How to attract the best staff

More and more of our hotel clients are asking us to help them with their recruitment. This can be for a number of reasons…recruitment agencies aren’t working, traditional recruitment ads aren’t getting the results either, or it might be that the talent pool in said hotel’s area is just too small. So, it’s important therefore that hotels portray themselves as a great place to work. They need to look brilliant, in order to attract brilliance.

Hotels need to be found by potential employees. Not the other way around. That’s the scenario we want.

For us, hotels need to look at their marketing efforts to help with this. Within our team here, it’s now become a big part of our offering to hotels.

We work with our clients to show to the outside world what an amazing, fun, creative place it is to work at their establishments. We do this in a number of ways, but one of the most effective methods is video.

Our ‘recruitment’ videos that we put together for clients will show how each department works from the kitchen through to housekeeping, but not just the jobs involved, the team spirit, the togetherness that is so often a big part of hotel life, and what so often draws people in in the first place. These videos can then sit on the careers page of the hotel’s website, be pushed out on social etc etc.

We also work with key members of hotels, such as head chefs, working on their individual social media activity, where their content is more about the inside life of a working hotel kitchen. Again, the main reason for this is to reach out to young budding chefs. People aspire to be like others. So identify your heroes in your hotel and promote them.

Finally, play on other elements of your hotel that will help attract great talent. Staff accommodation is a great example of this. Don’t cut corners with staff accommodation, make it excellent, because this will attract excellence, and more importantly motivate and encourage further excellence.