We see it all the time…a small hospitality business owner needs a new manager, so they pay to post the job description to a few online job boards and figure they’ll spend a few hours reviewing applications and interviewing the top candidates.
But before they know it, they’ve spent days or weeks spinning their wheels with no viable candidates to show for their time spent! Sometimes, business leaders forget to factor in the biggest cost of recruiting – time! Here are the five most commonly overlooked steps in planning out the recruitment process:
- Writing a Job Ad
- Scheduling Interviews
- Calling References
- Conducting Background Checks
- Preparing Written Offers
Writing a Compelling Job Ad
Most hiring authorities take the shortcut of simply posting the job description with its dozens of bullet points and requirements. But standing out from the noise on job boards takes a thoughtful approach. What is your target demographic looking for in a job? Are all skills requirements “must-have”? Or are some just “nice-to-have”? Are there local or industry-specific job boards that would attract more diverse candidates? It takes time to get all the ducks in a row to attract the best candidates.
Scheduling Interviews
You have never truly played telephone tag until you have tried to schedule an interview with a gainfully employed hospitality candidate. On top of that, many hiring authorities are also juggling the hectic schedule of running a business. And if multiple people need to meet with a candidate, the task of coordinating schedules gets even more time-consuming. While there are a variety of scheduling tools available, just getting to the interview stage can be time-consuming.
Calling References
Professional references are a gold mine of valuable information and should never be skipped. Since they tend to have their own busy hospitality careers, this step always involves more telephone-tag. To get the most out of references, you will need to prepare clear and objective questions.
Conducting Background Checks
“Never judge a book by its cover.” That’s a common saying that’s been around for many generations. In terms of recruitment and pre-employment screening, it means something unique. Depending on the position, background checks can involve everything from criminal records to driving records, to credit checks. The more in-depth you want to vet your candidates; the process can go from taking days to weeks. It is important for companies to scrutinize potential employees’ backgrounds, as having qualified, honest employees is critical to their success.
Preparing Written Offers
Persuasive offers require a market-appropriate salary, competitive benefits, and well-thought-out employment terms. This takes research. And research takes time. Unless you have a corporate team that creates offers, this administrative task often falls on the hiring manager. Having trusted resources for salary and benefits research helps, but it always takes longer than expected.
Partner with Efficient Hospitality Recruiters
Without a designated human resources department, recruiting for hospitality positions can feel like its own full-time job. Partner with recruitment experts to help grow your team, so you can focus on growing your business. The Hospitality Recruiters at Horizon Hospitality handle everything from writing job ads that convert, coordinating interviews, contacting references and background checks, and writing offer letters. Contact us to learn how.
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