suggest they measure the effectiveness of their recruiting efforts?
The hotel’s state of recruitment assessment lays in inactivity or even nonexistence. It appears that no method or data remains from former HR personnel. Hence, the hotel must start from the ground up and develop categories, criteria, and values for measuring their recruiting efforts.
Paul Croteau, an expert in recruitment at the Legacy Bowes Group, explains some of the most important metrics for recruitment (2014). He lists first the “value of recruitment strategy,” which addresses the question above regarding sources of recruitment. Thus we have adequately considers the first metric from P. Croteau’s article.
For Hotel Paris and their preference of the customer, the “quality of hire” category might benefit them most. Croteau states that “this metric allows for the assessment of the quality of the candidate. Is the successful candidate fully qualified and/or will the organization be required to invest immediately in order to increase their skills.” According to this metric, the hotel should attend to the employees’ performance in terms of customer service: prioritizing, initiative, and impressiveness. The HR person may gather such information from other employees and most importantly the customers themselves.
- Croteau, P. (2014). Evaluating your Recruitment Efforts. Legacy Bowes Group. Retrieved from http://www.legacybowes.com/authors/entry/evaluating-your-recruitment-efforts-some-helpful-metrics.html
- Shamis, B. (2014). Employee Recruiting Sources. Selecting Winners. Retrieved from http://selectingwinners.com/employee-recruiting/employee-recruiting-sources/
