When building a memorable brand, it is vital to retain the best hotel staff you can find. Whether you are just starting out or have been in the business for years, the guest’s first impression of the staff tends to last.
The interview process can be difficult for the potential employee and for the hiring manager as well. There is a lot of pressure to find the best person for the job among a sea of candidates. Not only do you have to be able to detect authenticity, you need to know what kind of questions to ask, too. Whether you are hiring for a line-cook position in the kitchen or a receptionist at the front desk, you want to ensure that all of your team members share the same values and customer-driven approach.
Consider these top 6 questions when looking to hire your next hotel employee:
Where have you worked before and what have you learnt from your previous experience?
This is one of the most basic questions every interviewer should ask. By asking this, you learn about the background of the interviewee and his/her strength and weakness. Make sure to hire someone who has a minimum of 1 year experience as the hospitality industry is elusive and you would want to recruit staff which can handle your guests with ease.
How long have you been with the previous hotel/property?
When recruiting, you would obviously be looking for employees who will stick around for long. So ask your interviewee about the reasons why they left the previous hotel and what are they expecting from your hotel.
How would you handle guest complaints and other issues?
One of the reasons recruiters ask open-ended questions is to gauge the ability to react and handle this question. Your staff needs to be ready with appropriate responses if such a situation arises so make sure you prioritize this question in your list of questions. Even better, ask them to cite an example of a guest complaint and how they dealt with it.
What would you do if you find your co-worker stealing or doing any wrong activities?
Honesty and loyalty are crucial in the hotel industry as your guests completely trust the hotel staff. So you need to make sure how the candidate will handle the situation if he/she comes across this. Give a situation to your interviewee and then see how their response. This way you will be able to easily judge the candidate.
Why do you want to work with our hotel and what are your goals?
Kill two birds with one stone with this question. By posting this question, you can best judge the candidate on what expectations they have from this job and what are their future plans and goals for the hotel. You can have a good exchange of thoughts on this question and this way you will also be able to set the goals for the candidate.
What do you have that other candidates don’t?
You should know what makes the candidate unique from others. You can judge the candidate on the technical skills, behavioral skills and ability to build strong customer relationships. Once you know the unique point of the candidate then it will be easier for you to recruit the person.
Customer service can make or break a brand, so the recruiting process is extremely important for a hotel. Hotel managers play an extremely important role in finding the best of the best and training them to represent the brand’s image. It’s not only the interviewee but the interviewer should also be well prepared when recruiting the hotel staff. So prepare all the questions before you step into that seat.